Cornucopia of Roasted Vegetables with Herbed Couscous

Toasted squash seed snack

So, not a traditional Thanksgiving dish, but it makes a great homemade snack to munch on while the Turkey is cooking. Whether you're frantically dashing about the kitchen and need a protein fix, or vegging by the tv, I think a Thanksgiving snack calls for something salty to counteract one of the year's most sweet-heavy meals. So this morning, when I was prepping acorn squash and my husband very sweetly asked what he could do, I handed him the bowl of pulp and seeds and asked him to rinse the seeds. It was a whim. Pumpkin seeds are delicious toasted, and I've heard butternut squash as well, so why not acorn squash? While other things were in the oven, I added a generous dusting of salt and about two tablespoons of olive oil to the clean, moist seeds, spread them out on a cookie sheet, and put them on the lower oven rack under the roasted balsamic vegetables and a sweet potato casserole. Ten minutes later, and bippity boppity boo! An afterthought addition to the Thanksgiving lineup becomes my favorite new tradition.

Spicy veggie "bolognese"

Last minute inspiration strikes again! This zippy pasta dinner is as bold as a Spanish work of art because it's made with chorizo, a sausage flavored with dried, smoked, red peppers. In addition, it has a wonderful slight sweet crunch from sauteed onions and a lovely festive appearance due to the chopped spinach which speckles the tantalizing orange-red with vivacious green. Oh, and one more reason to love this in case you don't already: it takes fifteen minutes flat, and that's just because the pasta has to boil.
I have two product notes to get you started. First, I think a really good quality tomato sauce did not hurt this recipe at all. Second, I used my newest favorite Trader Joe's product: soy chorizo. Before you say "eeeeuuunngghh.... I dunno 'bout this..." do your tastebuds and your personal development a favor. Don't think of it as a soy product, think of it like the latest craze at the state fair, such as a crispy creme hamburger. It's not something you'd normally buy, but everyone's trying it and how bad can it be anyway? Like an exercise in overcoming personal bias. I'm not a vegetarian, but I fully appreciate the creativity of modern vegetarian cooking, and this is just plain good. Omnivores do not have a corner on the market of delicious food. Now, without further ado

Spicy Veggie "Bolognese"
serves 2

1 medium white onion, roughly chopped
1 Tbsp cooking oil
1 cup plain spaghetti sauce (I used a Sicilian style sauce with olive oil and garlic in it)
1/3 package Trader Joe's soy chorizo, removed from plastic casing
1/4 lb. frozen chopped spinach
spaghetti

Heat water for spaghetti and prepare the bolognese while pasta cooks. Drizzle oil in 10" or larger skillet and heat to medium high. Saute the onion until it just begins to show some color, 1-2 min. Add the soy chorizo, which will crumble and become the texture of ground beef. Stir in spaghetti sauce and frozen spinach. Heat through and serve over warm spaghetti. To make for a family, use 3 onions, a large jar of sauce, the whole package of chorizo and 1 lb of spinach.

Bean stew with Asian flavors

I wanted to make slow cooker bean stew for these cool late autumn nights, nearly chilly enough for me to aquiesce, even as a New Englander, to calling them cold. However, I wanted something different. The curious bit of me that loves to push the envelope just a little started pulling spices out of the cupboard, along with my bag of 16 bean soup. There were the obvious choices, like chili powder or pasta and oregano for an Italian stew. Instead, I kept lingering over Asian ingredients, wondering if I could make it work. Here it is: not too spicy, earthy, thick, and somehow the word "meaty" comes to mind, although this one is vegetarian. It resembles a chili, but it has more tang than heat. Give it a try and see! This one makes about 8 servings.

1 package 16 bean soup mix
1 jar mushroom flavor spaghetti sauce
2 Tbsp. Chinese black bean garlic sauce
1/3 cup rice wine vinegar
1/3 cup dried black trumpet mushrooms (Whole Foods has them)
2 Tbsp. curry powder
plain yogurt or tzatziki
fresh cilantro
toasted slivered almonds (optional)

Wash the beans and mix with spaghetti sauce, six cups of water, black bean garlic sauce, rice wine vinegar, and mushrooms in slow cooker. Cook on high about 4 hours. Mix in curry powder. Serve with a dollop of yogurt and sprinkle chopped cilantro and almonds over each bowl.

Five minutes from scratch bread

Does the smell of baking bread make you feel comforted, content, and giddy with anticipation? It does me, but the idea of making it without a bread maker or prepared dough used to seem like too much trouble for something that couldn't possibly turn out like the "artisan" bakery bread I wanted. Then I came across a recipe that sounded too good to be true, and I had to try it. "Five Minutes A Day for Fresh-Baked Bread", claimed the article from Mother Earth News. We'll see about that.

So I went out and invested in some bread flour and yeast, thinking that I would need to experiment a bit. I have now made this recipe at least five times and it's nothing less than delicious. Impressive. A wonder. It's soft and chewy inside with a delightful, crisp, brown crust. The longer you leave in the fridge before cooking, the more sour-doughy it tastes. It does, however, take longer than five minutes. I'm not Harry Potter (hate to admit it, though). Here's the real time breakdown, most of which is just letting the dough sit and "rest" or rise; there is no kneading.

5 minutes - dough mixing
2 hours - time sitting at room temperature (after this point, you will be able to store your dough in the fridge or bake it)
40 minutes - resting time prior to baking
30 minutes - baking time

If you want to have fresh bread with dinner every night, just mix this dough up on the weekend and leave it in your refrigerator in a lidded container. About an hour before dinner, take some dough out and preheat the oven. While you cook dinner, you can let the dough sit on the counter and rest, then put it in the oven. You'll have everyone rushing in to dinner in no time, and all the neighbors will be jealous!

3 cups water, a little warmer than body temperature
1.5 Tbsp. granulated yeast (1.5 packets)
1.5 Tbsp. coarse salt
6.5 cups all-purpose flour or 6.25 cups bread flour for chewier bread
cornmeal or bran (optional)

In a large mixing bowl that has a lid, add yeast and salt to warm water. Mix in flour by gently scooping it up, then leveling the top of the measuring cup with a knife. Mix with a wooden spoon or the dough attachment of a mixer, until uniformly moist. Cover loosely and allow to rise at room temperature until it flattens on top or begins to collapse, about two hours. You can leave it up to five hours without any harm. Then put it in the refrigerator for up to a week!
On baking day, take out a piece of dough about the size of a grapefruit. With well floured hands, shape the dough into a ball by gently stretching the surface of the dough in four directions and folding it under, gathering it in a point that will be the bottom of the loaf. You can also cut off pieces the size of dinner rolls (keep in mind that they will expand a little). If you like, sprinkle your baking stone with cornmeal or bran to prevent sticking before you place the dough on it. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit with a rack in the middle and a shallow dish for holding water on the bottom rack. Let it rest while you cook something else for 30-40 minutes. Then dust it liberally with flour and cut slashes about 1 cm deep in the surface to help the bread expand during baking. When you put it in the oven, quickly but carefully pour a cup of hot water in the dish you left on the bottom rack. Bake for 25-30 minutes, less for rolls. Cool on a wire rack.

Creamy cous-cous with spinach and smoked gouda (a new twist on classic bbq sides)

Makes 2 large servings
Takes about 10 minutes
Serve with salmon, beef, chicken, or pork seasoned with bbq rub or bbq sauce

• 1/2 cup whole wheat cous-cous (Trader Joe's)
• 1/2 lb. chopped frozen spinach 
• Tbsp. buttery spread
• 2 slices smoked gouda cheese, chopped

If you just want the recipe, skip to the bottom, because first I'm going to tell you a secret about making low budget food seem fancy. I think that a lot of the food we call "gourmet" is usually a riff on something familiar with the addition of one special or unexpected ingredient. Add two slices of smoked gouda, and instantly, a pedestrian meal of baked fish with cous cous and frozen spinach becomes a flavorful, inventive meal you'd be proud to serve to guests. Now I have another secret to divulge: I have a thing for side dishes. They're often my inspiration for meals. Sometimes, at restaurants, I order a menu item just for the side it comes with. At home, I make a jazzed up side dish for dinner and throw in some protein "on the side", so to speak. According to the experts, we Americans tend to eat a lot more protein than we need anyhow.

This dish was inspired by risotto, one of my all time favorite sides, and barbecue. Yes, you read me right. I wanted it to have a creamy feel and stick-to-your-ribs texture similar to rizotto, with flavors that would complement my bbq rubbed salmon. The fresh flavor of spinach brightens up the pasta and cheese in this dish to give it a zing!
Start by boiling 1/2 cup of water in a saucepan with the buttery spread, or your preferred brand of oil or butter. Turn the heat down to low, stir in the cous-cous, and cover the pan. Once it has absorbed the water (this only takes about 2 minutes), dump in the frozen spinach and cover again until the spinach has thawed. Stir in the cheese, adding a little water if it becomes too sticky to stir. I served it alongside salmon seasoned with the Pampered Chef's bbq rub, which baked while I was cooking it. Dinner in 20 minutes, yesss.

Dairy-free, wheat-free corn chowder

My husband was so amazed by this velvety faux cream soup, he insisted that I start a blog to share my impromptu dinner artistry, and here you are. It all started because I hate going food shopping at 5pm, so tonight I looked around the kitchen and used what (little) I had to invent a warming soup for a cool night. Like most of my improv cookery, this makes two hearty portions for two people. I started with:

• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 carrot, peeled and sliced in thin rounds
• 1 stalk of celery, chopped
• 1Tbsp. buttery spread
• 12.3 oz carton silken tofu
• 1 can corn
• 2 large links or 4 small links of cooked breakfast sausage (not a sweet flavor, like maple)

Cook vegetables and buttery spread over low heat, stirring, until onions are soft and begin to brown. Dump in tofu, about 1/3 of the corn, and apx. 1/2 cup water (I just swept the pan over to the sink and splashed some water in, so I'm not entirely sure how much). Break up the tofu with the back of a spoon or a nylon mashing tool like the Pampered Chef's mix n mash. When I'm literally whipping up dinner, I like to use this great gadget to mash potatoes right in the pan. Last night I used it to smash chickpeas for an Indian inspired chickpea stew.
Now leave the pan to simmer on low for about 20 min, until the vegetables are all soft enough to blend. In my 10 foot wide kitchen/dining room, I sit at the kitchen table fishing around online, doing sudoku, or reading a book at this point. Actually, today, I was looking at the real estate magazine and dreaming of a larger kitchen!
Before blending the soup base, I let it cool for a few minutes. I suppose you don't really have to if you've got a good blender or processor, but I have a thing about putting an almost boiling substance in my mini food processor with its plastic bowl.
Dump the blended mixture back into a small pot and add the rest of the corn and the chopped sausage. Flavor with salt, pepper, granulated garlic, and any herbs you like (thyme or poultry seasoning would work well). I also tried adding a sun-dried tomato herb seasoning to some of my soup and it was pretty good, in spite of the fact that said seasoning was made for flavoring bread-dipping oil. And that, my friends, is how you make a tasty chowder with a little bit of fat and a lot of flavor, gluten and lactose-free. Stay tuned for more slightly edgy but undeniably palatable recipes for the adventurous last-minute chef.