Roasted Tomato Summer Spaghetti

Tomatoes, tomatoes, and MORE tomatoes!!!! They are everywhere. Pouring out of our CSA box. Growing beautifully on our unruly sweet 100 tomato plant. I'm trying my darnedest to keep up! I was nervous to bring out a new recipe, because my five-year-old is being outrageously picky. He ate this!

INGREDIENTS:
2-3 cups sungold tomatoes or sweet 100's, rinsed and stems removed
4-6 kale leaves, remove stem and roughly chop
one small onion, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, minced
8 fresh basil leaves, minced
2 cups great northern beans (or other white bean), drained (rinse if canned)
1 lb whole wheat spaghetti
1 cup reserved of pasta cooking water
s&p to taste

Preheat oven to 400. Bring pot of water to boil. Cook spaghetti for 7 minutes. Reserve 1 cup of the pasta cooking water. Meanwhile, place tomatoes in baking dish. Drizzle with olive and salt and pepper. Roast for 20 minutes, stirring once halfway through. Add chopped kale and roast an additional 7 minutes. While tomatoes are roasting and pasta is cooking, heat 1-2 Tablespoons of olive oil in a medium/large sauce pan. Add onions until they soften. Add beans to warm. Add garlic and basil, stir. After 30 seconds turn off heat. Add tomatoes and kale when finished roasting. Add s&p to taste. Drain pasta when finished cooking. Add back the 1 cup of water to keep the pasta from being sticky. Top with sauce and serve!

Squash Bread

Well, the delicata squash plant I grew in my garden this year was a MONSTER! I guess that's a good thing. It was healthy and HUGE! I've begun reaping the benefits by beginning my fall baking. It almost seems too early for pumpkin-esque treats; it's been so warm here in St. Paul. However, yesterday marked the beginning of fall, and today it is truly a beautiful autumn day.

Here's a recipe that my dear friend Sara shared with me last year. It's FatFree Vegan's Pumpkin Bread. I quite rarely use actual pumpkin when I make recipes like this. I like to use my butternut squash or delicata squash in its place, because I tend to always have one of those on hand in the fall. Currently, I have an entire basket of delicata squash! Below are my variations on FatFree Vegan's recipe and my directions to preparing and freezing squash.

Pumpkin Bread Variations:
Replace 1 cup of pureed pumpkin with 1 cup of pureed winter squash
*Use 1/2 cup of applesauce rather than 1/4 cup. This way you can eliminate the Ener-G Egg Replacer mixed with water.

*I never use Ener-G Egg Replacer, because I simply don't see the need for one more product in my pantry. I either use applesauce or banana as an egg replacer when it makes sense, OR I blend 1 tablespoon of ground flaxseed with 3 Tablespoons of water (per egg you are replacing) until it's incredibly thick and creamy; I recommend using a hand blender for best results. Here is a simple reference guide to egg replacements from one of my fave sites theppk.com.

PREPARING SQUASH:
Cut squash down the middle, length-wise
Scoop out all the seeds
Place cut-side down in a 9x13 baking pan
Pour small amount of water into to pan, just to prevent scorching

Bake at 350 until squash is tender when poked with a fork...about 30-40 minutes for delicata squash. Remove when done and leave to cool enough to handle. Remover skin - should fall write off. Place the soft squash into a food processor and run it to create a more creamy squash. I then like to freeze it in 2 cup portions. Then you can easily take it out when your in the mood for pancakes or bread!

Rolling Out the Rain Barrels!

This weekend we rolled out the rain barrels. Last year, we bought two recycled wine barrels that were converted into rain barrels by Barrel Depot. They are absolutely beautiful! Since the weather is so severely cold here in the winter months, we have to store them over the winter to save them from cracking. Unfortunately, the incredible aroma of red wine has left the barrels.

It felt like the first true sign of spring outside our home! I can't wait to use this weekend's rain to water our already budding perennials!

Later,
Erin