Squash Tart

Blake's parents came over for Labor Day and we grilled steaks yet again. I made this tart to use some more squash from our rawfully organic share. We also cut the beet slices into strips and added them to a salad with romaine, also from our share. This time I covered the tart and baked it longer so that the bottom was cooked better. I used pesto from a jar, which was pretty salty, so next time I wouldn't add more salt to the squash.

Ingredients:
1 sheet of puff pastry, defrosted
2 squash sliced thin
about half a jar of basil pesto
grated pecorino romano
salt, pepper, olive oil

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400. Roll out the puff pastry and score a border about 1 inch from the edge of the pastry to form the crust. Spoon pesto and spread to the edges of the rectangle formed in the middle of the pastry. Lay the squash slices in rows on top of the pesto. Brush the edges of the pastry crust with oil and brush the squash slices. Season with salt and pepper (or no salt), and sprinkle with cheese. Bake for about 15-25 minutes or cover when pastry is browned so that bottom of tart gets cooked all the way through.

Beets, Beet Greens, and Squash

Our rawfully organic share came with beets which Blake really was excited to use. I never cooked them before but it turned out to be easy. We also cooked the greens similar to the way we did the kale, but since they're not so bitter it didn't take so long. We also have a ton of squash so I roasted some in the oven and that also was pretty good. We had all this as sides for another steak Blake grilled, this time it was a NY strip.

Roasted Beets:

Cut the greens off the beets about an inch above the bulb. Lightly scrub the beets and wrap each individually in foil. Bake about 45 minutes at 400 degrees. Unwrap the beets and insert a knife smoothly to make sure they are done. Rub the beets under cold water and skin will come off. Slice and serve with herbed goat cheese spread or in salad etc.

Beet Greens:

Wash and dry beet greens, remove stems, and roughly chop. Thinly slice 3 garlic cloves. Add to about 3 tablespoons of oil in a cool pan. Bring to medium heat and brown garlic. Remove and toss out the garlic. Add the beet greens and toss as they begin wilting. Cover with lid and let wilt about 15 minutes until ready to serve.

Roasted Squash:

Slice 2 summer squash about a half an inch thick. Season with dried thyme, salt and pepper and olive oil. Bake at 400 for about 15 minutes, flipping each slice with tongs about half way through.

Braised Kale

We ordered a share from rawfully organic this past weekend and it came with a bundle of kale. I looked up some recipes and decided to braise it to take out some of the bitterness. We thought it was good and not bitter at all. We had this with a porterhouse steak that Blake grilled and cut up, and some long grain and wild instant rice.

Ingredients:
1 bundle of kale, washed, dried, stems removed, and chopped.
1/2 onion, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 tbsp red wine vinegar
about 2 cups water
olive oil, salt, pepper

Directions:
Prepare the kale and chop the onion. Heat oil in a pan over medium high heat. Sautee onion until softened and translucent. Add the garlic and sautee about 1 minute. Add kale and stir until wilted. Add 1/2 cup of water and let cook until evaporated. Add another 1/2 cup water and repeat until kale is almost melted. Add red wine vinegar and stir in. Cook until liquid evaporates and serve.

Twice Baked Potatoes

I wanted to make twice baked potatoes for Blake to go with dinner last week but we ran out of time and ended up picking food up. I made these the next night just for myself. I got a little impatient and microwaved the potatoes to get them all the way baked and I think that changed the texture. Next time I will try to make the filling mixture creamier. I had to add a lot of extra milk to get it to a decent consistency. This recipe is a little lighter than the one that I linked to, which uses gruyere and heavy cream instead of cheddar and sour cream.

Ingredients:
2 baking potatoes
3/4 cup cheddar cheese
half container sour cream
chives
leftover broccoli
salt, pepper

Directions:
Scrub and pierce the potatoes with a fork. Bake the potatoes at 400 degrees for about an hour or until a knife inserts easily. Cut them in half and scrape out the inside into a bowl. Mix in the sour cream, cheddar, salt and pepper and cooked broccoli if using. When the mixture is smooth, spoon it back into the potato skin shells and bake an additional 15-20 minutes or until browned on top.