Mmmmm... I love pie!

At a gathering of friends last week, we had lots of food left over, including about three pounds (yes, pounds, not pints) of blueberries, compliments of one of our assembled group. He insisted that I take them home, and I told him I just might have to make a pie with them. He said that if I did, I had to promise to post pics.

I ate blueberries all week long - on cereal for breakfast, on sorbet for dessert, and snacking all by itself. By today, I still had at well over a pint left, and I could tell they wouldn't be good for eating right out of the container much longer. What's more, it's been a lonely, emotionally stressful week for me, and I have learned that little does more to banish blues for me than to lose myself in some cooking.



Yes, it was probably a little insane of me to have my oven turned on in this heat and humidity, so I decided to at least wait until the daytime heat was gone, and then was forced to wait a bit longer, until the rain had abated enough for me to open the doors to let some cooler air inside.

Right before it went into the oven, I brushed the crust with a little egg and sprinkled it with sugar. I do admit, I cheated a bit, using a store-bought crust instead of from scratch, but that would have been far too much work tonight.

So, this is how I spent my Friday night - exciting, huh? And here is the result of my labors, thanks to my friend.



Here's the finished pie, all hot and juicy from the oven.

I couldn't bring myself to wait until morning, and so indulged myself in a slice as a bedtime snack, accompanied by some vanilla soymilk (no dairy for me):



The first slice is always a little messy, but it was as good as it looks!

I'm licking spoon, plate and fingers as I type this. (Can we say sublimation, boys and girls?)

Butternut Squash Risotto

I made this dish for a potluck dinner party I attended recently, and it was a great hit, so I thought I'd share it.

Ingredients

3 lb. butternut squash, cut into 3/4" cubes
2 tsp. olive oil
2 tsp sugar*
freshly ground black pepper
2 tbsp unsalted butter (can use olive oil instead)
1 medium onion, chopped
1-1/2 cups arborio rice
1/2 cup dry white wine
6 cups low salt chicken or vegetable stock
2 tsp chopped fresh sage
3 tbsp grated Parmesan cheese*

* optional

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Toss squash cubes with oil and sugar, and roast in shallow baking pan for 10 minutes. Toss and roast for 10 more minutes, or until tender. Remove from oven and set aside. (May be done 1 day in advance. Bring to room temperature before adding to rice.)

Bring stock to a simmer and keep at a very low simmer.

Meanwhile, cook onion in butter over moderate heat until softened, about 5 minutes. Add rice and cook, stirring, about 3-4 minutes, until rice becomes opaque. Add wine and cook until it is absorbed.

Stir in 1/2 cup hot stock, and cook at a simmer, stirring frequently until broth is mostly absorbed. Continue simmering and adding stock 1/2 cup at a time, making sure it's is absorbed before adding more, and stirring thoroughly with each addition. Cook until rice is creamy looking but still al-dente, about 20 minutes total. There may be some leftover broth.

When you add the last scoop of stock, stir in the squash pieces, sage, and a generous grind of fresh black pepper. At the end of the cooking, stir in the Parmesan cheese.

Serve immediately garnished with sage sprigs and additional cheese. Pass additional cheese if desired. Makes 8 generous servings.



Enjoy!

vegan paella

I had a potluck picnic to attend this weekend, and I was supposed to bring something Spanish-influenced. I dithered all week about what to bring (deviled eggs sprinkled with chorizo, maybe?), and on Sunday morning I still hadn't decided. But I wasn't that concerned when I decided to take a late morning nap, since I had plenty of time... Next thing I knew, it was 3 PM, and I had two hours to shop, cook, and get myself ready!

Well, the only logical thing to do was to improvise with things I already had on hand. Quick perusal of a couple of cookbooks for ideas, and I decided a Spanish rice dish would fit the bill. But not a typical one - how about a paella? Essential ingredients: medium grain rice, saffron, garlic, sweet red peppers... check, check, check... Ok, what about the protein source? Not enough time to cook chicken, don't want to worry about shellfish allergies with frozen shrimp, many folks won't want to touch clams... why not beans? A vegan paella would keep well at room temperature, and be quite a bit more crowd-friendly. Thus it went, improvising as I went, to make this simple, quick, and tasty "vegan paella" that was a big hit:



This recipe is approximate, as it's from memory. Feel free to alter it to suit your own tastes.

Saute one med white onion, diced, on med high heat, in 3 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil for about two minutes. Add one sweet red pepper, and when onions just begin to toast slightly, turn heat down to low and add 4 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced. Cook for 3-4 minutes, until garlic begins to soften, but do not toast it (add a few drops of water if necessary.)

Add 1-1/2 cups Spanish or Mexican style medium-grain rice. (You can substitute regular long grain rice, but then decrease liquids by about 1/4 cup, and reduce cooking time to 12 minutes.) Saute rice with the vegetables until it just begins to turn opaque. Add 3 cups of hot vegetable or chicken stock, some salt if the stock needs it, 1/4 tsp. crushed saffron threads, 1/4 tsp. of freshly ground black pepper, 1/2 tsp. aleppo pepper flakes. If you have to use regular red pepper flakes instead, start with less and add to taste. This is not supposed to be a spicy dish.

Stir all together, then add 1 can drained garbanzo beans, 1/4 c. brined capers and 2 Tbsp. fresh chopped parsley. If I had artichokes on hand, they would have been a marvelous addition as well. Cover and simmer on very low heat for 15 minutes, and do not uncover during this time. The rice should be al dente, and will continue to soften a bit as it sits covered. If it's very dry, you can add a little more liquid, but not more than a tablespoon or two, or the rice will get too soft.

I'd let it wait another 15 minutes or so before I serve it, and it stayed hot in a covered container for nearly 2 hours.