Vanilla Butternut Squash Risotto

Isn't waiting so much fun?  Last school year I completed the National Board Certification for Teachers process.  Portfolio with essays, videos, achievements and a test.  All of it was finished by April 10.  Since then I have been waiting for the results.  Last week, I got an email that the results would be in November 18th and was soo excited.  That day I got to work, opened the website with my adrenaline rushing, to find that the server had shut down.  From 8 - 12 my friend and I must have hit the refresh button 100 times or more trying to see if the scores were posted.  Then I got an email saying wait until 4:00 pm.  Since then, every 4 - 5 hours, there is an update on the site saying that Pearson (why do they have their hands in everything?) is still working on bringing the site on line.  Argg!!!  For me, the process was not that hard, which surprised the other NBCT at my school since they all took classes to help prepare.  However, I have been in school for at least 10 years now, writing and reflecting on my teaching, so this was nothing different.  However, I am worried because I have heard that grading is very subjective, and I just don't know how I could have done any better?  Retaking a section of the portfolio or the test costs around $300 so I really need to pass the first time.


In the midst of waiting, comes Thanksgiving.  I have been so busy preparing professional development sessions for work, organizing our school wide data management tool, and getting ready to teach my students I haven't really had any time to find and rehearse any new recipes.  For the side dish, it is a toss up between my sweet potato risotto, which everyone liked last year, and this dish.  For my vegetarian mom I am going to make toasted quinoa with blistered tomatoes, spinach and walnuts because she can't eat white rice because of osteoporosis.  Then, I'm making a new cranberry sauce recipe.  At first I was going to make Spiced Tea Cranberries but as my mom pointed out, some people really hate tea.  So, I am going to go instead with Maple Orange Cranberry Sauce.   


When we went to Michigan over Labor Day, we stopped at a few different farmers markets and found butternut squash super cheap!  Its so nice how squash lasts and last week I finally used it to make a butternut squash risotto.  I wanted to make it differently than my sweet potato risotto, so I found this unique recipe from Giada De Laurentiis.  

To cut and dice a butternut squash, first cut off the top and bottom of the squash.  Then cut in half.  I found it easiest to cut off the peel, even though some people say you could use a peeler (hasn't worked for me yet).

Vanilla Butternut Squash Risotto

Adapted from Food Network

Ingredients
4+ cups of vegetable broth
1 vanilla bean
1 small butternut squash peeled and cubed
1 Tbs olive oil
1 medium onion finely chopped
1 1/2 cups Arborio rice
1/2 cup white wine
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup parmesan cheese (optional)


In a pot, warm the broth on medium heat.  Cut the vanilla bean in half lengthwise.  Scrape out the seeds and add them and the bean to the broth.  When it begins to simmer, turn heat to low.   Add butternut squash and continue to cook for around 5 minutes until soft.  Using a slotted spoon, take the butternut squash out and put to the side.  Continue to simmer broth on low.  


In another pot, heat olive oil on medium.  Add onion and saute until translucent.  Stir in rice and stir constantly for 1 minute. Add in white wine and stir until soaked in. Then add in 1/2 cup of broth.  Cook and stir until liquid is absorbed.  Continue adding in broth 1/2 cup at a time, when the rice has soaked in the previous additions, and stop when the rice is just tender. You may have to add more broth to the pot.  Take out the vanilla bean and take off of stove.  Add in butternut squash and salt and pepper to taste.  Add parmesan if you would like and serve! 

Sweet Potato Spoon Bread

Even with this holiday season being so full of things to do (work, grad school, and now my new video game Skyrim) I have been trying out recipes for Thanksgiving.  We go to my aunt's home each Thanksgiving so I do not have to cook dinner but I like bringing over different side dishes.  Last year with my sweet potato risotto I was able to get people who had never liked sweet potatoes to try them, and like them.  I wanted to do something different for this year, so this is one of the recipes that I chose.

This is a time intensive recipe.  I don't know if my oven is getting hot enough (got to get it checked) but I started this recipe when I got home from work and it wasn't done by 8 pm.  By that time I was sooo hungry.  I thought it was a decent side dish, but a bit bland.  Others in the house thought it was great.  I think I just like more complex flavors in a dish.  Enjoy! (And yes, its gluten free!)

Sweet Potato Spoon Bread

Adapted from Better Homes and Gardens

Ingredients
4 Tbs of butter
1 lb of sweet potatoes, roasted and mashed
1 Tbs of fresh thyme
1 Tbs of fresh rosemary
2 Tbs brown sugar
2 tsp coarse sea salt
1 tsp ground black pepper
1 cup finely ground cornmeal
4 eggs, separated
2 tsp baking soda

After roasting sweet potatoes, reduce oven temp to 350 degrees.  In a pot, combine milk, rosemary and thyme, sugar, salt and pepper on medium heat.  Let boil.  Then slowly whisk cornmeal into milk mixture.  Keep stirring until the mixture is thick and pulls away from sides of pot.  Take it off heat and put in a large bowl.  Let cool for 3 minutes.  Add potatoes, egg yolks, 3 Tbs of butter, baking powder and stir to mix together ingredients.

In another large bowl, beat the egg whites with an electric mixture until soft peaks form.  Fold the whites into the potato mixture, so you can see white swirls.  Put the final mixture in a dish that has been greased with the remaining 1 Tbs of butter.

Bake for 35 to 20 minutes until the internal temperature is 165 F.  If you would like a little browning on the top, you may have to put under hot broiler for 2 minutes.  Edges will be firm but the inside will be a little soft.  Take out of oven and let sit for 10 minutes.  Best when served warm.

Quinoa and Black Bean Tacos

There must be something in the water, a full moon, something.  My students have gone absolutely nuts this week and I have had a headache for 3 days straight!  See, my problem in creating engaging blog posts is I can't really discuss the biggest part of my life.  I cant tell you about my students, what they do in class, my successes (and failures) because of confidentiality.   However, if there are any other teachers out there I'd like to know if your students have lost their minds too :)  I don't know what it can be.  Halloween was last week and we made it through the day after with little incident.  Daylight savings was this last weekend but they got an extra hour of sleep so it shouldn't be that.  Maybe its the weather.  However Monday it was 60 degrees.  I don't know.... at least we have Thursday off.  Thank goodness!

I made this recipe on Sunday.  I wanted to continue to use items that I have stocked up in my cabinets and get a little more room (and save some money while doing so).  I saw black beans and began trynig to build from there.  When I saw this recipe, it fit well with my current stock of items.  All I had to buy was tortillas, cilantro, and a pepper.

To make this dish, I first decided to toast the quinoa.  From somone who has eaten a lot of quinoa before discovering toasted quinoa, take the extra time and do it.  It gives you a nutty flavor and stronger texture. To toast quinoa, first rinse it in a fine mesh strainer.  Then shake to remove as much water as possible.  Heat 1 Tbs in a pot over medium heat.  Add the quinoa and stir until light brown.  This takes around 10 minutes.

If you want to use one pot, then pour the quinoa into a bowl while you cook the vegetables.  Otherwise, you can start the vegetables in another pot.  Put 1 Tbs of vegetable oil in a pot and heat over medium heat.  Add onion and pepper.  Saute until vegetables begins to soften, around 5 min.

Combine vegetable mix with quinoa, cumin, and Sazon in a pot.  Stir for 30 seconds.  Combine tomatoes with water to make a total of 1 1/2 cups of liquid.  Then add liquid to pot.  Bring to a boil, cover, then let simmer for around 14 minutes until quinoa is tender.

Add black beans and cilantro.  Cook uncovered until liquid is fully absorbed, around 3 minutes.  Take off of heat and mix in the lime juice.  You can serve it on its own or wrap in warm corn tortillas.

Quinoa and Black Bean Tacos

Adapted from Epicurious

Ingredients
2 Tbs vegetable oil
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 cup of quinoa
2 tsp of ground cumin
2 packages of Sazon con culantro y achiote
7 oz can of salsa mexicana (I used Embasa)
Water
1 15 oz can of black beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 cup of chopped cilantro
Juice from 1/2 of a lime
Corn tortillas optional

Rinse quinoa for 1 minutes in a fine mesh strainer and shake, removing as much water as possible.  Put 1 Tbs of oil into large skillet.  Add the quinoa and stir over medium heat until light brown.  This takes around 10 minutes.  If you want to use one pot, then pour the quinoa into a bowl while you cook the vegetables.  Otherwise, you can start the vegetables in another pot.  Put 1 Tbs of vegetable oil in a pot and heat over medium heat.  Add onion and pepper.  Saute until vegetables begins to soften, around 5 min.  Combine vegetable mix with quinoa, cumin, and Sazon in a pot.  Stir for 30 seconds.  Combine tomatoes with water to make a total of 1 1/2 cups of liquid.  Then add liquid to pot.  Bring to a boil, cover, then let simmer for around 14 minutes until quinoa is tender. bAdd black beans and cilantro.  Cook uncovered until liquid is fully absorbed, around 3 minutes.  Take off of heat and mix in the lime juice.  You can serve it on its own or wrap in warm corn tortillas.

Pupusas

As someone who is GF I am always looking for quick ways to make bread-like things.  To be honest, I really don't have the attention span to measure all of the types of flour, wait for yeast to rise, and to make bread.  This recipe looked like a fun way to make something with a bread-like texture and to use the vegetarian refried beans from Amy's that I love.  It also gave me a chance to use the masa that I have had up in my cabinet for almost a year (my classes have eliminated the time for me to try to make tamales for the first time).

Pupusas

adapted from Vegetarian Times

Ingredients
4 cups masa harina
3 cups of warm water
3 Tbs of ground cumin
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 cup of refried beans
8 tsp vegetable oil

Combine masa, cumin, baking poder, and salt.  Stir in 3 cups of warm water to form soft dough.  You can add more water if needed.  Cover, and let stand for 30 minutes.  Put wax paper onto a baking sheet.  Roll dough into 16 balls.  Made indentation in the centers of each.  Put 1 Tbs of beans in each.  Fold edges over fillings and roll into balls again.  Press down into 4 inch disks.  Heat 2 tsp of oil in skillet on medium-high.  Add 4 pupusas at a time to skillet and cook for 5 - 6 minutes, turning over once.  Garnish with salsa, guacamole, etc and enjoy!

Chickpea Pulao

I originally made this Pakistani recipe as a main dish but it turned out a bit bland.  I think making this the side dish to a type of curry or meat dish would make it much more interesting.   It is a great way to use kitchen staples such as a can of chickpeas, a bag of rice, and a few onions.

Chickpea Pulao

Adapted from Curry Cuisine

3 cups of basmati rice
2 Tbs olive oil
1 small yellow onion, thinly sliced
1 Tbs of fresh ginger, cut into slivers
3 cinnamon sticks
1 tsp black peppercorns
1 tsp cumin seeds
3 black cardamom pods
salt to taste
14 oz of canned chickpeas, drained
1 large onion, thinly sliced

Wash rice then let soak in bowl covered with cold water for 1 hr.  Drain.

Heat the 1 Tbs of oil in a pan, add the onion, and cook until brown.  Add ginger, spice, and salt and stir for 1 minute.  Add 3 cups of water and bring to a boil.  Add rice and chickpeas.  Cover the pan, reduce heat, and simmer for around 15 minutes until the rice is around 90% cooked.

Get a thick dishcloth wet with water.  Take off the lid of the pan.  Cover with the cloth, then put the lid back on tightly and set the pan over very low heat.  Cook for another 25 - 30 min.

Heat the other Tbs of oil in a large pan, add the onion, and cook until dark golden brown.  Put the onion on top of the rice and chickpea mixture.