Vegetables

I hope you enjoyed all of the festive recipes leading up to Cinco de Mayo!  Now it’s back to our regularly scheduled programming…

This recipe came from the blog Mix it Up.  To be honest, I was initially a little skeptical about this.  But it ended up being pretty good!  I usually eat pineapple cold, so having it hot and on the spicy side was different.  But different in a good way!  Give it a shot; I think you’ll like it.

You’ll need:

• 3 large/5 small sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed
• 1 20 oz. can pineapple chunks, drained (but reserve the juice)
• 1/4 cup pineapple juice
• 1-2 tbs olive oil
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper (I didn’t have any on hand so I subbed 3/4 tsp chili powder and 1/2 tsp cumin)
• Pinch of kosher salt

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Combine all ingredients in a zip top bag and slosh it around until everything is coated.  On a baking sheet lined with foil and sprayed with cooking spray, bake the sweet potatoes and pineapple for 30 minutes, or until the potatoes are fork tender.  Remove from the oven to toss everything on the baking sheet around every 10 minutes.

It’s day #5 of Fiesta Week at A Nerd Cooks.  This recipe coms from Little Leopard Book.  I made it as a side dish to the Chipotle Lime Chicken Fajita Skewers that we ate a couple of nights ago.  Before we were even done eating, Sean requested that I make it again sometime.  It’s a definite keeper.  The cayenne pepper makes it pretty hot, so if you aren’t a fan of spice, maybe use a little less.

You’ll need:

• 5 ears of corn (or 3 3/4-4 cups frozen corn*, defrosted)
• 1/2 cup sour cream (or plain Greek yogurt)
• 3 limes, juiced
• 1/2 tbs cayenne pepper
• 1/4 cup parmesan cheese (grated)
• 1 tbs fresh cilantro, chopped
• salt, to taste

If you’re using corn on the cob, start by pulling the husks off the kernels, yet keeping them attached to the cob for easy handling.  Grill the ears of corn over medium heat for 15 minutes, rotating ever 2-3 minutes.  Remove them from the grill and allow to cool a bit.  Remove the kernels from the cob with a sharp knife.

If you’re using thawed, frozen corn, like me, use a grilling basket to allow the corn to char a bit.  Place the kernels in the grilling basket, and place the basket on the grill.  Toss the kernels around every 2-3 minutes, allowing for a total grilling time of about 15 minutes.

Add the corn kernels to a saucepan over medium heat.  Add the sour cream/Greek yogurt, lime juice, and cayenne pepper and mix well.

Heat for 5-7 minutes, then put in a serving bowl.  Top with cheese and chopped cilantro.

*I used this site as a reference.

The Baltimore Farmers’ Market & Bazaar opened for the season on Sunday!  I know I’ve written about it before, but I love when this time of year rolls around.  The produce is beautiful and the prepared food is delicious.

As we often do, Sean, friends, and I got a crepe from Ruben’s Crepes (if they have a website, I couldn’t find it).  They were delicious, as always.  I also picked up some hummus from The Wild Pea.  If you’re into hummus, check them out.  They have all kinds of flavors, some common, others kind of crazy.  I’ve had a few, and they have all been really good.

We also went to D.C. on Saturday to check out the cherry blossoms.  Even though they weren’t in full bloom yet, it was still pretty.

We can always try to time it a little better next year!  Now for the food…

I made this simple, yet delicious side dish for the Easter dinner that Sean and I shared with his sister and her husband.  Though you could use any old kind of carrot, I’d recommend trying to find the ones with the green tops still attached.  It just adds something to the presentation.

You’ll need:

• Several bunches of carrots, peeled and green tops trimmed
• 1 tbs olive oil
• 1-2 tsp rosemary, chopped
• salt and pepper, to taste

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.  Line a baking sheet or two with foil.  Set aside.

In a large zip top bag, combine the carrots, oil, rosemary, salt and pepper.  Toss to coat the carrots evenly.

Place carrots on foil-lined baking sheets.  Roast for 20 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the carrots are tender.

I made this casserole for Christmas Eve dinner at Sean’s grandparents’ house, and then we ate the leftovers on Christmas day at my parents’ place.  

This recipe comes from the blog Skinnytaste.

You’ll need:

For the topping
1 tbs olive oil
1 cup shallots, finely diced
1/2 cup seasoned breadcrumbs
1 tbs grated parmesan cheese
1/2 tsp dried thyme

For the green beans
2 lbs fresh green beans, trimmed, halved, and washed
1 tbs olive oil
1/3 cup shallots, finely diced
16 oz. sliced mushrooms (I used cremini)
1/4 cup flour
1 cup chicken stock
1 cup milk
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese


Boil a large pot of water.  Add the green beans and blanche for 2-4 minutes (you can do this for 6-8 minutes if you like softer beans).  Drain them into a colander and run cold water over the to stop the cooking.

I’ve recently discovered how delicious roasted vegetables can be, either as a component of the main dish or as a side.  Moreover, they’re very convenient, as you just put them in the oven and maybe toss them around from time to time, leaving you free to work on other aspects of the meal.


This recipe comes from the blog Clean Green Simple.


You’ll need:

1/2 pound sugar snap peas
1 tbs olive oil
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp garlic powder


Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.  Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil.  Set aside.


Toss the peas, oil, thyme, salt, pepper, and garlic powder around in a zip top bag until everything is well-coated.  Spread the peas on the baking sheet and pop them in the oven for 8-12 minutes.  Mine were pretty much perfect at the 10 minute mark.

Need an easy, healthy side dish?  Here you go!


You’ll need:


1 lb fresh broccoli, cut into florets
2 tbs olive oil
salt and pepper, to taste
1 lemon
soy sauce (just a little bit!!)


Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F.  Line a baking sheet with foil, and consider giving it a good spray with cooking spray.


Toss the broccoli, olive oil, salt, and pepper around in a zip top bag until everything is well coated.  Spread this out on the baking sheet.

Bake for 15 minutes or so, tossing the broccoli around midway through.  Once it’s done, squeeze the lemon and pour the smidge of soy sauce over the broccoli.  Toss it all up, and it’s time to eat!

You’ll need:


1-2 tbs olive oil
2 cloves of garlic, minced
kale, chopped and hard stems removed
1/4-1/2 cup chicken broth or water
red wine vinegar
salt


Start by heating the olive oil in a large pan over medium heat.  Add the garlic and heat until it just becomes fragrant.  Add your kale and stir it around to coat with the olive oil.  At this point, it’s going to look like you have entirely too much kale in there, but fear not.

Add your liquid, and put a lid on the pan.  Allow things to steam for about 5 minutes.  Remove the lid and stir things around again.  Your kale should have wilted down significantly.  Add your desired amount of red wine vinegar and a generous sprinkling of salt.  How much vinegar you add is up to you.  I’m sort of a fiend for red wine vinegar, so I add a lot.  If you’re unsure, just add a little at first.  Then taste, and adjust accordingly.  I like to let the kale continue to saute for a while after adding the vinegar.  It will continue to wilt.

Then serve alongside a tasty main course and enjoy!

On a note completely unrelated to the contents of this post: This blog’s Facebook page finally has enough people “liking” it that I could assign it an actual username!  This is pretty exciting for me.  Ahh, the little things in life…  At any rate, if you use Facebook and get some enjoyment/amusement out of reading this blog, please swing by http://www.facebook.com/HeyWhoCutTheCheese and “like” the page if you haven’t already.  Thanks!


Now, to the recipe.  I love squash.  Butternut, spaghetti, acorn, pumpkin (hello?! my family had to plead with me to stop making pumpkin-based recipes)…  you name it; I’ll likely eat it.  In addition to them being pretty delicious, it’s nice to be able to eat foods that are in season.  Not that I adhere to this principle really strictly, but it’s still nice.


Recipes like this can be found all over the place, but you can use this recipe as a template if you’d like.  I don’t really use any strict measurements, so feel free to play with it until you arrive at something you like.


You’ll need:


1 acorn squash, halved with seeds and guts scooped out
~1 butter
~1-2 tbs brown sugar
maple syrup
salt


Start by preheating your oven to 400 degrees F.


This is an acorn squash.

It can be prepared in a variety of ways, but I find that peeling it can be a little tedious, so I always just slice it in half.  

Scrape out the seeds and discard them.  Or keep them and roast them like you would pumpkin seeds.  


Score the flesh of the squash with a knife, being careful to not cut the whole way through.  Spread some butter on each of the halves of squash.  I like to take a stick of butter and just rub the end of that stick onto the squash, using the wax paper wrapper as a handle.  Sprinkle some brown sugar and give each half a drizzle of maple syrup.  Finish the whole thing with a small sprinkling of salt.

Set the squash, cut sides up, in a baking dish with ~1/2 inch of water in the bottom.  The water will help to prevent the squash from drying out while baking.


Slide the dish into your preheated oven and bake for 1 hour – 1 hour and 15 minutes.  Check it after 1 hour, though.  The squash should be very soft and the tops starting to brown.  


Let it cool for a little bit before digging in.  You can spoon some of the syrupy liquid in the base of the squash over the other exposed areas.  It can be served as is in its own built in “bowl”.

Acorn squash are sweet on their own, and this sweetness is accentuated by the sugar-butter-maple syrup mixture.  I usually portion out 1/2 a squash per person as a side dish, although I could easily eat an entire squash by myself.  It’s that good.  Enjoy!