Pear & Zucchini Soup

Hey everyone, don't forget about this week's BSI: Lentils!! I should have some for dinner tomorrow if all goes well, and feel free to post them through Sunday night.

Until then...


In trying to use as many of the ingredients in my fridge in the fewest amount of meals (otherwise i could feed an army), I came across this recipe for pear and zucchini soup that seemed like a unique combination of ingredients. Tempted to eat the roasted pear right out of the oven, I was able to restrain myself long enough until the soup! I don't have a seive, so I didn't remove the peel and just blended and instead of croutons I just topped it off with some goat cheese. See, this is why I love food blogs, I would've paired the pear (ha) with parsnips (say that 3 times fast!!) in a soup--not zucchini! So greatful to have been shown the way :)

My First Taste of Boston

* a break from regularly scheduled programming *

I've gotten a few questions about what I do, so I thought I'd address them a bit today--I hope everyone doesn't mind! Plus I have a TON of leftovers, so no new meal tonight... I'm a science geek, and just defended my dissertation in August. Read: I can now add the letters Ph.D. after my name!!!! Woah, hasn't really set in yet. I've been in school all my life, so to no longer be considered a student is even stranger. Hmm, as to exactly what I do everyday, it's research, loosely filed under the heading "biomedical". My graduate work bridged the gap between immunology (a study of the system responsible for dealing with foreign invaders) and cancer. I moved to Boston for my post-doctoral research, which in science-speak is really just a way to get more experience before you get a real job. What I'll be doing here is more along the lines of examining ways T cells (one of cells of our immune system) interact with other cells in their response to various offenders (like the flu). Have I lost you all yet? Hope not!!

Let's get back to my new digs :) What have I learned so far?

The Charles

1. Boston drivers are CRAZY. I will not ride my bike in the city (boo).
2. The Charles is much prettier than the Schuykill (although I hear it's not any cleaner!)
3. I love walking everywhere. (much better than driving from place to place)
4. Fall is my favorite season. (but i already knew that!! :))

Jamaica Pond

Despite all my craziness in my new kitchen, the second night here I discovered there's an awesome Thai place right around the corner!! Still sooo many things to explore, so any of you Beantown readers in the know... please dish :)

Moussaka

After coming in from a brisk walk along the Charles, a nice hearty dish of moussaka was just what I needed to warm me up :) I had prepared this ahead of time using a regular eggplant from the farmers market, so it reheats well. Instead of serving it over couscous, just used some spaghetti squash that was already cooked up. It was my first time trying this dish, but I really enjoyed it, so it won't be the last ;-)

BSI: Lentils

Hi everyone!! So exciting to choose this week's BSI ingredient... but then what to pick?!? I had so many ideas (most revolving around the ingredients in my fridge--I was a little overzealous at the farmers market and store), but decided to take a little different path.

I don't remember eating lentils as a kid. This was no fault of my parents (i think i recall dad liking lentil soup), more of my picky eating-- I highly doubt I would've considered the notion of consuming lentils :) I've tried them all of 3 times the past year or two, so I thought this would be a fantastic way to learn some fun new ways to prepare them!! So BRING IT!!! Link back to this post, or leave me a comment so I can pull all of your fantastical recipes together. And I'll come up with some sort of *prize* for my fav ;-)

Lentils seem pretty big around the blog world, but in case you aren't in the know (don't worry, I wasn't!), they are especially good sources of soluble and insoluble fiber, folate and magnesium (both good for your heart), iron, and protein! (I did discover that red lentils have less protein than other types... hmmm)


Just another quick note... please bear with me as I begin my new job this week!! I'll be adjusting to a new schedule and will have lots to do to in order to get started... I'll probably do some reading from trusty Google Reader, but I don't know how much time for comments there will be. I'll still be posting, as I mentioned above I got a bit excited shopping last week...

Caramel Apple Muffins

It's still fall, and I've still got apples, so here's another one for you... and since I didn't have it in me to risk another disaster, I made Apple Oat Muffins, mini style. To kick them up a notch, I threw in some Kraft mini caramels (forgot to take a picture of those, sorry! they were a Walmart find).


If you're wondering about those caramels, well, they're perfect to use in baking. But beware, they also have a tendency to jump right into your mouth. Even when they aren't adorned by apple and flour goodness. I swear. I can't buy them again...

Leftover Salmon?

This post was supposed to be about some rockin' salmon cakes/burgers... but this one needs some work. Great flavor profile (salmon, spinach, red pepper, scallion, dijon), sorry execution! All was not lost, I was really craving a burger, but all I had were mini pitas...


I don't think that would've worked, unless mini got really hungry. The pictured pattie was the only one that held it's shape. The others I made? Well... they'll make an awesome scramble tomorrow morning for breakfast :)

Butternut Spinach Rolls

Yup, more butternut squash!! The one i cooked up Sunday was HUGE, so I still had ~3c of puree left. I also had an open package of whole wheat lasagna noodles that I moved from Philly, so I decided it was about time they got used. I've probably seen this many different ways (almost threw in an "oodles of noodles" there), but I just flew by the seat of my pants on this one.

butternut-spinach-ricotta filling

Butternut Spinach Rolls (my creation)
with a Goat Cheese Sauce from Cooking Light

For the filling:
3c butternut squash flesh
1c fat-free ricotta
cinnamon, nutmeg, s/p to taste
1 pkg baby spinach (mine was 6oz), sauteed in ~1T EVOO and 1-2 cloves of garlic
(next time i'd add some shallots or other onions to the spinach mix)

1 pkg whole wheat lasagna noodles (or desired noodles)

For the sauce: (might want to do 1.5 batch if you like alot of sauce)
1T butter
2T flour
1 1/2c FF milk
1/4c water or chicken broth
2oz goat cheese
2T parm
1/4t salt
1/8t pepper
1/8t nutmeg

Mix together squash, ricotta, spinach, and spices. Taste and adjust seasonings, then set aside. (Can be done ahead of time)

Preheat oven to 350deg. Cook lasagna noodles al dente, rinse with warm water to prevent sticking.

Lay out the noodles on a plate or dish, add filling along the noodles, and roll them up. As for the amounts here, I unfortunately didn't measure. It was a good amount of filling, I just kept it towards the center-- it spread when I rolled them up. Place them in a baking dish with the seam either towards the bottom or edge of the dish to prevent unrolling. (This can also be done ahead of time, just refrigerate the rolls until you want to make the sauce and cook. Just make sure to take them out for a bit so the dish isn't too cold when it goes into the oven.)

Now to the sauce. Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the flour, and cook for 30 seconds, stirring constantly with a whisk. Gradually add 1/4 cup water/broth and milk, stirring with a whisk until blended. Cook until mixture thickens (about 4 minutes). Remove from heat. Add the goat cheese, 2 tablespoons Parmesan, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and1/8 teaspoon pepper, and stir until cheese melts.

Pour sauce over assembled rolls (could add some extra grated parm on top) and bake in preheated oven ~20min or so, then dig in!!

assembled rolls

Couple more notes: I did this over a couple of days so it really seemed managable (I noted the steps where it could be done). I made the full amount of the filling, but only had 7 noodles, so I have filling leftover that I'm thinking would be awesome tossed with pasta--nice and creamy!! But I think this would work for a full lasagna-worth of rolls. I felt it needed a little something, maybe a little more kick in the filling? But very tasty :) Sorry for the lack of cross-section photo, I tried, none of themwere in focus...

right from the oven!