Side Note

On a big side note, check out my friend's running blog. She's obsessed with running in an awesome, be jealous way.
http://greenmountainrunner.com/

The Best 2 Bean Salad Ever

This is honestly the best salad Joe has ever made. I tasted it and it just blew me away. We had gone to the store and Joe saw a pre-made chickpea salad and edamame salad. He used his phone to take a picture of the ingredients. I came home one Saturday and he had made this whole recipe, just by looking at the ingredients (how talented is that).

Joe's Awesome 2 Bean Salad (just too cool for the third bean)


fresh cilantro/basil/oregano/parsley (chopped)
1 lb. edamame (frozen)
1 lb. corn (frozen)
1 lb. (13 oz. can) garbanzo beans, drained
2-3 red/yellow peppers, diced
1 lg. onion, diced
6-7 ribs of celery , diced
7-8 green olives, chopped
several tbsp. of oil
1/2 - 3/4 c. apple cider vinegar
3 tbsp. lemon juice
coriander, cumin, turmeric, salt, pepper to taste
dash red pepper flakes

Boil the frozen corn and edamame for 15 minutes, then drain and cool. Mix everything together. That's it! Super easy. The most time intensive part of the recipe is dicing the veggies.

This is an amazing, amazing salad. It's full of protein, so it's good for you, but it tastes so good it's hard to believe it's healthy. It's refreshing and light yet packed with flavor. It's a very big recipe of we were able to eat it with several different meals, plus we each took it for lunch a few times. If you like summer salads this is a must try!

Spaghetti Squash Fritters

For the past few weeks, our CSA has been filled with hardy squash, making it very clear that autumn is here to stay. I've been mystified by our spaghetti squash. It's my first time ever cooking with this type of squash, and it truly does come out looking like spaghetti. We've even used it like pasta and covered it with tomato sauce (a sneaky way to eat more veggies). Joe decided to take the squash, make a batter, and turn them in to squash latkes. As usual, he looked up several recipes for potato latkes and then based his own recipe off them.

Spaghetti Squash Fritters


4 egg whites
1/2 c. flour
garlic, minced
1/2 c. pepper, diced
1/2 c. onion, diced
3 c. cooked spaghetti squash (about 1 large)
salt/pepper to taste
fresh parsley, chopped

Whip the egg whites and flour together until combined. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix. Melt butter in a skillet over medium heat. Once melted drop spoonfuls of batter in to the pan (just like making pancakes). After a few minutes flip the fritter over until browned on both sides. Let cool on a plate covered with a paper towel.

These fritters actually came out wonderfully! It was a great mix of sweet and savory, between the squash, pepper, and onion. These would be a great side dish with pretty much anything. They were light and fluffy, like a pancake, but packed with flavor. If you have access to spaghetti squash I would highly recommend trying this recipe. Instead of pepper and onion you could add celery and carrots for the same crunch. Cheers!

P.S. Sorry for the lack of picture of the finished product, we were too busy pigging out!

Chocolate Souffle Torte with Raspberry Sauce

I cannot believe that I am saying this but...I actually made a souffle...from scratch! Well actually it's a souffle torte, which I'm guessing is easier than an actual souffle but I don't care, it says souffle in the title. We had found raspberries on sale, so I needed a recipe quickly before they went bad. I love raspberries and chocolate together, so this recipe seemed great. I had some time and was feeling adventurous so I decided to go for it. I went out and bought a springform pan and gave souffles a try. The silly thing is, before this recipe I'd never even tasted souffles. Now the recipe sounds complicated, but once you get started it's not bad at all, I promise!

Raspberry Sauce

1 c. water
1/2 c. sugar
1 tbsp. cornstarch
1/4 tsp. salt
1 package frozen raspberries (I used 2 pints of fresh)

Combine the water, sugar, cornstarch, and salt in a medium saucepan. Whisk over medium heat, until boiling. Cook 2 minutes. Stir in raspberries and cook for 4 more minutes. Take off heat and chill for 1 hour.

Torte

3 oz. semisweet chocolate, chopped
3 tbsp. butter, softened
3/4 c. sugar
1 lg. egg
1/4 c. milk
1/4 c. unsweetened cocoa
2 tbsp. cornstarch
4 lg. egg whites
1/4 tsp. cream of tartar
1/8 tsp. salt

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees. Melt the chocolate with a tbsp. of water over low heat until melted. Stir frequently. Place butter and 1/2 c. sugar in a medium bowl. Beat with a mixer for about 1 minute. Add 1 egg and beat 1 minute. Gradually add the milk and beat at low speed. Add the melted chocolate, cocoa, and cornstarch, beating until combined.

In another bowl combine the egg whites, cream of tartar, and salt. Beat at high speed until soft peaks form. Gradually add 1/4 c. sugar, 1 tbsp. at a time, beating until stiff peaks form. GENTLY (it has to be gentle) fold the egg white mixture in to the chocolate mixture. Pour the mixture in to a 8 inch springform pan coated with cooking spray. Bake for 45 minutes. Loosen the sides of the torte then allow to cool on a wire rack. The souffle will fall a little. Serve with raspberry sauce.

It actually turned out wonderfully!!! I was definitely expecting it to completely fail. The egg whites made the torte fluffy and light. The chocolate flavor was extremely rich and the raspberry sauce complimented it well. I'm so excited to try another souffle recipe. Remember, don't be afraid, it's totally worth it.

Butternut Squash and Leek Gratin

Now that fall is here, our CSA is full of loads and loads of squash. My favorite type so far has been butternut squash. It is full of flavor and has a ton of "meat" inside. Through the CSA I've also discovered that I love leeks. When looking for a butternut squash recipe I found one that also used leeks, which sounded almost too good to be true. The recipe suggested making individualized portions, which was convenient (and gave me an excuse to use my cute ramekins that never seem to have a purpose). 

Butternut Squash and Leek Gratins

1 (2 lb) butternut squash (halved and seeded)

1 tsp. butter

4 c. chopped leeks (about 4 large)

1 tbsp. sugar

1/4 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. ground pepper

4 large eggs (lightly beaten)

1 lg. egg yolk (lightly beaten)

1/4 c. grated Parmesan cheese

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Put the squash on a cooking spray covered pan, cut side down. Roast the squash for 45 minutes. Let cool for 30 minutes, then scoop out the squash and mash in a bowl. Set the oven to 325 degrees. 

In a large skillet over medium heat, melt butter in the pan. Add the leeks, cover, and cook until tender, about 20 minutes. Make sure the heat isn't too high because I almost burnt mine. Reduce the heat, uncover , and cook for 10 minutes or until lightly browned. 

Combine the sugar, salt, pepper, eggs, and egg yolk. Whisk together then add the squash and leeks until well combined. Divide the mixture into 6 ramekins coated with cooking spray. Place in a 13 X 9 pan and add 1 inch of boiling water to cover the bottom of the ramekins. Cover the pan with foil and bake at 325 degrees for 25 minutes. Uncover then bake 15 minutes to finish. Take the pan out and put 2 tbsp. of cheese on each gratin. Melt the cheese under the broiler until the cheese is brown, about 2 minutes. 

This recipe came out so well, I'm thinking of baking it for Thanksgiving this year. The egg and boiling water bath combine to make the gratins like custard. Our entire meal was delicious and all organic. The green beans and squash were from our CSA. The chicken was all natural and hormone-free. To save money we decided to buy a whole chicken and have Joe break it down. Joe did an awesome job (what guy doesn't like using a sharp knife). It worked out so well we're still doing it. Overall it was a very satisfying, tasty meal!