Spicy Mexican Squash Stew

From Moosewood Restaurant Daily Special

I have a bad habit of shopping without a list and being inspired to buy produce on a whim because it looks pretty. Which is how I ended up with a butternut squash the size of my head that was begging to be be used. Actually I left it to beg too long and had to borrow as squash from Sarah after I had already found this recipe. Unfortunate but I gave her a bowlful of this stew and she seemed happy enough with the deal.

The Moosewood Collective is nice enough to provide a number of their recipes for free on their website and this is one of them. I found this tasty but next time I would add more jalapeño, a stronger cheese and throw it on top of some quinoa or some brown rice. Enjoy!

1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil or vegetable oil
2 cups chopped onions
6 garlic cloves, minced or pressed
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 butternut squash
1/2 small fresh jalapeño or other chile, minced (seeds removed for a milder "hot")
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2/ teaspoons ground cumin
3 cups water
2 cups chopped fresh tomatoes or undrained canned tomatoes (15-ounce can)
2 cups chopped red and /or green bell peppers
2 cups fresh or frozen corn kernels (10-ounce package, frozen)
salt and ground black pepper to taste
sour cream, or grated Monterey Jack cheese or cheddar cheese

Place the oil, onions, garlic, and salt in a nonreactive soup pot. Cover and cook on medium heat for about 10 minutes, stirring often, until the onions are translucent.

Meanwhile, halve and peel the squash, scoop out and discard the seeds, and dice into 1/2-inch cubes (see Note). Add the squash, jalapeño, cinnamon, cumin, and water to the soup pot and simmer for 5 to 10 minutes. Add the tomatoes and bell peppers and cook for 10 to 15 minutes or until all of the vegetables are tender. Stir in the corn and return to a simmer. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Serve each bowl topped with a dollop of sour cream or a sprinkling of grated cheese.

Note: If the cubed squash is 5 cups or more, you may need an additional 1/2-3/4 cup water. You can also substitute packaged raw, peeled and cubed squash that is available the fresh vegetable section of some supermarkets. The pieces may need to be cut in half to make 1/2 inch cubes.

French Barely Salad

I bought barley six months ago because I was trying to keep a well stocked dry pantry (it helped that the packaging was cute) and I hadn't used it yet. So in an attempt to use up all the food I bought while I was in yet another nesting phase I found myself searching the index of all my cookbooks last night for the word "barley". Low and behold the "French Barley Salad" recipe in the Moosewood Restaurant Daily Special cookbook. I didn't have dill so I made it sans-dill, which in retrospect probably wasn't the best idea but, meh, it is still super tasty. Though with lemon, garlic, olive oil and mustard making up the core components of the recipe, is that really a surprise? PS. Walnuts taste like magic.

1/2 cup raw barley
2 cups water

Dressing
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice (about 1.5 lemons)
1/4 cup olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced or pressed
1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill (1 1/2 tsp dried or 2 tsp freeze dried)
1 teaspoon salt
freshly ground black pepper to taste

1 cup halved or quartered mushrooms
1 cup peeled and diced carrots
1 cup cut green beans, trimmed and halved
1 cup thinly sliced red or yellow bell peppers
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
2 teaspoons butter
2/3 cup coarsely chopped walnuts

Using a strainer, rinse the barley and drain. In a small heavy skillet on low heat, roast the barley until fragrant and beginning to brown. Place the barley and water in a small saucepan, cover, and bring to a simmer. Cook on low heat until most of the water has been absorbed and the barley is soft, about 40 minutes.

While the barley cooks, whisk together all of the dressing ingredients. In a separated bowl, pour half of the dressing over the mushrooms and set aside. Blanch the carrots in boiling water for about 1 minute. Transfer with a slotted spoon to a large serving bowl. Blanch the green beans for 3 to 4 minutes. Drain and set aside to cool. Stir the bell peppers and parsley and marinated mushrooms into the bowl of carrots.

In a skillet, heat the butter. When it sizzles, saute the walnuts until they are coated and the butter begins to brown. Remove from the heat.

When the barley is tender, drain it in a colander. Add the drained barley and the remaining dressing to the serving bowl and mix well. Allow the salad to sit for at least 30 minutes before serving. Just before serving, gently toss the green beans and walnuts into the salad.

Turkish Spinach and Lentil Soup

From Sundays at Moosewood Restaurant

This isn't one of those eye-catching recipes, I don't think I would have ever made it if I didn't make the recipe on the page before: Lebanese Vegetable Soup (which is divine by the way) and kept accidentally turning the page. However, once I realized that it used bulghur, and I have so much bulghur from making Moosewood Chili (yum yum change your life yum) I decided to give it a try.

Serves 6 to 8


1 cup dried lentils
5 cups vegetable stock or water
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup olive oil

2 cups chopped onions
3 garlic cloves, pressed
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
2 bay leaves
1/2 cup raw bulghur
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
2 cups chopped tomatoes
1/4 cup tomato paste
pinch of dried rosemary (or to taste)
salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

2 cups stemmed, cleaned and coarsely chopped spinach

chopped fresh parsley


Rinse the lentils Bring them to a boil in the salted stock or water. Reduce the heat and simmer, covered, for 40 minutes.
Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a heavy soup pot. Saute the onions until translucent. Add the garlic, cayenne, bay leaves, and raw bulghur. Stir the mixture on medium heat until the onions and bulghur are lightly browned.
Mix in the parsley and tomatoes. When the tomatoes begin to give up their juice, gently stir in the tomato paste.
Pour the lentils and the liquid into the soup pot with the onions and bulghur. Simmer the soup for 15 minutes. Add the rosemary, salt, and pepper to taste. If the lentils and bulghur have adsorbed too much liquid, add more stock, water, or tomato juice. Remove the bay leaves.
Just before serving, stir in the fresh spinach and let it wilt in the hot soup. Garnish with more fresh parsley and serve with crusty bread.


This was absolutely delicious the next day. I tried some right after I made it and was quite disappointed, I blamed myself that I didn't go to the effort of adding stock instead of water. If I'm given the option of adding water, I do, because I am lazy. I was consumed with my water adding laziness on my way home on the bus today, so what a pleasant surprise I had when I warmed up a bowl for myself on my arrival, and it was very tasty! Filling and very wintery, though I would suggest adding some chilies to the recipe if I was to do it again.