Pesto, Kale, and Mushroom Spaghetti Squash

Italian Style Spaghetti Squash

Recipe Adapted from Allrecipes.com

It’s spring! Though spring officially arrives today, it will be a month or more before we start seeing local spring veggies. In the meantime, using up last year’s harvest of winter squash is prudent, but boring. But with just a little bit of cheating—making a winter pesto with imported basil leaves or buying premade pesto at the market—last year’s spaghetti squash is elevated to Italianesque loveliness. Combined with in-season kale, onions, and mushrooms, plus a dose of Parmesan, garlic, and red pepper, this spaghetti squash awakens even the most jaded of winter palates.

Immune Boost: Mushroom and Barley Soup

Immune Boosting Deliciousness

Recipe Adapted from Unidentified Clipping

It’s January. I don’t know about you, but it seems like everyone around me is sick, getting sick, or getting over being sick. From people at work to kids in the library to shoppers in the mall, why don’t these people just stay home? But since they won’t, we healthy folks need to tend to our immune systems. Extra vitamin C, extra rest, extra hot lemon tea, extra greens, extra whatever it is that makes us feel healthier. And mushroom soup. I was pleasantly surprised that instead of tasting thin and medicinal, this soup is hearty and delicious, more like a stew. Even my mushroom-soup-wary husband likes it.

Asparagus, Bacon, Roasted Pepper, and Sausage Strata

"Loaded" Strata

Recipe by Robin

Ten or more years ago I was served strata at an Easter brunch. It was so beautiful and yummy that I’ve wanted to make one ever since. The process of preparing all of the strata layers, assembling them in order, and pouring the egg mixture in was appealing. But the idea of refrigerating it for 10 hours to allow the bread to soak up the eggs and milk—that means planning—seemed daunting. But spring inspires new activities, especially when I see tender young asparagus on sale. I might get used to eating brunch at home weekends instead of going out…maybe.

Bruce's Mushroom Kale Carrot Stir Fry

Kale, Mushrooms, and Carrots: Help Yourself to Health

Recipe by Bruce

Don’t you love it when (1) another family member cooks dinner, (2) they use up all the odd leftover veggies in the fridge, (3) what they cook turns out amazing, and (4) you have a pen, paper, and foresight to write down what they did so they can recreate their masterpiece again and again. Kudos to hubby Bruce for creating this recipe a few years back, using ingredients that we had on hand. Not only is it delicious, but also nearly every ingredient promotes health and builds the immune system with vitamins, minerals, phytochemicals, and antioxidants. Kale is high in vitamins A, B-complex, C, and K, as well as various flavonoids with antioxidant properties. Carrots have lots of vitamin A and several minerals. Mushrooms, ginger, and garlic are all nutritional superstars. The dish is colorful and low in fat. There is simply no downside to this recipe.

Shrimp Scampi with Mushrooms and Sundried Tomatoes

Scampi is Italian for Shrimp

Recipe by Robin

The readers have spoken! The photo of a mistake in my How to Tweak a Recipe post inspired more comments about how delicious the shrimp looks than the boo-boo with the salt. Shrimp is easy and fast to prepare, and almost everyone likes it. So I thought I’d share a recipe I made up a few years back when I lucked into a locally harvested shrimp windfall. I don’t prepare shrimp frequently because finding sustainable shrimp is challenging.

Chicken Marengo

Add Chicken to Sauce and Simmer

Recipe by Robin

Chicken Marengo. I’d heard the name for years, but never realized that it’s a historical dish. Napoleon Bonaparte’s chef Dunand first whipped it up after Napoleon’s victory at the Battle of Marengo in northern Italy in 1800. Using miscellaneous foraged ingredients, Dunand employed considerable skill in crafting the original recipe using chicken, eggs, tomatoes, onions, garlic, and crayfish, plus a couple of glugs of cognac from Napoleon’s flask.  The result was a chicken-tomato-onion stew served with fried eggs, crayfish, and soldiers’ bread rations on the side. Although this sounds like it would only taste good if you were camping, Napoleon considered the combination lucky. He insisted that Dunand prepare it the same way time and again when they returned home, despite the chef’s desire to modify the ingredients. Fortunately modern chefs are no longer literally under the sword, and have reinvented the recipe minus the eggs and crayfish and plus a few classic ingredients from Italian cuisine.

Greek Frittata with Spinach, Tomatoes, and Feta

Brunch is Served (Add Fruit & Muffin)

Recipe inspired by the Heavenly Café

Every couple of Sundays, and not too early, I can be seen at the nearby Heavenly Café eating their Greek Scramble with a fruit cup and a homemade muffin. Although I haven’t mastered the art of the muffin as they have, I was able to create a rather convincing Greek Scramble-like frittata today. Tomatoes aren’t quite in season here, so I did use a not-quite-seasonal ingredient. Reconstituted sundried tomatoes from last season would have been better. I tried, but my reconstituted dried tomatoes look blackish and had no smell at all. Who knows when they were dried? Before last year, and probably by quite a bit.

Marinated Grilled Balsamic Portobello Mushrooms with Rosemary

Tasty, Toothsome Morsel

Recipe inspired by Kelly

Did you know that Portobello mushrooms are grown-up versions of the common button mushroom that we see in US markets everywhere? And Crimini mushrooms are the same Agaricus bisporus species in adolescent form? In fact, all white and brown mushrooms cultivated in the US (except shitakes and oyster mushrooms) are varieties of this species. Button mushrooms are native to both North American and European grasslands.

Although mushrooms are now cultivated year-round, I can imagine our ancestors gathering most mushrooms in spring and summer, during warm weather with moderate to high rainfall. So, I’m thinking it’s Portobello season now, and not just because it’s BBQ season in the US!

Sautéed Chanterelles

Chanterelles: A Colorful Side Dish

Recipe Inspired by New Leaf Market

Happy Solstice, All! Tonight is the longest night of the year here in the northern hemisphere, and the last of the golden sunlight left the tops of the redwoods before 5 pm. It’s cold, dark, and damp in the woods, urging us to spend more time indoors, preferably in front of a fireplace, keeping warmth and light within ourselves as winter begins.

Late Summer Pasta with Leek, Pepper, and Tomato Sauce

Top with Cheese, or Not!

Recipe by Robin

In late summer we are blessed with lots of tomatoes and basil, and this pasta dish features both. We also had a large leek and lots of scallions, but you could substitute any kind of onions. Similar to my Pasta with Onion-Garlic Red Sauce and Veggie Crumbles and Early Summer Pasta with Red and Green Sauce, this recipe can be adapted to include other late summer veggies like zucchini or summer squash.

Bruce's Veggie Stir-fry

Bruce's Latest Stir-fry

Recipe by Bruce

My husband Bruce is the king of stir-frying, though he's quite modest if you ask him about it. Using a frighteningly high heat and an intimidatingly large wok, he cooks vegetables to perfection for any occasion. This most recent stir-fry was designed, as usual, to use up large quantities of veggies received from our CSA farm share. Because we were having Crispy Tilapia with Lemon-Onion Relish, he chose to use more cider vinegar than usual, to stand up to the strong taste of the relish. Stir-frying must be done quickly, so vegetables remain crisp rather than turning soggy. To execute this properly, one must be completely prepared before cooking.

Rolled Sole with Oyster Mushrooms

Recipe from The Chinese Herbal Cookbook

Another recipe from the wonderful Chinese Herbal Cookbook, published in England, which combines Chinese herbs with European recipes. One odd thing about this recipe is that it doesn’t give a weight for the fish. Lemon sole fillets are native to Northern Europe, so are not a good choice for Californian locavores. Luckily this recipe is surprisingly versatile: summer flounder (on US east coast), black cod (sablefish), and tilapia (west coast) are all good substitutes that are sustainably harvested--although the name “Rolled Tilapia” sounds considerably less poetic than “Rolled Sole.”  The trick is to get uniformly sized fillets, so they all cook evenly. I used rather large (~1/2 lb. each) tilapia, and would not go larger. You’ll notice it takes several toothpicks, but I’ve found that to be true with fillets of all sizes. Functional but not elegant, you can remove the ‘picks before serving. I also had 10 oz. mushrooms on hand, which helped fill the large fillets.