White Bean and Rice Soup

Once in a while I find a recipe that looks amazing to me, but I’m not sure it’s something my family will like. I try my hardest to make meals that I know will be a hit around the dinner table, but sometimes I plan a meal just because I want to eat it, making sure to serve something on the side that I know they’ll like. Occasionally their taste buds surprise me and they end up loving the thing I thought I’d get to eat for lunch all week. This soup is one of those meals. Although my family will typically eat anything with rice and beans, they don’t typically like anything with turmeric.

The original recipe on NY Times called for canned beans and fresh dill, but good dried beans are far superior than canned, and I didn’t want to go to the grocery store just to buy dill, so I used dried thyme and marjoram instead. I also had some kale and basil pesto hanging out in my fridge, and some better than bouillon, so I threw those in too. What you’ll see below is my edited version, but I encourage you to make your own alterations if you don’t have what’s listed.

My family devoured it. There were no leftovers for me to eat the next day. There weren’t even enough leftovers to take a picture for the blog. I can’t decide if I’m upset about that or thrilled that they loved it so much they requested I make it again next week. I highly recommend the garlic toast on the side. It really is the very best way to use stale bread.

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White Bean and Rice Soup

Yield: 6-8

Author: Crystal Rowe, adapted from NYTimes Cooking

Prep time: 15 MinCook time: 45 MinTotal time: 1 Hour

Ingredients

Soup:

• ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 6 garlic cloves, smashed and chopped
• 2 large carrots, peeled and chopped
• 2 celery stalks, chopped
• 1 onion, chopped
• ½ tsp turmeric
• ⅓ cup raw white jasmine rice
• 3 cups cooked white beans
• ½ tsp dried thyme
• ½ tsp dried marjoram
• 2 Tbsp pesto
• 1 ½ tsp better than bouillon (or sub 3 cups broth for water)
• 6 cups water (or a mixture of broth/water)
• salt, black pepper, and red pepper flakes to taste

Crostini:

• Old stale bread, sliced into 1/4 inch slices
• Olive oil
• Garlic powder or a clove of garlic

Instructions

For Soup

1. In a heavy dutch oven or soup pot, heat olive oil over medium heat until shimmering.
2. Add garlic, carrots, celery and onion. Season with a pinch of salt and cook until the vegetables begin to soften.
3. Add the turmeric and mix well. Add the rice, stir well, and cook for a minute.
4. Add the beans, thyme, marjoram, better than bouillon (if using), 1½ tsp salt, and ¼ tsp black pepper. Stir well.
5. Add 6 cups of water/broth and bring to a boil.
6. Once boiling, cover completely, reduce heat to low and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the rice is completely soft and the beans are smooth and creamy. This will take about 30 minutes.
7. Uncover and let simmer uncovered for 10-15 minutes. Add salt, pepper and red pepper flakes to make it taste the way you like.
8. Serve into bowls. Squirt a little bit of lemon juice just before eating.

For Crostini

1. Preheat oven to 400° (convection setting if you have it).
2. Lay bread slices in single layer on cookie sheet.
3. Drizzle olive oil over bread slices. If using garlic powder, sprinkle it onto your bread here.
4. Put in oven until golden brown.
5. If using garlic clove, slice it in half. Rub cut side onto warm toasts.
6. Enjoy!

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Delicata Squash, Pinto Bean & Spinach Enchiladas

It is no secret that I love Mexican food. As a young adult, my friends would take me to La Parilla to celebrate every year around the sun. For almost every birthday meal, I request a Taco Bar. When I am in a cooking rut, Mexican is the first thing that comes to mind. Tacos, quesadillas, nachos or enchiladas are always a safe meal in the Rowe house. I often joke that I could eat Mexican flavors for every meal and not grow tired of it. Only I don’t think I’m joking—I actually think it’s true!

When I shared my favorite taco recipes, I referred to sweet potato and black bean enchiladas and gave you a vague idea on how to make them. Last week, after my youngest had been sick on again and off again for a week, I turned to this favorite comfort food—only this time instead of sweet potatoes I used delicata squash, instead of black beans I used pinto, and I threw some spinach in for good measure. I was thrilled to discover winter squash could get crispy the way sweet potatoes do. Because I don’t typically buy enchilada sauce at the store, I made my own. With just a few pantry ingredients, you can make it in the time it takes to roast your squash.

If you have a winter squash and are unsure what to do with it, I encourage you to give these enchiladas a try. You can also use sweet potatoes if that’s what you have on hand. No pinto beans? Use black beans. Or white beans. No spinach? Use arugula or swiss chard. Or leave it out altogether. I’m sharing a recipe to give you courage and confidence, but feel free to use what you have friends, it will all work out!

Note: This makes a huge pan of enchiladas. You can half the recipe or you can do what I do - bake half now and freeze half for later. It freezes well and is such a welcome discovery in the freezer when you come home from a long day and don’t know what to make for dinner.

Delicata Squash, Spinach, & Pinto Bean Enchiladas

Ingredients

For the Enchilada Sauce

1 medium onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1/4 cup taco seasoning of your choice
2 tsp sugar
2 pint jars of roasted tomato puree from your summer stash (or a 28 oz can of crushed tomatoes)
1 1/2 cups water (2 cups if using canned tomatoes)
2 Tbsp olive oil

For the Enchiladas:

1 delicata squash, peeled & chopped into 1/2 inch pieces
1-2 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp taco seasoning of your choice
3 cups cooked pinto beans (or 2 cans), drained and rinsed
3 oz spinach, cut into thin ribbons
3 cups shredded cheese (Monterrey Jack, Colby Jack, cheddar or a mix of any will do)
16-20 tortilla shells (we use flour, but you can use corn - you just may need more than 16)
1 batch Enchilada sauce

Instructions

For the Enchilada Sauce

1. Heat olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat.

2. When it starts to sizzle, add chopped onion. Cook for five minutes or until soft.

3. Add garlic, taco seasoning, and sugar. Cook 1-2 minutes longer until the spices smell heavenly.

4. Add tomato puree and sugar. Bring to a boil.

5. Turn the heat down to low and simmer 10-15 minutes, or until it begins to thicken. Taste and add salt or red pepper flakes to taste.

6. Turn the heat off and pour the sauce into a blender or food processor. You can also use an immersion blender, but your sauce might be a little chunky.

For the Enchiladas

1. Preheat oven to 450° (425° if using a convection oven).

2. On a sheet pan, mix delicata squash pieces with olive oil and taco seasoning. Roast for 20-25 minutes, until crisp around the edges, mixing once halfway through. When done, take out of the oven and let it cool slightly on the pan.

3. Turn oven down to 350°.

4. Get two 9x13 inch casserole dishes out of your cabinet. If you’re going to freeze one, now is a good time to line it with a double layer of foil. Once you freeze it, you can lift the foil out and not need a disposable pan. Or, you can use a disposable pan. Use what you have, remember?

5. When your squash is cool enough to handle, pour it into a large bowl with the beans, spinach, and 2 cups cheese. Mix gently with your hands or a wooden spoon.

6. Pour 1 cup enchilada sauce in the bottom of each casserole dish, spreading it to cover the bottom of the pan.

7. Put a small handful of filling in the center of a tortilla, fold in the edges, and roll gently. Place each enchilada in the pan. Repeat until your pans are full and your filling is gone.

8. Pour 1-2 cups enchilada sauce over the top of each pan, covering each enchilada. How much sauce you use really depends on how saucy you like your enchiladas. If you have any leftover sauce, you can save it for chilaquiles for brunch the next day.

9. Cover each pan with 1/2 cup shredded cheese.

10. If you’re feeding a crowd, go ahead and bake both pans at 350° for 25-30 minutes, or until warm and bubbly. If you like your cheese brown, you can turn the broiler on for 3-5 minutes, or just leave the whole pan in the oven 10-15 minutes longer.

11. If you’re saving half, you can pop it in the freezer just like that. When it’s completely frozen (I leave it in the freezer overnight), gently pull on the foil and viola - you have a disposable pan! Cover with another layer of foil (or two - you want it airtight). It will keep in your freezer for 3-5 months. When you’re ready to reheat, pull it out and put it back in your casserole pan. Bake, covered, in a 350° oven for 30 minutes, then remove the cover and bake for another 10-15 minutes, or until warm and bubbly. Your future self will thank you.

Favorite Taco Recipes

A few months ago I shared my love of tacos in my good friend Rachel’s newsletter in response to the writing prompt: What Recipe Defines You? [Did you miss it? You can find it in June’s Raise and Shine Letter.] I’ve been thinking about my favorite taco recipes ever since, so I thought I’d finally compile them all and share them with you on the blog. 

Do you have a recipe that defines you?! Please do share in the comments below – I can’t wait to hear about your favorite recipes!

Tacos for Breakfast:

I am a savory breakfast lover, so this Crispy Egg and Singed Kale taco goes on repeat for breakfast whenever I’m lucky enough to get kale from the farm. My kids don’t love it, but I don’t care—that just means more kale for me! The hot sauce on the top is key. Frank’s Red Hot is the best, in my opinion, but any of your favorite hot sauces will do. 

If you run out of kale, you can always make Bacon, Egg and Cheese tacos. I like to cook my bacon in the oven at 400°. I don’t preheat; I simply put my bacon in the cold oven then turn it on. When the bacon is crispy, I take it out and drain on paper towels while I scramble some eggs, mix in everyone’s favorite cheese, and then wrap it all up in a flour tortilla.

These Breakfast Burritos are pretty fantastic too – and they freeze beautifully. I used to send them with David when he went to the office every day. 

Tacos for Lunch:

These Easy Tostados aren’t tacos per se, but they are inspired by tacos. They are easy to make and delicious to eat. If you don’t have leftover chicken, you could use any leftover meat (see the carnita recipe below) or cooked beans.

These Chilaquiles have saved me many times when I open the fridge and don’t like anything that I see. I love them for breakfast, but they make a wonderful lunch too. 

Chicken Taquitos are an ultimate favorite in my house. They can take a little bit of time to prepare, so I like to make a huge batch and freeze them one weekend day. Then I can pull a few out and pop them in the toaster oven for an easy lunch any day of the week. 

Tacos for Dinner:

While you still have an abundance of corn and zucchini, make sure you try these Charred Corn Tacos with Zucchini Radish Slaw. I had no idea vegetable tacos could taste so good.

Technically any of the recipes above would also be amazing [and easy] for dinner, but I like to make fancy tacos for dinner every once in a while. Sweet potato and black bean tacos are one of our favorite fall and winter meals. Cut sweet potatoes into small cubes, toss with olive oil and taco seasoning, then roast at 450° until they begin to get crispy and dark on the edges. Toss them with some black beans (or whatever cooked beans you have in your fridge), put them in your favorite tortilla, and top with cheese and other toppings (or eat them as-is). My kids ADORE these tacos and I love how easy they are.

These Cauliflower Tacos are another fall favorite. Are you catching on here? Basically, you can roast any vegetable and put it in a tortilla with some beans and cheese and you have an instant winner at the dinner table.

On the next rainy day, make these slow-cooked carnitas. I’ve made them with pork and with beef brisket. You can’t go wrong with either. The leftovers make excellent nachos, or the chilaquiles or taquitos I linked to earlier. You could even turn the leftovers into a BBQ sandwich if you (gasp) wanted something other than Mexican.

And my ultimate favorite fancy version of a taco is this Vegetarian Taco Torte. It’s beautiful. It’s easier to make than it looks. And it is absolutely delicious. 

A few other favorite resources for making amazing tacos:

We buy 90% of our beans from Rancho Gordo. They have a dramatically different taste than any canned or dried bean you can buy at the grocery store. I highly recommend them. I also like to buy heirloom beans from local farms, but I still prefer RG. We do, on occasion, eat canned beans, but tacos are never as good as they are with RG beans. 

I buy McCormick Taco Seasoning in bulk and basically use it any time I don’t know what to make for a meal. Sprinkle it on any vegetable or meat, throw it on the grill or roast it in the oven, and you have almost-instant taco fillings. (I have made my own taco seasoning, but in my opinion McCormick is the one that tastes the best.)

I didn’t link to any enchilada recipes here, but they are another way I can get my kids (and husband) to eat anything. Anytime I have a bunch of stuff in the fridge that I don’t know what to do with, I mix it with cheese, wrap it in tortillas, and smother them with this easy Enchilada Sauce. It never lets me down.

The Baking of a Dream

Several months ago, Literary Mama invited readers to experiment with writing fiction in response to Sara Dutily’s essay, Daily Bread. Always excited to write about sourdough, I cooked up this short story.

The smell of freshly baked sourdough bread wafts through the neighborhood streets. Pushing her double stroller up the cobblestone alley, Maeve pauses every few steps, confirming her two-year-old twins are still buckled. Last week they learned how to unbuckle themselves and they’ve been escape artists ever since. The toddlers gabble in a dialect only they understand and Maeve wonders if they’ll always share this language of their own. 

Maeve stops in front of a simple cape, freshly painted blue with a steep gabled roof and a brick chimney sprouting from its side. The aroma of bread is vivid in the air. “Okay girls, we're here.” Her twins hop out as if performing a magic trick. They clamber up two uneven steps and turn to Maeve with toothy grins on their faces. “We did it, Mama!” 

“You did it!” Maeve replies; smiling as she rings the doorbell. Hattie answers the door wearing her favorite apron. The twins barrel inside, running straight to the playroom to find Hattie’s kids. 

“Come in!” Hattie opens the door and rushes back to the kitchen. Maeve giggles at white handprints slapped on the rear of Hattie’s black pants. The kitchen floor is covered with flour dust. Bannetons nestled into produce bags are lined up on the kitchen counters, waiting for their turn in the oven. Bowls with sourdough starter stuck to their sides tower out of the kitchen sink.

Maeve rests on a barstool at the counter. “Well, this is it, Hattie. Today your dream comes true.” Hattie pours two cups of coffee and plops herself on the stool next to Maeve. She inhales the steam rising from her mug and sighs at the sight of the mess in her kitchen. Hattie’s been baking sourdough bread for more than twelve years. What started as a hobby became the one way she indulged herself after becoming a mom. Even when her babies were just weeks old, she continued to bake bread. When her oldest turned three, a dream to open a neighborhood bakery sprouted in her mind.  

Hattie shakes her head in disbelief. “I can’t believe it’s really happening.” She takes a deep breath. With an audible exhale, her shoulders relax. For the last year, she’s filled out paperwork, applied for licenses, read everything she could find about starting an in-home bakery. Two weeks ago she hung her first sign: “Fresh Bread For Sale. Call Hattie. Delivery available.”

“I didn’t realize how energizing this would be.” Maeve eyes Hattie suspiciously as Hattie continues. “It’s exhausting, yes. But my heart feels more full than ever before. It’s like a piece of me was missing before I made this dream my reality. Thank you for being my first customer.” 

“Are you kidding me?” Maeve nods her head, noticing Hattie’s eyes start to glisten. “Your bread is the best in the state. I’ll be here every week.” Maeve stands, leaving her coffee cup on the counter; “Now, what can I do to help?” 

Weedy Tomatoes and the Coming of Winter

Not long ago a morning chill in the air would bring with it a sense of dread. The cooler mornings a sign that winter is on its way. That snow will be here before I know it. And with it a promise of cold weather to stay until May of next year (or even longer!) The nippy mornings of fall hint that the beautiful weather of summer is gone. The dark, cold days of winter coming to take their place. 

But something changed over the last year or so. Somehow my body has acclimated to the weather in New England. Instead of bringing dread, the cool wind on my face blows a longing to my heart. I find myself yearning for the quiet and coziness that Winter brings.

I walk around the house each morning, opening the windows to let the morning air in. Today I noticed our sunroom windowsills are covered with green tomatoes. David harvested the remaining fruits this weekend. Most of them unripe. Seeing them, you’d never guess that we didn’t plant a single tomato plant this year. After three summers of fighting with plants to grow and produce fruits, I gave up. This year I decided to let the farmers grow my food. Instead of planting seeds, I bought the biggest farm share I could find. Yet here we are, with the best tomato harvest we’ve had since we moved here four years ago. 

I gather the ripe cherry tomatoes and rinse them in the sink. Water droplets bead up on their red and yellow skins, like sweat on my forehead after a long run. I slice them in half and my thoughts turn to the tomatoes last year that were left on the counter until it was too late.

We compost all of our scraps, our attempt to return to the earth that which we won’t use. It turns out if you throw all your rotten tomatoes in your compost, then put that same compost all over your yard the next Spring, you end up with volunteer tomato plants everywhere. Like weeds. They grow out of every crack they can find. And because you worked so hard the last few years trying to grow tomatoes, you won’t have the heart to pull them out the way you pull out weeds. “Just let them grow,” you’ll say; “Maybe we’ll get a few tomatoes without trying this year.”

The months will go by and your weedy tomato plants will grow into the most beautiful tomato plants you’ve ever seen. They’ll grow so tall they’ll take over your towering asparagus plant. Baby tomatoes will hang off of them like concord grapes on a fully mature vine. At the end of the season, you’ll have more green tomatoes than you know what to do with.

I arrange the tomatoes on a sheet pan and drizzle olive oil over the top. Grab a pinch of salt from the jar just to my right and sprinkle it over the cut tomatoes. It sparkles back at me like fairy dust. These tomatoes will be slowly roasted into something that tastes like savory candy. Slow roasted cherry tomatoes are one of my favorite Winter treats.

I laugh to myself as I put the sheet pan the oven, where it will stay for half the day. This feels like the ultimate gift from our yard this year. I intentionally didn’t grow a garden and yet here I am. In October. Harvesting green tomatoes from a volunteer plant. Letting them ripen on the windowsill. Slow roasting them for the Winter days ahead. Refusing to let even the weeds go to waste.

The Towering Asparagus

We planted asparagus last year as a feeble experiment
in designing an edible perennial garden. 

You should wait to harvest the first asparagus 
for at least three years after planting;

it needs all its energy as an infant
to become a sustainable living thing.

But I couldn’t resist the temptation 
and cut three stalks when they first appeared; 

I ate them raw right out of the ground;
their crunch lingering on my tongue, sweeter than candy.

When the next stalks started to grow, we caged them
with old tomato cages lying in the yard and left it alone. 

I gave up on tomatoes this year—
on all gardening really;

we don’t get enough sun 
and I don’t have much patience or discipline

 Yet the abandoned asparagus towers above the grass, 
with its fluttering fronds and ruby red balls 

like ornaments on a Christmas tree,
promising gifts to come.

She Forgot to Tell the Story (plus a bonus recipe for pasta filled with greens)

She brought her ravioli maker to Show and Tell. But she failed to tell the story. 

She talked about when they moved to Massachusetts and joined a CSA, wanting to eat locally and seasonally. She told them she bought a huge chest freezer and now spends her summer and fall preserving food, stocking up, preparing for winter. She told them if they had any questions about canning or freezing or how to eat seasonally, she was their gal. But she forgot to tell the deeper story behind the ravioli maker.

She forgot to tell them she spent that afternoon making ravioli from what she found in her freezer the day before. She found kohlrabi greens and some leftover roasted butternut squash. Not knowing what to do with the kohlrabi greens she blanched early in the summer (who even eats kohlrabi greens anyway?) she left them on the counter to drain for hours before squeezing them until they were completely dry. “I know!” she thought, “I’ll make pasta!” She threw the greens in the food processor with some flour, salt, and eggs and after a minute or two they magically became dough.

She formed the dough into a ball, wrapped it tightly in a plastic wrap blanket, and left it to rest on the counter as she cleaned the food processor for its next task. As she grabbed a towel and wiped the water off the clean food processor, she patted herself on the back for her creativity in the kitchen. Little did she know when her family bought her a pasta roller for Mother’s Day last year that homemade pasta would become her new fallback meal. She never dreamed she’d be here, turning greens into pasta with every chance she could find.

She turned to the counter and stared at the squash, thinking back to when she first roasted it on a sheet pan to go with a Roast Chicken sometime last fall. Knowing it wouldn’t get eaten as leftovers, she froze it for later, and forgot about it until now. She can’t bear to throw away food, not when she knows the work that goes into its growth. In a fit of inspiration, she dumped the squash in the food processor and pureed it until smooth. “This will make delicious ravioli,” she thinks, “but for the kids, I’ll have to make cheese.”

This is why she brought the ravioli maker to show and tell in the first place. She wanted to tell the story of how learning to cook seasonally helped her be creative. It helped her find a purpose. Helped her put down roots. 

She wanted to tell them about the time her family first visited Boston so many years ago and found themselves at a Farmer’s Market where they could buy raspberries and butternut squash and celery too. How in that moment she turned to her husband and said, “Okay, we can move here, as long as I can buy all of our food from a farm.” They had been part of a CSA in Atlanta, but the variety was nothing compared to what she saw there. She had been exploring bigger farms in the Atlanta area, and this move felt like an opportunity to find one of the things they had been searching for. 

She wanted to tell the story of how that farm they found their first year in MA was the first place that felt like home. That farm-fresh food is a large part of why they stayed in Massachusetts three years ago when all she really wanted to do was move back to Georgia.  She wanted to tell the story of how preserving food connects her to family who live so far away; how they too spend their summers stocking up whatever food they can, because it’s what her Grandma used to do.

She forgot to tell the story of how she found herself in that farmstand, her garden, and her kitchen that year. She learned how to be creative with the food they were given. She learned to read recipes—and to alter them—and she learned that everything tastes better when you get it from the farm. She learned that her kids will eat anything if she tells them Farmer Jamie grew it. But most of all, she learned that cooking can be therapeutic, if we give ourselves the space to try it. 

She brought the ravioli maker to show and tell because so much of who she is—of who she has always been—revolves around taking what she’s given and turning it into something beautiful. But she forgot to tell the story, so she took her failure and turned it into writing. And she realized that maybe it wasn’t such a failure after all.

Pasta Dough filled with Greens

*Adapted from Smitten Kitchen to use any and all greens found in my freezer.

Ingredients:

1 bunch blanched greens of any kind (to blanch greens, you throw them in a pot of boiling water for 2-3 minutes. Put them directly in a bowl of ice water for 2-3 minutes until cool. Use or freeze.)
1 ½ cups semolina flour
1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon sea salt or kosher salt
3 large eggs
3 large egg yolks
Additional flour as needed for rolling out the dough

Directions:

Drain your greens and squeeze as much water out as you can. It helps to use paper towels to get your greens as dry as possible.

Dump greens, flours, and salt in the food processor and pulse until the greens are chopped and mixed into the flour well. Add eggs and egg yolks and pulse until the dough starts to come together. Pour the dough onto the counter and knead into a ball. Let sit for 5 minutes and knead again for about 5 minutes. Cover with plastic wrap and let sit on the counter for at least an hour. You can also stick it in the fridge overnight, just make sure to let it come to room temperature before you try to roll it out.

Divide the dough into six pieces. Roll each piece as thin as you possibly can, or run it through a pasta roller. I use this roller that attaches to my KitchenAid Mixer, and I run it through until I get to number 5. You can use it for lasagna or ravioli at this stage, or you can let the large sheets sit on your counter for 5 minutes before cutting it into its final shape. 

Cook in a pot of boiling salted water for 2-5 minutes, or until al dente. Drain and toss with marinara or butter, and top with parmesan cheese. Enjoy, while being completely amazed that everyone in your family has just devoured greens that would otherwise have been composted.

Gramma's Swedish Tea Ring

In a year when it seems like so many traditions have to be put on hold, I’ve been trying to find ways to make Christmas extra special and meaningful. So this week, we dug deep and revived a family tradition that’s been lost for several years.  

When I was meal planning for Christmas Eve and Christmas, I remembered that my Gramma—and then later my Aunt—always made some kind of bread ring. I always wake up SUPER early on Christmas. I have never been an early riser, but on Christmas, my body has always had an internal alarm clock. Even now, as a 40-year-old Mom, I’m the one that wakes up at 5am and creeps down the stairs to see the magic that has appeared under the Christmas tree overnight. When I was young, we would start opening presents not long after waking, then take a break between opening presents to eat the delicious bread-ring-thingy—but before this week, I didn’t remember anything else about said bread ring.

So I did what I do whenever I want to revive a family tradition that has somehow gotten misplaced - I texted my Mom’s oldest sister, my dear Aunt Jay. She sent me the recipe—for what I now know is called a Swedish Tea Ring—and reminded me that when she was growing up, Gramma would make several batches, wrap them in foil, put them in a wagon, and walk up and down her neighborhood delivering them to her friends. Um, hello, that totally sounds like something I would do. 

And then I realized - in this weird year where it feels like nothing is normal, making dozens of Swedish Tea Rings and delivering them to all my friends is something that doesn’t have to be put on hold! Maybe I can’t have Christmas dinner with anyone outside my home, but I can absolutely provide a tasty breakfast treat to everyone I know!

And after our taste test this afternoon, I can promise you this is a family tradition that won’t be misplaced ever again.

And just in case you want to make your own Swedish Tea Ring for Christmas morning, here’s the recipe! One batch makes 2 big rings or 4 small rings - perfect for sharing with your friends and neighbors.

Gramma's Swedish Tea Ring

Beverage Family Recipe
Makes 2 large rings or 4 small

Ingredients for bread:
4 1/2 tsp active dry yeast
1/4 cup warm water
1/4 cup shortening
1/2 cup sugar
Nuts, raisins, craisins, cherries as desired
1 cup milk, scalded
1 tsp salt
2 eggs, beaten well
1 tsp lemon zest
4 1/2 cups all purpose flour

Ingredients for filling:
3 Tbsp melted butter
1 cup brown sugar
1 Tbsp cinnamon

Ingredients for glaze:
1 cup powdered sugar
3 Tbsp water

Instructions:

1. Dissolve yeast in warm water.

2. Pour scalded milk into large bowl (or the bowl of your Kitchenaid Mixer). Add shortening, sugar and salt to the scalded milk. Cool to lukewarm.

3. Add yeast, eggs and lemon zest to the cooled mixture. Add flour and beat well. If using a stand mixer, use the beater attachment here.

4. Switch to dough hook and knead on low for 5 minutes. If by hand, turn onto floured board to knead til smooth, satiny, and supple.

5. Place dough in a greased bowl, cover and let rise til doubled.

6. Once doubled, punch the dough down and divide into two (or four) pieces. Roll each piece into a rectangle approximately 1/4 inch thick. Brush with butter and sprinkle liberally with cinnamon and brown sugar. Add raisins and nuts if desired.

7. Now roll the dough tightly (as if you're making a cinnamon roll) and form into rings. Pinch the ends together.

8. Make cuts 1 inch apart all the way around, and fairly deep. Turn outward to open the cuts. My Gramma always put pecans and cherries in the cuts - but I left them plain this time around.

9. Cover with a tea towel and let rise in a warm place for an hour or so.
10. Bake at 375 for 20-25 minutes - until golden brown. Let cool completely. Drizzle with powdered sugar glaze.

11. Once completely cool, wrap in foil. I like to freeze them until I give them away (or until I want to eat it). Take out of the freezer before you go to bed on Christmas Eve. On Christmas morning, when you make your coffee, put the foil wrapped ring directly in a 250-degree oven for 15-20 minutes or until warm and gooey.

Veggie Grain Bowl Recipe

One of the greatest challenges in our CSA Adventures this year is that we get no selection on what we get each week. We’re receiving a prepacked share and there’s no swap table to swap out things you don’t think you’ll use. Instead of being bummed about it, I’ve decided to view it as a challenge, and have found all kinds of new ways to eat veggies!

This Grain Bowl is my new favorite quick lunch or dinner. It’s inspired by this recipe in the latest issue of Bon Appetit. I love it because I used TONS of veggies from my CSA shares. It’s super versatile, and you can really put anything in it. Try it out - and then come back here and let me know what veggies you snuck into yours!

Veggie Grain Bowl

Ingredients:

1 cup cooked farro (or other grain - brown or black rice, barley, wheat berries, whatever is in your pantry)
2 boiled eggs 
Orange Pickled Fennel (see recipe below)
Grapeseed other light-flavored oil
2 Tbsp lime juice
Sriracha to taste
1 tsp soy sauce
1 tsp toasted sesame oil
toasted sesame seeds
1/2 small zucchini, sliced in half moon shapes
1/2 small onion, sliced in small strips
1 cup thinly sliced raw veggies - I used shredded carrots, sliced cucumbers and scallions. 

Preparation:

1. Saute' zucchini and onion in a small pat of butter with a glug of oil. If you have mushrooms, you can throw those in as well.

2. Make dressing - mix lime juice, 2 Tbsp oil, soy sauce, and sesame oil in a small bowl. Add salt & pepper to taste.

3. Put cooked farro in bottom of a large bottom bowl. Top with boiled egg, sauteed veggies, and boiled egg. Drizzle dressing on top. Garnish with cilantro, scallion greens, and toasted sesame seeds.

Orange Pickled Fennel

Slice fennel very thin using a mandolin and place in a bowl. Sprinkle kosher salt, mix well, and leave to sit for at least an hour. Pour fennel into a colander and squeeze to remove excess water. Return to bowl and combine with 1 small orange, sliced and 1/4 tsp ground pepper or 1 Tbsp whole peppercorns. Pack fennel and orange into a clean mason jar, and cover with apple cider vinegar. Stick in the refrigerator for at least 24 hours before enjoying. Should last 2-4 weeks in the fridge (but mine always get eaten way before they go bad).

Eggplant: An Underrated Summer Beauty

Have you ever really looked at an eggplant? It’s a beautiful vegetable. Strikingly purple, it comes in various shades, shapes, and sizes. I remember the day when I first realized I liked eggplant. We got loads of it in our CSA in Atlanta, so I had to learn how to use it. Weelicious came to my rescue over and over again. And then I discovered Smitten Kitchen, who also gave me loads of ideas on how to use this summer beauty. I’ve branched out a bit since then, but still remain true to my favorites.

Three weeks ago, we got our first eggplant in our CSA share. I was with a friend, who refused to put eggplant in her bag, and I promptly chose one and threw it in her bag for her. “But I don’t like eggplant,” she said. “WHAT?! It’s so yummy! You just have to find the right recipe. Get one. Try it. I’ll send you my favorites.”

If you, like my friend, are getting tons of eggplant that you just don’t know what to do with, I’m coming to your rescue. I’ve made it my mission to help you fall in love with what I think is probably one of the most underrated vegetables out there. Today, I share with you what I think are the very best eggplant recipes out there. Try out a few … and come back and let me know what you think. I want to know what your favorites are!

Eggplant Burgers - These are a staple in our house. We literally make hundreds of them every summer, and my kids eat them all winter long. When I don’t know what to feed them, I grab an eggplant burger out of the freezer, pop it in the oven, and serve it with a smoothie on the side. You should hear the cheers when I say “Want an eggplant burger for lunch?”

Eggplant Parm Melts - Deb has taught me that you can turn anything into an open faced sandwich and it be a hit. These are quick and easy, and who doesn’t love that on a summer weeknight?

Eggplant Calzone - This may be my absolute favorite beat-the-winter-blues meal. When I’m overloaded with summer eggplant, I roast the small ones and freeze them in pre-measured baggies. It makes it easy to grab a bag in the morning, and make a calzone at night. My kids don’t like these, but I just make them a cheese pizza ;-). I make the recipe in this cookbook, but this recipe looks pretty scrumptious too.

Sautéed Eggplant with Honey - Can we talk about surprising recipes that my children LOVE? This is one of them. I think they ate an entire small eggplant between the two of them when I made this last week. You soak the eggplant in milk overnight (although I’ll be honest, sometimes it gets soaked for 2 nights), lightly coat it in flour mixed with salt, and saute in olive oil. This is a summer favorite. We serve it with a side of fruit (maybe watermelon or cantaloupe or peaches and blueberries) and sometimes corn on the cob, depending on what we’ve picked up at the farm that week.

Roasted Eggplant with Yogurt and Tomato Relish - if you’re an eggplant hater, don’t start with this recipe. If you love eggplant, you’ll love this. It’s one of my favorite summer lunches. No one else in the family likes it though, so I keep this one as a personal indulgence. But I could’t leave it off a list of favorites!

Smoky Eggplant Dip - this is a new favorite. A friend came over last week and her 7-year-old devoured the bowl I had stashed in my fridge. I love it served with small pitas or flatbread dippers, or homemade baguettes, or a plateful of raw veggies. I’m going to experiment with freezing it this year - we’ll see how it goes!

Quinoa-crusted Eggplant & Zucchini Parmesan - This one is not fast. Nor is it easy. But ya’ll …. this recipe is out of this world delicious. You can use any pasta sauce, but this marinara is the best I’ve ever had and takes this recipe up to the next level. This is a great celebration meal. Or if you’re insane like me, it’s a great meal to double or triple when you’re up to your eyeballs with zucchini and eggplant and stash it in the freezer for when you want something that feels luxurious but you don’t want to cook.

Pasta with Eggplant Puree - My 5-year-old begged for this recipe last week. It’s SO easy, and so delicious. It also freezes well, so I make several batches and toss it in the freezer for winter. You can use it over any pasta, but the small chunky noodles are my favorite. I think it’d be great with grilled chicken on top.

Roasted Eggplant Soup - For all you soup lovers out there, this is a good one. It doesn’t have the best look, but the taste is out of this world and it’s also a good freezer recipe. In the winter (or really early Spring, when I’m craving Summer), I pull it out and add some white beans and croutons and it feels like a real gourmet treat.

Ratatouille - No summer would be complete without a good ratatouille, am I right? Just the name ratatouille is fun to say, and this recipe is suuuuuuuuper easy, extra freezable, and gives you so many options later down the road. My favorite way to use it is to put it on a pizza crust or flatbread with some goat cheese. Pop it in a 400-degree oven for a bit and you have a better lunch than you can buy anywhere. The chicken stew recipe in the link is pretty delicious too. It’s great served over pasta, and I think you could even throw it in a risotto and find it to be delicious.

There you have it - ten favorite eggplant recipes to get you trying something new. Now you have no excuse to let that beautiful eggplant sit unloved! What will you try first?

Photo by Nina Luong on Unsplash.