Blogroll | Congregation Darchei Noam

Can we do better in our personal lives?

Housing and Transportation are top emitters of greenhouse gas and toxins. Food loss and waste are important contributors. “It is estimated that food loss and waste in the U.S. is equal to 42 coal fired power plants.”  https://www.usda.gov/media/blog/2022/01/24/food-waste-and-its-links-greenhouse-gases-and-climate-change

Reducing Food Waste and Resources

Use of leftover vegetables for a quick stir fry is always a good use.  When preparing a stir fry with fresh vegetables here is a tip for the use of asparagus in season.  Instead of discarding their hard ends completely, thinly slice them into rounds as far as you can and add the slices to your stir fry.  These slices can be used for other cooked dishes.

Prepare your own vegetable stock using parts of vegetables you discard when preparing them. Some examples are the peelings of carrots and parsnips and tips of green beans, the remainder of the asparagus’s hard ends.

The use of local seasonal produce is an important step in reducing our energy footprint.   Here are some examples of dishes to try.  Roast sweet potato is also good in soups – if you have any leftover, try it in Joel’s soup recipe.

Gloria Boxen, gboxen@rogers.com

Sweet Potato Kale Soup with White Beans

 

1 head garlic 

3 tablespoons olive oil, divided 

2 leeks, thinly sliced (white and light green parts only) 

1 sprig fresh thyme 

2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch pieces 

6 cups vegetable broth, or more as needed 

1 small bunch kale, stems removed, chopped into bite-size pieces 

1 14 ounce can white beans (e.g. cannellini or great northern), rinsed and drained 

1 teaspoon salt 

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 

 

1) Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Slice top off the garlic head, exposing the tops of the cloves. Drizzle with 1 tablespoon oil, wrap tightly with aluminum foil and bake until cloves are soft, 30-40 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool. Squeeze the cloves out of their shells into a small bowl and set aside. 

 

2) Meanwhile, heat remaining 2 tablespoons oil in a large pot set over medium heat.  Add the sprig of  thyme and cook until leeks turn translucent, about 8 minutes. Add sweet potatoes and continue cooking, stirring frequently, until potatoes begin to soften, 10 minutes. 

 

3) Add roasted garlic and broth and bring to a simmer. Lower heat to medium-low and cook until sweet potatoes are tender, about 12 minutes. Add kale and white beans and cook just until kale begins to wilt, 4-5 minutes. If desired, add a little more broth. Season with salt and pepper and serve immediately. 

Joel Troster

 

Roast Squash

This is a simple and delicious way of roasting acorn squash.

Use one acorn squash or a sweet dumpling squash.  The latter, yellow with green stripes, has a very short harvest season.

 

1. Rinse your squash. 

2. Cut the squash into 5 or 10 segments as desired.  If the squash is very difficult to cut through, microwave it for a few seconds on high.

 

3. Place the segments on a baking sheet and roast in the oven on a bottom rack for 1 hour.  In my convention oven, I set the temperature of 315F.  Sometimes if the slices are thick, I start at 320F for about 20 minutes and then lower the temperature to 315F. I don’t use a convection setting.   A 9” x 13” baking pan can be used.

 

4. At one hour or so, when the cut side down has started to brown and caramelize, turn over the squash and add just enough water to cover the baking sheet. Check again l hour or less depending how quickly the squash has already cooked. 

5. When fully cooked, remove from the oven.  To make removal easy, add some water to the baking sheet.

 

6. Serve as is or if you wish, add butter or a vegan substitute spread one side.  

 

Gloria Boxen\

gboxen@rogers.com

 

 

Spinach and Leek Quiche

 

from https://www.yummly.com/recipe/Spinach-and-Leek-Quiche-9142528?prm-v1#directions

 

Ingredients

Pie Dough

• 2 1/2 cups (380 grams) all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoon white granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 20 tablespoons (284 grams) cold unsalted butter cubed
• 1/2 cup ice-cold water or more if required.
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice

 

Quiche Filling

• 5 ounces (142 grams) baby spinach washed and partially dried
• 1 tablespoon vegetable or olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 2 cups (180 grams) sliced leeks
• 2 tablespoons (28 grams) unsalted butter
• 2 garlic cloves minced
• Lemon zest from one lemon
• 1/2 cup (50 grams) shredded gruyere
• 1/2 cup (50 grams) shredded parmesan
• 3 (150 grams) large eggs
• 1/2 cup whole milk
• 1/2 cup heavy cream

 

Instructions

 

Pie Dough

• Put the flour, sugar and salt in a bowl and stir to combine. Place the flour mixture into a food processor.
• Cut the butter into 1/2-inch cubes and add it to the flour mixture. Pulse the dough until it is coarse and crumbly, and the butter is about the size of peas.
• Pour the mixture into a large bowl. Add 1/4 cup of ice water and use a rubber spatula to toss together. Add the remaining water and mix into the dough until it starts to come together. It will still be slightly crumbly or shaggy but will hold together when squeezed into a ball. If more water is needed add a tablespoon at a time.
• Dump the dough onto a lightly floured surface and press the dough together, folding it over on itself until it starts to hold together. Try not to work the dough too much or it may become overdeveloped and tough.
• Divide the dough into 2 equal parts (about 360 grams each) and shape each piece into disk 1-inch thick. Wrap each disk in plastic wrap and chill for at least 45 minutes. I use one disk for this recipe and freeze the other for another recipe.

Blind Baking the Pie Dough

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
• Remove the dough from the refrigerator and roll it out to a 13-inch circle. Fold the dough into quarters and place it in a 8-inch or 9-inch pie plate. Unfold the dough, so the dough is overhanging the edges. Trim the edges with a sharp knife or kitchen shears so even out the dough. Fold the dough under so that the edge is even with the edges of the pie plate.
• Prick the bottom of the pie dough with a fork. This step will help prevent the dough from puffing up during baking. Press a large piece of foil onto the pie dough so the bottom and edges are covered. Fill the pie plate with pie weights or dried beans so the sides of the dough are completely covered.
• Place it in the oven and bake for 35 minutes. Remove it from the oven remove the pie weights and the foil. Return it to the oven and bake for another 10 minutes until the bottom is slightly browned. Remove it from the oven and prepare the quiche filling.

Quiche Filling

• Wash and partially dry the baby spinach. A salad spinner works well for rinsing the spinach. Add 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil to a non-stick pan and heat on medium-high heat until it begins to shimmer. Add all the spinach and 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Continuously stir the spinach and cook on medium high heat until it is completely cooked, and the liquid is evaporated. Remove the pan from the heat, and the ground nutmeg and stir it into the spinach. Scrape the spinach onto a paper-towel lined plate to absorb any remaining moisture.
• Add the butter to the same pan and heat on medium heat until it is melted and starts to bubble. Add the leeks and reduce the heat to medium low. Add the salt and the chopped garlic and cook for about 5-7 minutes until the leeks are tender and just a few pieces have started to brown. Remove the pan from the heat and grate the lemon zest onto the leeks and stir it in. Season with fresh ground pepper.
• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
• In a medium bowl whisk the three eggs. Add the whole milk and heavy cream and whisk to combine.
• Chopped the cooked spinach and spread it evenly over the bottom of the pre-baked pie crust. Spread the cooked leeks on top of the spinach. Sprinkle the gruyere and parmesan cheeses over the spinach and leeks. Pour the egg and milk mixture over the cheese and vegetables. Cover the edges of the pie crust with a strip of foil to prevent excessive browning while the quiche bakes.
• Bake the quiche for 30-35 minutes until it is puffed and slightly browned on top. Remove it from the oven and serve warm or at room temperature.

Notes

This recipe can be made with a store bought pie crust.  Follow the package directions for prebaking the crust.

 

Joel Troster

jtroster@icloud.com