curried pumpkin risotto with chorizo spinach hash

I think this might be a first for me. I made something for dinner that required not one, but two whole components! At this rate, maybe I'll learn to appreciate side dishes or something. But I guess I shouldn't get too carried away here...

Given that this post includes pumpkin and butternut squash, I suppose this will suffice as my entrance into autumnal cooking. Not gonna lie, when I started seeing posts like this one and this one popping up, I thought folks were being a bit preemptive. It was the first week of September! And sure enough, we had one more 87 F day (okay, and yes, in contrast, it is currently 45 F outside this morning), which proves that we weren't quite there yet. After all, the first day of fall is actually September 23rd.  So if you'd like to follow suit, get yourself some hot chocolate, bake some bread, or at the very least, make something with cinnamon and/or nutmeg in it. :)

So check out this recipe. It is pretty intense, and probably hits my uppermost limit of seasoning. But I have to admit, adding pumpkin to risotto is a great idea. If I made the risotto by itself (this probably will happen someday!), I'd add some blue cheese at the end.  By the way, you really only need half of the butter they call for. 4T. for 1 c. of arborio rice is totally excessive, so 2 T. butter and maybe 1 T. olive oil will do the trick. Also, I used veggie chorizo here and a giant bag of spinach because that's what I had. I hope to try this with kale or chard sometime. Or really, I'd just like to learn to appreciate kale. And beets. Maybe together someday? Any suggestions out there? I'd love to hear about them.

simple green veggie sauce

I am thrilled to say that we are now experiencing an autumnal shift in weather patterns. I'm wearing a hoodie right now! In my apartment! And big fuzzy-wuzzy slippers! In June! Ah, so great. Earlier this week the Twin Cities shattered some hot weather records, which became very apparent to the rest of the country when we had the warmest temps in the continental US on a weather radar map. I feared I would have to call it quits on serious cooking and baking for some time. Thankfully, not an issue.... yet.

Today's recipe was a weird fusion of a Cook's Illustrated recipe for Broccoli & Ricotta sauce and what I could find in my fridge.  It turned out super well, was ready in a jiffy, and only required one pot and the workbowl of the food processor.  I seem to hold a grudge against simple suppers of noodles with jarred red sauce. I would rather just give up and order pizza.  It's too simple, I guess? Or not filling enough maybe? Regardless, this new idea will probably enter our rotation of quick and easy dinners.

Simple Green Veggie Sauce
1 lb. broccoli, roughly cut florets; stems peeled and cubed
1/2 lb. spinach
3 large cloves garlic (or however much garlic suits your fancy)
1 c. whole milk cottage cheese
1/2 c. shredded parmesan cheese
1/4 c. milk
1/4 t. smoked paprika
1/2 t. salt
black pepper to taste
1 lb. your favorite pasta - I suggest something curly or whirly so that the thick sauce sticks to the noodles evenly

1. Bring water to a boil in a deep saucepan.
2. While waiting for the water to boil, put cottage cheese, parm, milk, paprika, and salt in the food processor (fitted with standard chopping blade) and blend until smooth. Fun fact: If you hate cleaning the underside of the lid of the food processor, cover the workbowl with saran wrap  -- this recipe doesn't require you to add things while you're processing. Ta-da! Clean lid! Win!
3. Skewer garlic onto bamboo skewer. Once water is boiling, submerge the garlic for 30-45 seconds to mellow the flavor (raw garlic would probably make it gross). Place the blanched garlic into the workbowl of food processor.
4. Wilt spinach in the boiling water, then squeeze out as much water from the spinach as you can. I just squeeze it against a medium-mesh strainer until I'm satisfied. Add to food processor and blend until smooth.
5. Blanche the broccoli in the same water, 1 minute, until bright green and tender. You'll be buzzing it around in the food processor, so a little overdone is not a biggie.
6. Use a slotted spoon to remove the broccoli into the food processor.
7. Salt the boiling water and cook the pasta.
8. Pulse the broccoli into the sauce until you like the consistency. I tend to like mine on the smoother side than the chunkier side of things. Adjust seasonings to taste.
9. When pasta is drained, return to the saucepan and stir in the sauce. Reheat and serve. We liked it with Red Truck Red Wine. :)

Quinoa... casserole? bake? gratin?

Who loves quinoa? I do!! I love it so much I tried to grow it in my garden. Probably could have harvested it, but I let my garden go, umm, free range shall we say?, so I couldn't bear to be seen in my garden for fear of neighbors tsk-tsking. That's what I get for having it in the front yard; everyone can see my neglect.

I digress (not unusual). So yes, quinoa, one of the few grain-like food that is a complete protein, which is mighty convenient for my vegetarian self. So it isn't actually a grain, but a seed, just like real-deal wild rice.

I can't remember the first thing I made with quinoa; it may even be this dish. My husband and I probably just keeping making it to revive our argument over how to classify it in terms of warm-savory-food-baked-in-a-dish. Anyways, I got this recipe from Recipes for Health from the New York Times. The recently revamped it and called for squash instead of spinach (tricksy!). I personally like it with spinach, red pepper, and apple. I also prefer a few other additions other than sage from the spice rack: parsley, thyme, and some red pepper flakes. Gruyere is awesome, but I am cheap and I go for gruyere-like cheese, such as comte.

Next stop: quinoa in a sweet dish instead of a savory one. Any suggestions?