SCALLOPED SWEET POTATOES, BUTTERNUT SQUASH AND ZUCCHINI WITH ROASTED VEGETABLES

Hmmm, garden fresh Fall vegetables!

Yes, I had a humongous zucchini, butternut squash and sweet potatoes sitting on my counter, and I had to think how to use it all.

I took a recipe for regular scalloped potatoes and improvised with these three veggies. The recipe called just for some sautéed leeks but I added a combination of Portobello, Cremini and Oyster mushrooms to the sautéed leeks, and when they were half cooked I added 1 1/2 cups of chicken broth, 1/2 cup of 10% cream, 2 TBSP of Sour cream, 2TBSP of fresh Thyme. Let the mushrooms finish cooking and allow the liquid to reduce, this takes about 5 minutes. At that point I added 1/4 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp pepper and 1/4 tsp nutmeg. (Adjust these quantities to your taste.)

I sliced the vegetables in the food processor 3 mm thick and arranged in a baking dish. I started with the sweet potatoes as the base, then added some of the mushroom/leek combination and a little of shredded cheese (I used 1 1/4 cup of cheddar) – I continued with the zucchini layer and the rest of the mushroom/leek, and some more cheese, but saved some cheese for the top. I left the Butternut squash for the top layer. I poured the leftover sauce from the mushrooms evenly over the vegetables and covered with foil.

Bake in a 350 degrees oven for about 1 hour, then remove the foil and sprinkle the rest of the shredded Cheddar and add some Parmesan as well. Let the cheese melt and get some colour.

We had this as a side dish the night before, but I saved a piece for my lunch today.

For lunch I paired it with some roasted fennel, red onions, Brussels sprouts and red pepper. I did pour a little olive oil over my roasted veggies and sprinkled some shaved Parmesan. It was certainly delicious and filling, and a great use of the abundant Fall vegetables.

Bon Appétit !

GRAINS AND VEGETABLE SALAD PLATTER

A search of my fridge revealed that I had some chickpeas, black beans, and rice cauliflower leftovers. With that in mind, I decided to cook some lentils and quinoa and mixed them all together. To that I added a very thinly sliced red onion that I had marinated with a combination of lime and lemon juice, a little salt and a little olive oil. ( I normally use these onions to make shrimp ceviche, mmm, and I had some leftover).

The combination of all these grains with marinated onion was great. You can just eat it like that and perhaps add a little more olive oil, some freshly ground pepper and adjust the salt to your personal taste.

But since I always crave fresh vegetables, I decided to dice some cucumber, celery, red pepper, chopped green onions with a combination of yellow, red and purplish little tomatoes (grape and cherry size). To that fresh assortment I also added some leftover braised radishes. After I combined the grains and the vegetables I added a little handful of pine nuts – you can add any nut you prefer. I also added extra olive oil.

I certainly enjoyed it, but perhaps next time I will add some crumbled feta cheese, which I did not have on hand.

Bon appétit !

CARROTS, RED PEPPERS AND ZUCCHINI SALAD

Today just felt like the right day for a very light but tasty salad!

I shredded some carrots as well as a red pepper, and added a julienned zucchini. I mixed it with slivered almonds for myself and for my husband I used chopped cashews instead.

Using a vinaigrette with olive oil and apple cider vinegar, some raisins were added to give the salad its finishing touch. It was very light, filling and delicious.

Bon appétit !

BARLEY SALAD WITH FRESH AND ROASTED VEGETABLES
As the April weather is getting a little bit warmer (but still not fast enough for me!), I decided to go for a salad type platter today. I cooked the barley pretty much like cooking rice, ( using a 1 to 3 ratio) 1cup of barley with 3 cups of water, then added 1 teaspoon of crushed garlic with half-a-teaspoon of salt. Brought it to an open boil and when the water was almost gone I placed the lid on for it to continue cooking until it had the consistency of rice.
After the barley cooled off, I added fresh chopped celery, yellow pepper and tomato and I also added chopped roasted red onion, chopped roasted garlic, a steamed frozen peas and carrots combination, and chopped roasted parsnip. I added olive oil and apple cider vinegar, and 2 tablespoons of pine nuts and shaved parmesan cheese to add some more flavour, and of course salt and pepper to taste. It was filling and delicious!
Bon appétit!