Summer Salad

It's labor day and my sister's wedding as well as my departure to Germany are fast approaching. It is hard to believe that it is September already. My sister and her fiance to Lancaster from Philadelphia yesterday for a week of preparations and are staying with my parents and I for a few days before moving to the bed and breakfast. My dad had bought some delicious and fresh local lima beans from market a week ago. He also asked me on Saturday to pick up three pounds of green beans for the week which, in combination of the lima beans, reminded me of a recipe I had seen in Nigella Lawson's cookbook Forever Summer. Nigella Lawson is basically my idol. I adore her. She is very real, very beautiful, has amazing recipes and great stories to go along with them. She is passionate about food but not annoyingly over enthusiastic and her recipes, aside from sometimes including odd britishy ingredients (less so in her newer books), are simple and wonderful. How to be a Domestic Goddess was pracitcally my bible growing up. But back to the point! I had seen a recipe for Squash and Two Beans Salad and now just had to make it for the first night of wedding week. I used:

2 medium yellow squash
2 zucchini
a medium bowlful of green beans
a pint of lima beans (shelled just as Nigella insists upon)
olive oil
basil
mint
salt and pepper
1 or 2 lemons

I cut the squash and zucchini into thirds, then halved the thirds, and then made thick sticks out of these pieces following Nigella's suggestion. I threw them into a roasting pan, drizzled enough olive oil overtop to make a shallow pool in the bottom of the roasting pan (Nigella says 1/3 of a cup but measuring just creates one more thing to clean in my opinion) and mixed it about so everything was nice and saturated. I pinched somes sea salt overtop and put it in a 350 oven for half an hour. In the meantime I boiled the green beans and lima beans in salted water in separate pots until they were done to my preference. I think the lima beans were about 5 minutes and the green beans about 7 but just taste them and see. When each was done I drained it and then plunged the colander into a bowl of ice water, swishing it around so that the beans would get a nice cold bath but I wouldn't have to go fishing for them in the bowl after. Now it's time to peel the lima beans! After they are cooked the covering comes of very easily, just pinch it and it pops out leaving a nice soft bright green (sometimes white) interior.

After the squash cools, gently mix the squash and beans together in a bowl. Squeeze the juice from a lemon or two over the salad. Nigella calls for one lemon but I ended up using two as they were small and I thought it could use a bit more zip. Next chop up a handful each of mint and basil and toss with the salad. Nigella just used basil, but I had some fresh mint and think that it was a very nice addition. Add salt and pepper to taste. I had this salad sitting out for a good 5 or 6 hours before we ate it, which was not a problem at all. I could say it made it better becuase everything had a good long time to marinade, but that could just be a lie since I only sneaked a bean or two right after making it.

Later I made a great marinaded tofu dish to serve alongside the salad, but I will have to tell you more about that another day. Have a great holiday!

Fig and Pear stuffed Acorn Squash

Last Tuesday, just like most Tuesdays, Fridays and Saturdays, I was in downtown Lancaster at the Central Market and was compelled to pick up an acorn squash and also a small rosemary plant. When I got home I saw that my Dad had picked up some figs there himself and as I went for a run that evening I thought of how well these things could go together. He had also picked up the first pears of the season, delicious, and so I thought I could incorporate these as well. The result was super delicious, although I will give more credit to the delicious local produce, especially the figs, than I will to my culinary skills.

Here is what I did:

Cut 1 acorn squash in half. I used just one half because it was just for me, but you could cook both halves at the same time. I scooped out the seeds and rubbed my chosen half with olive oil, then took some pieces of rosemary and stuffed them in and around the squash. I placed it facedown on a foiled cookie sheet and cooked it in a 350 degree oven until it was soft (poking it with a fork is a good way to test). It takes 40-50 minutes but keep testing.

Meanwhile I sliced up about a quarter of a red onion, 1 pear, 4-5 figs (quartered). Once the squash was done I took it out and let it sit while I took care of the rest. I sauteed the onion in some butter for a minute or two until they started to get soft, then added the pear and figs and some cinnamon. I let this cook for about 5 minutes, until it got good and juicy and delicious smelling. I mixed the fig and pear mixture with a mixture of brown rice and rye grains that I had been cooking while the squash was in the oven. Then I filled my acorn squash, sprinkled some chopped roasted almonds on top and put it back in the oven for about 10 minutes.

I stuffed way more into my acorn squash than looks good or is necessary, but I only cooked up half a squash and did not want to waste the delicious filling. Cooking for one is difficult! I was thinking it would be fun to try other grains, like quinoa, or couscous. The fig, pear, squash, rosemary and cinnamon was a great combination though!