Harvest Recipes
Ratatouille
This is a great way to use many garden fresh veggies, . There is a tomato sauce underneath the pretty food design, making this great served overtop of pasta, or all on its own.
This makes a 9x13 baking dish - serving 6 with no pasta, 9 with pasta - and takes about 1 1/2 hours, all chopping included.
Ingredients:
Sliced veggies on top: *It is great if these can be roughly all the same diameter, as this will make the stacking much easier, and prettier. Slice all veggies 1/2 inch thick
3 tomatoes
2 zuchinis
2 small, skinny eggplants
2 red onions
Herb topping:
1 1/2 cups fresh basil leaves - finely chopped
5 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup olive oil
S&P
Veggies for tomato sauce:
1 of each green & red pepper, diced
1 more red onion, finely chopped
2 more garlic cloves minced
2 cups stewed tomatoes, roughly chopped with juices (canned, or your own freshly stewed tomatoes)
3-4 cups fresh spinach, roughly chopped
1 tbsp dried oregano
S&P to taste
olive oil for cooking
*Optional: cooked pasta of your choice to serve underneath the ratatouille
The Process:
Start with the sauce:
Heat a small amount of oil at low-ish heat in a large pan or pot. Add the onion and saute for 10-15 minutes until soft, but not brown. Add garlic and saute another 5 minutes. Add the peppers and saute another 10 minutes. Add the stewed tomatoes and spinach, oregano, S&P, and cook for another 10 minutes on low-med heat, until everything is combined. Turn off the heat and set aside.
Preheat the oven to 375F
While the sauce is cooking, slice all the other veggies 1/2 inch thich.
Pour the sauce into a 9x13 baking dish to cover the bottom completly, and then layer the veggies in, 1 slice each of eggplant, zuchini, tomato, red onion (you can be a bit sparser with the red onion, so you have enough for a little bit in each layer). Fill the dish as shown in the picture above.
Combine all the ingredients for the herb topping: chopped basil, minced garlic, oil, S&P, and drizzle overtop of the veggies.
Cook for 30 minutes covered with foil, then another 20 uncovered, until the veggies are soft.
Enjoy
Warm Spinach, Squash & Fennel Salad,
with Tahini Dijon Dressing
There are MANY options for what could be added to this salad - including other veggies, feta cheese, or a protein source (including walnuts)- but I think the 3 things I highlight in the title: spinach, squash, and fennel - are key for the rich diversity of textures, flavors, and colors.
This takes about 1 1/2 hours, all chopping included, and makes a big bowl of salad - serving 6 -8 as a main dish.
Ingredients:
1 medium sized butternut squash, peeled, seeds removed, and cubed
1 carrot, peeled and sliced on the diagonal
1 parsnip or sweet potato, peeled and cubed
1 potato cubed
1 head broccoli cut into 2 inch piecces
2 fennel bulbs, use white part only, 1 inch slices
1 red onion, sliced thin
1/2 head garlic (about 6 cloves), smashed and roughly chopped ( I like garlic a lot - feel free to use less)
6 cups fresh spinach, washed and roughly chopped
Olive oil
S&P
Dressing
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup tahini
2-3 tbsp lemon juice (to taste)
2 tsp dijon (to taste)
1 tsp honey, melted
S&P
*optional water to create the desired creaminess
The Process
Preheat oven to 425F
Put the spinach in a big salad bowl and set aside
Roast all the veggies by lightly covering in olive oil, and S&P. The root veggies can be roasted together on a baking sheet, the onion & garlic can be together, the broccoli and fennel together - but the veggies should not be touching, otherwise they will steam instead of roast. Approximate roasting time is 20 minutes for each baking sheet - the veggies should be slightly browned, but especially make sure that the root veggies are cooked through, but not so soft that they fall apart.
As each baking sheet comes out of the oven, immediately pour it into the salad bowl and gently stir, so the spinach wilts slightly. Keep adding each warm veggie into the salad bowl immediately from the oven, and gently stir to combine, for wiltier spinach.
For the dressing, combine everything except the water and whisk together. Add water, as you like, to make it your desired consistency.
Serve immediately, but know that leftovers can be heated up in the oven or microwave, which will wilt the spinach even more, which is very yummy in my opinion.
Butternut Squash & Spinach Soup
The things that I like about this soup are: roasting the squash first, which brings out a richer flavor while making the cooking process really easy, AND I always love recipes where I can sneakily add spinach and slow roasted onions, for extra nutritional value and flavor.
While this soup takes about 1 1/2 hours from start to finish, it requires very little hands on time. It makes a medium sized pot of soup, about 8 servings as a side, or 5 as a main meal.
Ingredients:
1 large butternut squash, halved, with seeds removed
Olive oil
2 large onions, roughly chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
S&P
3 cups (possibly more) veggie or miso broth
1 tsp honey
1 big bunch/bag spinach, washed - about 5 cups
The Process
Preheat oven to 425F
Rub oil all over both halves of the squash, sprinkle with S&P, and place face down on a baking sheet. Roast 40-50 minutes - until very soft. It is ok if it browns.
Once squash is in the oven for about 30 minutes, heat just enough olive oil to coat a pan on low heat on the stovetop, and add the onion. Cook on low for 30 minutes, making sure that onion does not stick, but caramelizes. After 30 minutes, add garlic, S&P and cook for 5 minutes more, again ensuring no sticking.
By this time for sure the squash will be done. Let it sit for about 10 minutes to cool, then, scrape out the flesh, discarding the peel and blend as creamily as possible, using a food processor, hand blender, or potato masher - whichever you prefer.
Add creamed squash to the onions and garlic. Add the broth and honey and stir to combine, adding more broth as needed for desired consistency. Simmer 5 minutes. Add spinach, and simmer 5 minutes more to combine all the flavours.
Enjoy.
Eating a plant rich diet is very good for reducing inflammation, promoting cellular repair, improving digestion, and increasing energy. Intelligent exercise, that is mindful to the joints, the posture, and correct muscle activation will also improve overall well-being and help maintain an active lifestyle through all stages of life.