Butternut Squash and Lentil Tacos with Jalapeño Avocado Mousse

There are just some things in life that are always right, like puppies, rainbows, human decency, or the smell of  springtime flowers. And tacos. Tacos are always right. Seriously, have you ever meet someone that doesn't enjoy a taco of some sort, of some variety? Everyone has a taco, that is a fact. (Even if you skip the tortilla and go straight for all the fillings like me.)

And if you are like me, lentils and butternut squash are always right too. So are all the veggies and  the avocado. Together all this goodness makes for one amazingly fantastical, very right taco. 

We all need a little bit rightness in our lives right now. Why not start with dinner. 

The stuff. You got to get lenitls, butternut squash, cumin, chili pepper, salt and pepper, and olive oil. Also kale, red onion, cabbage, avocados, a jalapeño, limes, and garlic. And you need something to stick it all in, so flour or corn tortillas. 

Start with making the veggie slaw. Basic here, just chop up the kale, onion, and cabbage into small thin pieces.

All that veggie goodness goes right into a bowl with a sprinkle of salt and the juice of a lime. Give it a good toss to coast it all and set aside to do it's magic. The longer it sits, the better it gets.

Now to roast the squash.  Dice it into small mouth sized pieces. I usually don't peel, but most people do and the mr has been avoiding he peel when he eats the squash so I peeled it (and roasted it and ate it myself) 

Toss the squash in a drizzle of olive oil and the cumin and chili powder and a little salt and pepper. 

Raw squash goes into a preheated skillet (or baking sheet) and roasted until browned and tender. 

Squash meets lentils and it is good. So so good. 

And don't forget the jalapeño mousse. . Dice the jalapeo and the garlic and toss into a blender (or jar to use an emulsion blender) with the avocado, juice of a lime, a sprinkle of salt,  and a little bit of water.

Ready for moussing. 

A pillowy cloud of green goodness. 

You got all the stuff, you know what to do.

Fact. Tacos = happiness. Now get on it. 

-C

---

 Butternut Squash and Lentil Tacos with Jalapeño Avocado Mousse

make about 6 tacos 

• 1 1/2 cups cooked french lentils
• 1/2 of a small butternut squash (about 3 cups cubed)
• 1 tablespoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon chili powder 
• salt and pepper
• olive oil
• 2-3 large kale leaves
• 1/4 head of cabbage
• small red onion
• 2 limes
• 1 large or 2 tiny avocados 
• 2-4 tablespoons water cup
• 1 jalapeno
• 2 cloves garlic
• 6 small  flour or corn tortillas 

Grab the kale, cabbage, and red onion and thinly slice and dice into small pieces. Place into bowl, sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon salt and add in the juice of a lime. Give it all a good mix around and set aside. 

Preheat oven to 450.  Place your cast iron skillet or baking sheet in oven while preheating.

Take squash, peel the skin off (if you want) and cut into cubes about an inch big. Place in a bowl and toss with a little olive oil and the cumin and chili powder. Sprinkle a little salt and pepper in and toss it all around. When the oven is preheated, carefully remove the pan and dump the squash in it. Evenly disperse the squash then place the pan back into the oven and roast squash until browned and tender, which takes about 25 minutes. 

When the squash is done, remove and dump into a big bowl along with the lentils.

While the squash is roasting you can go ahead and make the avocado mousse. Scoop avocado fruit into a bowl  or blender and add in the jalapeño (seeds and ribs removed) and the garlic. Add in the juice of a lime and 2 tablespoons water. Blend until smooth. Add in more water to thin out to desired consitancey. 

Now you have everything ready to taco. Grab your tortillas and heat them up if want and start to pile it all on. Lentil squash mixture, a good handful of the veggie slaw, topped with a dollop or two of the avocado mousse. Now you got yourself a taco and it's ready for your face. 

sesame soy cabbage

Here's one for the cabbage lovers our there, maybe even the haters as well. (I don't understand those people, cabbage is king in my stomach). I really believe that a good bit of cabbage can really change a persons perspective on the humble cruciferous vegetable, maybe even the world. To far? Maybe but what I always say is, "When in doubt try it out!" Either way, this bit of cabbage is vey very good good.  

A quick little warm up in a skillet with some sesame soy flavor and crunch and you got yourself a A plus little salad. It hits all the right notes for when a) its winter and fresh greens are more sparse (which it currently is and they currently are) b) its cold out (again currently because it's winter) and c) when you only have a head of cabbage in the fridge (was the case but I have sense remedied that). 

Chop it, toss, it, eat it. Quick and easy good food. Get on it.

The stuff. Cabbage (I used savoy but you can use any cabbage you want) soy sauce, toasted sesame oil, olive oil, and a lemon. The lemon is optional, but a little acid is alway welcome in my mouth. 

Chop the cabbage. Unless  you are making this for more then 2 people, you probably only need half a head. However much you use, chop in up into 1-2 inch peices. You could  also shreds it if you want, but I like the bigger pieces. 

Toss the cabbage into a hot skillet that has been drizzled with a little olive oil and toss the soy sauce in with it too. 

Cook on medium high heat until the cabbage has slightly soften. 

While the skillet is still hot, drizzle in a touch of toasted sesame oil and a good amount of sesame seeds. Give it a toss. Taste and add more toasted sesame oil if you want.

Pile it Into a bowl and that's that. Serve with a wedge of lemon or lime if you like the addition of the acid. 

-C

---

Sesame Soy Cabbage

serves 1-2 people

• 1/2 of a head of cabbage (green savoy, or red work)
• 1 tablespoon soy or tamari 
• 1/2-1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
• 1 tablespoon olive oil 
• sesame seeds
• lemon or lime (optional)

Preheat a large skillet to medium high with the olive oil. While its getting hot, chop the cabbage into 1- 2 inch pieces. When the skillet is hot, dump the cabbage in and toss around with the soy sauce. Let cook for 4-5 minutes, giving it a toss a few times, until the cabbage starts to soften. Depending on your preference you can stop cooking it now, or keep cooking until it reaches you preferred doneness. (I like it with a little crunch so I cook it for 5-6 minutes) Once it's done but the skillet is still hot, drizzle in the toasted sesame oil and toss in the sesame seeds. Taste for flavor and add more toasted sesame oil if needed. 

Serve right away although cold left overs are also fantastic. A wedge of lemon or lime is a well received addition. 

Roasted Cranberry Parsnips

I am spicing up my snack time these day, going an extra step and actually preparing a little something rather then just eating a pound of carrots. Yes yes, a pound of carrots is a great snack, but there are so many other fantastic veggies awaiting my belly and I can only accommodate  so much at once. So today the carrots had to wait, it's time for the parsnips. 

After I made this and was eating it with all smiles and glee, I had the mr take a taste to see what he thought. What I learned is that If you do not like parsnips then you will not like this dish. But if you are awesome and do like parsnips, well then you will like this. But I guess if you like parsnips but don't like cranberries then you might actually not like this either.

So what I guess I am saying is if you like parsnips and cranberries, you will freaking love this. And this, these cranberry roasted parsnips, are great as a snack or as  a fantastic accompaniment to any meal that you will be serving anytime soon. It's quick and easy and delivers in all sorts of good ways, if you like cranberries and parsnips. 

The stuff. Parsnip. fresh (or frozen) cranberries, a little maple syrup, olive oil, and salt and pepper. 

Keeping it simple and just chopping the parsnip up into mouth sized pieces. If you are a peeler, go ahead and peel those parsnips first. Me, never a peeler. 

A little trick I have learned when roasting veggies is to roast them in a really hot cast iron pan. What I usually do is preheat the oven and while I am doing that I preheat the pan on the stove top. It gets hot fast and the veggies roast better when tossed into a hot pan. You can also preheat whatever dish you are using in the oven while it preheating. Whatever works for you. 

So parsnips Into a cast iron pan (or any oven safe dish) tossed with just a touch of olive oil and salt and pepper. 

Parsnips cook pretty fast so after about 15 minutes check for doneness. Once they are for tender and browning, toss the cranberries into the pan and keeping roasting.

Once the cranberries are all roasted and bursted and nice, remove the pan from the oven and immediately drizzle with a touch of maple (just a touch or else it will be too sweet) 

There you go. Simple, fast, and oh so delicious. 

Have an awesome weekend! 🥋🤾🏻‍♀️🎄☃️ (interrupt those any way you see fit)

-C

---

Roasted Cranberry Parsnips

serves about 4 as a side dish  or makes for 2 good snack bowls

• 3-4 large  parsnips (but really as many as you want)
• 1 cup fresh or frozen cranberries
• 1 teaspoon to 1 tablespoon maple syrup (the more the sweeter it will be)
• olive oil
• salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 425

Grab whatever pan or oven safe dish you are using and  preheat either place it in the oven while its preheating of if you can place it on the stove, get it really hot on a high flame.

Grab your parsnips and chop into about an inch sized pieces (or a good size that will fit into you mouth. Feel free to peel the parsnips first if you want to. Once the oven and pan are preheated, drizzle the parsnips with a tiny bit of olive oil and toss with salt and pepper. Place onto really hot pan and stick into oven.  Roast for about 15-20 minutes or until the parsnips are golden brown and fork tender. Remove form oven and toss in the cranberries. Place back into oven for about another 10 minutes or until the cranberries start to burst and get soft. Remove again and drizzle with a teaspoon of maple syrup (or more if you like it sweeter) 

Serve right away. 

Maple Mustard Roasted Cabbage with Almonds

There is something about purple cabbage that makes me feel like I need to share it. It sounds weird , especially because I eat about a head of cabbage a day, but that is green cabbage. I barely buy purple cabbage because it cost twice as much and I really like green , but at farm share when you get to pick what color you want, I alway pick the purple. ( Side note. I used to call it red cabbage but have since stopped because it is very clearly purple and calling red just doesn't make any sense) 

I also feel the need to do something a little more the chopping it up and eating it raw. So I make a little fancy. pretty, almond crunchy mustard type thing because that's what I was feeling and I figure the mr would like it too. Note that I ended up using half a green and half  the purple because color is nice and also I ended up eating the other half of the purple before I could share it. But I caught myself before eating it all to may face and was proud of myself for thinking of others.  

This dish is good, really really good. . It has roasted cabbage which is alway great, but slathered with maple mustard and crunchy almonds.. it's just freaking fantastic in all the ways. It also happens to be super easy to prepare and with minimal ingredients. It makes for a great side dish, a main dish, and is great for sharing during the holidays that are just around the corner. Or if you are like me, not sharing and eating all afternoon long. (I did save some for the m for dinner because I am so nice) 

The stuff. Cabbage, red or green or a bit of both, stone ground mustard, maple syrup, almonds and pepper.

Easy peasy. Cut the cabbages about an 3/4 inch thick and lay them on a baking sheet. Pop it into the oven once it's preheated.

While thats going on, mix some maple with the mustard and chop up the almonds.

After about 25 minutes, pull the cabbage out and flip them. Cover the top with maple mustard and sprinkle on the almonds. Stick the cabbage back into the oven and bake another 10-15 minutes, or until it's roasted to your taste preference (I like it really roasted) 

Just look how pretty it is. 

Serves from a baking sheet but would look so lovely on a nice plater, you know, if you want to be extra classy. 

This cabbage situation is all of it. 

Have a great weekend and hope the Thanksgiving planning goes smoothly. 

-C

---

Maple Mustard Roasted Cabbage with Almonds 

Makes about 6-8 slabs

• 1 head of cabbage (red or green or half of both)
• 1/4 cup stone ground mustard
• 2 tablespoon maple syrup 
• 1/3 cup raw almonds 
• pepper to taste. 

Preheat oven to 425

Slice cabbage into thick slabs about 3/4 inch thick. Try to get them roughly the same thickness so they roast evenly.  Lay the cabbage on a baking sheet, not overlapping, and stick into the oven once it's preheated. Bake for 25 minutes or until the bottoms of the cabbage are crispy.

While cabbage is roasting, mix mustard and maple  together and roughly chop the almonds.  

After  the 25 minutes, grab the cabbage from the oven and flip each piece. Cover the tops with the maple mustard and sprinkle on chopped almonds. Place back into the oven for another 10-15 minutes  and roast until the cabbage is as crispy as you like it.

Remove from oven, sprinkle with good pepper, and serve. Extra maple muastd is welcomed to some. Any left over (but there won't be any) is great eaten cold before bed  or tossed onto a salad for lunch the next day. 

Watermelon Tomato and Cucumber Salad

I made this salad about a week ago right before the mr and I left town for the weekend. I had just gotten 2 very large canary watermelons from the farm, and had a million cucumbers and a trillion tomatoes from the garden. If a trillion tomatoes seems like a lot it is. But that is how many I had, and still do (this years garden just won't quit) And with counters of all the fruit and veggies that I could possible want at one given time, we needed to eat some up before we left. But I really wanted watermelon and felt guilty about cutting into one when I would be fine left for a while and there were a million ripe and ready tomatoes to eat that would not last the weekend fresh. But guess what, went for it anyway and cut up a watermelon because damn it, I really wanted watermelon.

So a bazillion tomatoes (notice how the number keeps getting bigger, that's because it's truth) a million cucumbers, and now a watermelon that needs to be eaten. Salad it will be. (I had the littles over to eat the rest of the watermelon, they will always help a lady out)

A big ass fruity, citrus-y, crispy, tangy salad. A party of all these fresh fantastic flavors all up in your mouth. The first time I made this, I thought there was a chance the mr might not like it, but as it turns out he like it very very much, enough to eat the whole entire big ass bowl of it. (I got a few measly little bits) I have since made this salad two other times and know well enough to save myself a bowl of my own. The mr forgets to share.

The stuff. Watermelon (I used a canary but a red watermelon works too) onion, cucumber and tomatoes. A jalapeno for a little heat, fresh basil and mint, a lemon and salt and pepper.

First the watermelon. You probably don't want to eat the rind so remove that and chop up the fruit into mouth sized pieces. IF you have a really seedy melon, just remove what you can see and save them for roasting later (yes roast the seeds.. they are fantastic)

Now the cucumber, onion and jalapeno get their turn to be chopped up. Cucumber into smallish pieces. Onion thin and small pieces and jalapeno into very tiny little pieces. After those go into bowl, it's tomato time. Just cut up into into mouth sided pieces and into the bowl too.

Red, yellow, and green tomatoes. The colors are so PRETTY!

Mint and bail minces up nice .

Topped with all the fresh herbs, salt and pepper, and lemon juice.

A thing of beauty and tastes better then it looks. A salad worth making over and over and lots of it too.

Make sure to save yourself a bowl if sharing, you might not get any otherwise.

Have a great weekend

-C

---

Watermelon Tomato and Cucumber Salad

serves between 2-4 people

• 1/4 of a canary watermelon (around 3 cups cubed)
• 1 cucumber
• 2-3 tomatoes of any variety
• 1/2 of an onion (red or sweet white)
• handful of fresh basil and mint
• 1 small jalapeno
• 1 lemon
• salt and pepper

Take watermelon and remove rind then cut the melon into mouth sized chunks. If you melon has seeds, remove what you can (save for later to roast) and place into a large bowl. Grab cucumbers and cut into mouth sized chunks. Thinly slice onion into long thin ribbons then into smaller pieces and then cut up jalapeno.  To cut the jalapeno, remove stem, cut in half length wise, then scrap the seeds and ribs from the inside out. Dice the pepper into very small pieces and toss everything you just cut up into the bowl with the melon.  Tomatoes now get cut into chunks and those go into the bowl too. Sprinkle with a pinch of salt and pepper and the juice of the lemon. Cut or chop fresh basil and mint up and add on in. Mix it all up and that's that.