Sweet & Spicy Toasted Squash Seeds

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I try to take time to do a couple nice things for myself everyday.  Today I drank my coffee in bed, took a walk with my camera, and made myself a tasty treat that didn’t require any trips to the grocery store.

If you’re like me, you eat a lot of squash throughout the fall and winter.  And if you don’t, you’re missing out on wondrous squash soups, squash risotto, roasted squash hash, squash puree, stuffed squash, and…

…lots and lots of squash seeds.

But those are not garbage or even compost.  Those seeds are your favorite autumnal snack!  They’re the best thing to munch with beer, contribute a little crunch to a salad, or add a little pop to your perfectly pureed soup.

Super easy to make- just clean, soak, season, and toast.

 

 

 

I enjoyed some of my seeds under a clear blue sky with a glass of apple cider and a good book.  What are you going to do with yours?

 

Sweet & Spicy Toasted Squash Seeds
 
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These roasted squash seeds make a crunchy garnish for soups and salads and are a perfect nibble with drinks.
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Ingredients
  • 1 c. Squash Seeds (cleaned, soaked in salted water overnight, and rinsed)
  • 2 tsp. Extra Virgin Olive Oil
  • ½ tsp. Cinnamon
  • ¼ - ½ tsp. Cayenne Pepper
  • 1 tsp. Rosemary, finely chopped
  • ¼ tsp. Kosher Salt
  • 1 Tbsp. Dark Brown Sugar
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 325°.
  2. Combine prepped squash seeds with oil, spices, rosemary, salt, and sugar; stir until seeds are evenly coated.
  3. Spread seeds evenly over baking sheets and bake until seeds are golden and toasty, about 25 minutes. Stir often and watch carefully as these can easily be burned.
  4. Allow to cool before serving or transferring to an airtight container.

Kale, Radicchio & Wheat Berry Salad with Parmesan

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This is a salad that aims to please.  It’s hearty and healthy, grainy and nutty.  It’s easy to make, beautiful to admire.  It’s there when you need it and willing to cater to your whims.  This salad won’t let you down.

What  are we waiting for?  Let’s put it together.  Get the wheatberries simmering; this’ll take awhile.  Let them do their thing while you do yours.  Take out the trash , iron a shirt, water your houseplants.  We’ll meet back in forty-five.

Assemble your team.  Dark green kale meets garnet-colored radicchio, crisp apple, shallot, and walnuts.

Kale gets chopped, rinsed, and spun while radicchio is turned into ribbons.  Toast the nuts, turn the apple into matchsticks, and slice the shallot.

Treat your wheatberries to some zippy dijon, a glug of walnut oil, couple splashes of vinegar.  Grab the rest of the gang and toss in a big bowl.  Add curls and shards of Parmesan.

Congratulations, now you have a big tasty salad that’s going to see you through the week.  Put it in your lunchbox, eat it straight from the salad bowl at midnight, or serve it as a side.  You could saute it and serve it warm.  You could add some lentils or sweet potatoes.  Don’t like the idea of a vegetarian main course?  That’s fine, top it with a luscious, bone in, grilled, double cut pork chop.  This salad is not here to judge.  This salad works for you.


5.0 from 2 reviews
Kale, Radicchio & Wheat Berry Salad with Parmesan
 
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This versatile salad makes a satisfying, healthy lunch or a great side with pork for an autumnal or winter dinner.
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Serves: 6 as lunch, 8 or more as side dish
Ingredients
  • 1 c. Uncooked Wheat Berries, cooked according to package instructions
  • 1 bunch Dinosaur Kale, tough center stalk removed, leaves chopped
  • ½ head Radicchio, thinly sliced
  • 1 Honeycrisp Apple, julienned and sprinkled with lemon juice
  • 1 handful Walnut, toasted and chopped
  • 1 medium Shallot, thinly sliced
  • 1-2 T. Dijon Mustard
  • 1-2 T. Walnut or Olive Oil
  • 1-2 T. White Wine Vinegar.
  • Kosher Salt
  • Coarse Black Pepper
  • Parmesan (Sharp Cheddar would be good, too)
Instructions
  1. Place warm, cooked wheat berries in large salad bowl, add 1-2 T. dijon mustard (depending on how much bite you like) and toss to coat.
  2. Add oil and vinegar, season generously with salt and pepper.
  3. Add kale, radicchio, and shallot. Toss well, seaon with additional oil, vinegar, salt, and pepper as needed.
  4. Add nuts and apples, toss gently.
  5. Divide among plates and top with plenty of shaved Parmesan.

Skillet Roasted Duck Breast with Italian Plums

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The air has turned crisp.  Evening is setting in earlier and earlier.  Summer is behind us and fall has arrived.  Time to roast, time to braise, time to unpack the sweaters, time for earthy red wines.

Time for Duck!

Datenight Duck.  Beautifully seared and roasted duck breasts with sweet, herby roasted plums and red wine sauce.  Just like going to a restaurant except I’ll be in slippers.

Let’s gather our ingredients.

Plums, a shallot, a few sprigs from the garden.  Halve your plums, mince your shallots, chop the herbs, and score your duck breast.  We’ll be cooking in no time.

Let the duck skin get nice and cripsy, then flip and let it finish in the oven.  Look- aren’t you glad you scored that skin.

Plate the duck.  Make it look all restauranty.  Call your date to the table.  Realize that $6 bottle of red just won’t do.  Revel in your awesomeness.

 

Skillet Roasted Duck Breasts with Italian Plums
 
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This recipe can easily be doubled, tripled, or quadrupled if you are cooking for a group. I serve the duck over frisee which offers a little bitterness to offset the sweetness of the plums as well as roasted fingerling potatoes.
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Serves: 2
Ingredients
  • Duck Breasts (I used 1 large Magret breast which weighed in at almost 1 lb. Feel free to use 2 small breasts, if you prefer)
  • 6 Italian Plums
  • A Few Sprigs of Hearty Herbs (Sage & Rosemary are good choices)
  • 1 Small Shallot, Minced
  • ¼ c. Dry Red Wine
  • 1 T. Butter
  • Handful of Frisee
  • Roasted Fingerling Potatoes
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 400°.
  2. If serving with potatoes, get these into the oven while you work on the duck. Toss them with olive oil, salt, and pepper.
  3. Score the duck skin in a diamond pattern, taking care not to cut through the meat. Season with salt and pepper. Heat iron skillet (any oven-proof pan will do) and place duck skin-side down. Allow duck skin to become crisp and golden, about 8 minutes.
  4. While the duck is being seared, halve and pit the plums and mince the herbs.
  5. When the duck skin is appropriately golden, pour off most of the rendered fat (save this!), flip the duck, add the plums & herbs, season with salt and pepper and roast in oven until the duck is rosy and the plums are very juicy, about 8 minutes for medium-rare. Remove duck and plums, tent, and allow to rest on cutting board.
  6. Meanwhile, over medium-high heat, add minced shallots to pan juices and saute until translucent. Add red wine and allow to reduce by half. Turn off heat and finish sauce with butter and season as necessary. Thinly slice duck breast and fan over a mound of frisee and a few roasted potatoes. Top with roasted plums and spoon sauce over meat.