This recipe is based on one I found on the ‘net a few years back (I’ve long since lost the URL). I sent it to my sister, who greatly improved upon it and sent me her awesome version:

Servings

• 8 (this recipe freezes well and is great as leftovers)

Ingredients

• 1 butternut squash (approx 4 cups)
• 450 grams whole wheat elbow macaroni
• 4 tablespoons butter
• ½ cup flour
• 2 cups skim milk
• 2 tablespoons dijon mustard
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• ½ teaspoon of cayenne pepper
• 450 grams shredded medium cheddar (about 4 cups)
• 1¾ cups chicken or vegetable stock
• 1 cup bread crumbs

Directions

• preheat oven to 325°F
• slice squash in half and discard seeds; place, cut side down, in a pan with some water and roast for 1 hour until very tender
• when squash has cooled, peel skin off and discard; puree squash in food processor until it has a smooth consistency; set aside
• bring a large pot of water to boil; boil pasta to al dente – about 6 minutes; drain pasta and set aside
• in a very large pot, melt 4 tablespoons butter and slowly stir in ½ cup flour to form a paste
• off heat, SLOWLY whisk in 2 cups of milk; return to medium low heat until sauce fully blends and thickens
• add pureed squash to the thickened sauce
• add mustard, salt, nutmeg, and cayenne pepper
• stir in 3 cups of cheese (set aside 1 cup for the topping) and 1¾ cups of stock, alternating cheese and stock by cupfuls
• taste sauce, adjust seasonings if needed
• add pasta to cheese/squash sauce and toss to coat evenly
• transfer mixture to an oven-safe dish (9”x13” glass pan)
• cover the pasta with the remaining shredded cheese, and sprinkle on the bread crumbs
• bake in the oven at 325°F for 25 minutes
• let stand 10 minutes before serving

Anyhow, while awaiting the delivery of this past week’s box I realized we still had a clamshell of blueberries from our previous delivery that needed to be used up. After a quick inventory of what we had on hand in the kitchen, I decided to make blueberry scones.

Karen’s Blueberry Scones
(adapted from http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Blueberry-Scones)

Ingredients:

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/3 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup butter, chilled
• 1 small clamshell fresh blueberries
• 1/2 cup skim milk
• 1 egg

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
2. Cut butter into mixture of flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. (I used a mixer for this part)
3. Add blueberries to dry ingredient/butter mixture and toss to mix.
4. In separate bowl beat together milk and egg, and slowly pour into dry ingredients, stirring with rubber scraper until dough forms. Knead (with floured hands) just until it comes together, 3 or 4 times. Don’t overhandle.
5. Divide dough in half. On lightly floured board, shape each half into a 6-inch round. Cut into 6 wedges.
6. Bake on greased cookie sheet about 20 minutes at 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).

I’ve decided to start sharing some recipes here on my blog, both for my readers’ enjoyment and for my own personal reference. Now I’ll no longer have to flip through a cookbook or search my email recipe folder to find my favourites!

Here’s one of my rainy day favourites: Mexican meatball soup. Mmmm!

Ingredients
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 3/4 cups chopped onions
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 small bay leaves
5 14 1/2-ounce cans beef broth
1 28-ounce can diced tomatoes in juice
1/2 cup chunky tomato salsa (medium-hot)
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 pound lean ground beef
1/4 pound bulk pork sausage
6 tablespoons yellow cornmeal
1/4 cup whole milk
1 large egg
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 cup long-grain white rice

Preparation
Heat oil in heavy large pot over medium-high heat. Add 1 3/4 cups onions, 2 garlic cloves and bay leaves; sauté 5 minutes. Add broth, tomatoes with juices, salsa and 1/4 cup cilantro; bring to boil. Cover and simmer 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, combine ground beef, pork sausage, cornmeal, whole milk, egg, salt, pepper, cumin, then remaining 1 cup onions, 2 garlic cloves and 1/4 cup cilantro in medium bowl. Mix well. Shape meat mixture by generous tablespoonfuls into 1- to 1 1/4-inch balls. Add rice and meatballs to soup and bring to boil, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat, cover and simmer until rice and meatballs are tender, stirring occasionally, about 20 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Ladle soup into bowls and serve.

Notes

• Fresh salsa works best for this recipe (I usually make my own), but if you don’t have any you can use the jarred stuff from the grocery store
• Feel free to add in extra cilantro – I usually use an entire bunch for this recipe
• If the soup gets too thick just add water to thin it out

This weekend I took the restaurant up on their freebie offer and picked up a curry to share with Dan. And I have to say, they completely redeemed themselves. I am a big fan of spicy food and consider my heat tolerance to be pretty high (thought not as high as Dan’s!) so I ordered the dish “hot” despite being asked by the waiter, “Have you had our hot?” The meal was very tasty and I wouldn’t hesitate to go back to The Noodle Box, but I think I’ll be ordering the medium from now on. Dan loved the hot curry but I had to keep a glass of milk at hand while I was eating in order to soothe the burning feeling in my mouth!

When I heard about the Wild Rose D-Tox from Air, I thought it might be just the thing to jumpstart a healthier eating plan. I’m not generally into all this new-agey cleanse type stuff (There’s no way you’d ever catch me trying the Master Cleanse!) but this detox isn’t nearly as extreme. I picked up the kit (which includes daily vitamin supplements) this weekend and officially started yesterday. For 12 days I am cutting out all flour, sugar, dairy (except butter), and alcohol. There are a few other exceptions too (e.g. no tropical fruit or peanuts) but there are lots of healthy eating options.

There isn’t a ton of stuff out there on the web about the d-tox, perhaps because it’s a Canadian invention and hasn’t worked its way south yet. I did find a few other bloggers who’ve done it, though, and their reviews seem fairly positive. I was especially excited to find Haligonian Corilee Fox’s great collection of d-tox recipes. I can’t wait to try the oatcake recipe! You can’t buy oatcakes out here on the west coast so I haven’t had one in ages.

So how are things going at the end of day two? Pretty good! Tonight for dinner I made chinese fried rice and sesame-tofu sticks, both from the Wild Rose cookbook. Tomorrow night we’re going out for all-you-can-eat sushi to celebrate Dan’s birthday, where I get to eat as much wild salmon sashimi as my little heart desires. Yum. The hardest part so far is the sugar cravings, which I seem to be mostly holding at bay so far with fruit and a little almond butter.

Now, I’ve been a Loondon Fog connoisseur since November, but in the past month or two the drink seems to have become really popular and all the coffee shops in town have the “recipe” down. This is good because I can now order a sugar-free London Fog at Starbucks, instead of having to ask for a “nonfat earl grey tea misto with sugar free vanilla.” Phew!

Apparently the London Fog is not just a Vancouver thing either; My barista sister in Halifax is also a London Fog fan, and last month Freestyle – a national afternoon radio show on the CBC – did a series of Fog-related interviews!

Meet Mr. Bento!

Originally uploaded by .Ariel.

I’ve been coveting the Mr. Bento lunch jar ever since Ariel of Electrolicious began blogging about it earlier this month. Luckily, Vancouver has no shortage of stores selling Japanese kitchen gadgets, so this evening I’m off to find one for myself. Stay tuned for lots of pretty lunch photos.