Marcella Cooking Stuff • October 11th - October 17th

October 11th - October 17th

A few weeks ago, while zigzagging through every aisle at Costco, Marco spotted a ginormous bag of Lotus Foods GF Ramen Noodles. We have had them before but not anytime recently. I remember them being decent and was on board with having some sort of ramen dish in the near future.

The first thing I thought of was...ramen. If I'm going to make ramen I am going to do it the traditional way and it will be a three-day process. I'm up for the challenge but haven't made time to fully commit. So the noodles sat there until I saw a photo on Instagram of coconut miso ramen noodles with roasted squash. I was inspired. Miso is out of the question (Marco allergy) but I loved the idea of a roasted squash noodle dish.

I landed on a coconut based curry soup, poured over noodles with bite-size pieces of roasted squash, and topped with a generous amount of herbs and chili oil.

In my recent spice haul, I had ordered a new bottle of hot curry powder but it didn't arrive in time for the first trial. I used a half-empty bottle of curry powder that might have been well past its expiration date. Even though I clean my spices twice a year, I too hang on to some way longer than I should and truthfully it was fine. It was better than fine, it was great and we loved the dish. I added an extra bump of cinnamon, cumin, and coriander which I'm sure helped.

The second time I tested this recipe I used the new bottle of hot curry powder and it hands down had more flavor. A little added heat but there was greater depth to the dish. For the third trial, I tested it with the old curry powder one more time. I knew it was good with my new bottle of curry powder but if a reader at home wanted to make this with whatever spices they have in their cabinet, I wanted to make sure it will be just as good for them too.

No matter what curry powder you use, or how old that bottle is, this dish will be tasty but I encourage you guys to use the freshest spices you can. This was a great reminder to Marco and me on how important it is to have fresh spices.

Anywho, my first round making this I added way too much salt. I seasoned the dish before I added my fish sauce which is a big no-no because fish sauce is salty. Two tablespoons was the sweet spot I found for fish sauce. At the end when you season the dish, play around with adding salt and fish sauce. If you just want more salt, add salt. If you are info a little more depth and funk, add an extra splash of fish sauce.

I also want to encourage you guys to play around with the apple cider vinegar. This adds acid to the dish but apple cider vinegar is slightly sweet. On the third round, I added two tablespoons and it definitely tasted sweeter. Enjoyable for sure but changed the dish. Just remember, you can always add more of something. Start small and taste as you go.

Any squash will work but my favorite was kabocha. It brought the most flavor. Acorn squash was the second runner up and butternut did nothing for me. Use whichever squash you prefer.

Be generous with the herbs. I mean a big handful! And finish the dish was some chili crisp or chili oil. I prefer the La-Yu chili oil flavor. I enjoy the sweet sesame flavor that is present along with the heat.

Regular ramen noodles, instead of gluten-free, will of course work. I actually suggest you go to your local Asian market and get frozen ramen noodles. They will have a better texture than any dried ones you try.

Try this dish, play around with the ingredients, and let me know what you think! It is now a favorite recipe for us and the perfect cozy fall meal.

Find my Curry Squash Noods recipe on my website, here.

Sunday

• Grilled Broccolini Salad

• Mushroom + Scallion Taco

**You can make this Broccolini Salad without a grill!!!**

I used to make this for one of the girls I nannied all the time. I always would pop the broccolini under the broiler to have It cook quickly and get a bit of char. The grill provides smokiness but it's equally as good in the oven. And it's easy!

I also threw some blue oyster mushrooms and scallions on the grill for tacos! Loosely following my recipe for Scallion & Shroom Tacos, I tossed the grilled veggies with some lime juice, olive oil, and cumin.

Monday

• Butternut Squash + Quinoa

• Rye Challah

You guys have seen me post a few versions of roasted butternut squash before. This is probably my favorite one yet.

It was composed of:

• Quinoa, made with smoky chicken broth for extra flavor

• Roasted butternut squash

• Toasted pistachios

• Pomegranate

• Goat cheese

• Cilantro

• Mint

• Salsa Verde (cilantro, mint, Fresno chili, shallot, EVOO, red wine vinegar)

This is a no recipe, recipe. Just throw everything together and add as much of each ingredient as you like. I'll test it out a few more times and write something more structured then.

Challah Expiriment: Rye challah!
Total success with this one. I used my Honey Challah as a base and made a few adjustments:

• 300g AP flour

• 125g Whole-wheat flour

• 250g Rye flour

• 4t caraway seeds, toasted and crushed.

The dough was a little dry and I want to experiment with a little more hydration next time. It could still use more caraway seeds I think too. Turned it into a pastrami sandwich of course!

Wednesday

• S'mores-ish Bars

I had another one of those mornings where I wake up thinking about a recipe. I envisioned a rye shortbread, layer of salted caramel, and toasty marshmallow.

Rye shortbread was a huge success. I added cinnamon and it was to die for.

Caramel was a semi fail. The flavor was there but it didn't set enough and ended up oozing out instead of being a solid layer.

Marshmallow was a marshmallow, How can it be bad? And yes, I finally got my hands on gelatin!!! There was indeed a shortage according to Google and this was the first time I saw any in 4+ months. I need a torch for the tops though. Broiling warmed the marshmallow too much making it soft.

My plan for next time is to replace the caramel with chocolate ganache. Once I order a torch, I'll give these guys another try.

Thursday

• Brussels Sprout Salad

One of the hardest things about moving from LA to KC is not having my favorite restaurants right down the street. So far there are two meals I truly crave here. One is the Brussels Sprout Salad from The Rockhill Grille. There isn't anything fancy about it, it's just delicious. So I knocked it off and made it at home.

It was so good that we made it two days in a row and we ate it for lunch. We have had it for four meals with week and we both love it. The best part is the brown butter dressing. Trust me on this one. It packs a punch in the flavor department. Here is the recipe.

Marco Rating: 9/10
"I'm technically allergic to Brussels sprouts but this is really good. I'm happy to eat it anyway."

Friday

• Pumpkin Sage Manicotti

• Brussels Sprout Salad

• Chocolate Hazelnut Cookies

• GF Almond Madeleines

I found out Thursday afternoon that our friends from college, and their incredibly adorable new baby, were coming for dinner Friday night. I ran out to get fresh flowers, wine, and cheese and whipped up a meal for the four of us.

I made the Brussels Sprout Salad again because it is super easy to throw together. Actually, shaving the Brussels sprouts is very tedious but I did that while we all talked and ate cheese.

Earlier in the day, I made two cookies for dessert. Chocolate Hazelnut Cookies and GF Almond Madeleines. Both don't require any special skill but you do need a pan for the Madeleines.

Then I did something I don't usually recommend...I tried a new recipe for our main dish. Pumpkin sage manicotti. I knew the manicotti would come out well because I used the same filling recipe I always use but the sauce was a total risk.

At the end of last fall, I took all out pumpkins that we used as decor and roasted them. I pureed the flesh and froze it. I used that pureed with butter, shallot, sherry vinegar, broth, and sage from our garden for the sauce. You know, it was a huge success! Slightly sweet but still savory, cheesy, and comforting. A very fall dish.

My friend made a comment that he felt like he was eating at a restaurant. Big win!!

Recipe to come.

Thing I learned this week:

Pink peppercorns are not peppercorns they are dried berries (that part I knew) AND they are in the cashew family. People that are allergic to tree nuts may have a reaction to pink peppercorns as well! That I did not know.

Pet photo of the week:

Chaz and Josie sharing the sunny afternoon nap spot.

Gnome Update:

This will be our final gnome update. The super fun gnome installations have had a visit from some kids that decided to destroy them and throw them all over the trail. Some kids have been playing with the remains and building their own installations for the last few weeks. Another neighbor pointed out that as fun as they are they also add litter to our woods and put animals at risk (a thought that did cross my mind when they first popped up). So no more gnome installations have been made and I have been taking an extra bag with me on my walks and cleaning up the remains.

It was fun while it lasted!

I sent out a mid-week email with a survey asking you guys to share what kind of content you would like to see from me. If you missed it and would like to fill it out, it can be found here.

See you next week,

Marcella