Tag Archives: Houston food blogger

ASIAN BUTTERNUT SQUASH AND CARROT SLAW

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My Thanksgiving is going to be different this year.  My friend and I are hosting our 8th Thanksgiving Day Luncheon for our little community’s senior citizens (with half-hearted participation from our sons’ Boy Scout Troop) for the last time.  We’ve enjoyed it, but it’s time to pass the torch — hopefully someone will accept it and carry on this fine tradition.  Here’s a few photos from a prior luncheon:

My little family is scattered this year — there will just be three of us for dinner later in the day, and that’s OK.  I think we’re looking forward to a relaxed holiday meal, for once.  Although I’m not getting out my collection of turkeys and Thanksgiving decorations, I did make a turkey wreath for my front door:

I know your inboxes are overflowing with Thanksgiving recipes, so forgive me for adding yet  another nontraditional recipe to the noise.  But I love this recipe.  Its seasonal colors will add vibrancy to your Thanksgiving table, and it is deliciously different.  It would also be excellent to bring a some excitement to leftover turkey sandwiches.

 

Gorgeous, right?  Happy Thanksgiving!

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ASIAN BUTTERNUT SQUASH AND CARROT SLAW
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Ingredients
  • For dressing:
  • 1 cup water
  • ¼ cup champagne vinegar
  • 3 tablespoons light brown sugar
  • ¼ cup Asian fish sauce
  • 1 small garlic clove, minced
  • 3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
  • ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper

  • For slaw:
  • 4 cups julienned butternut squash
  • 2 cups julienned carrot
  • 1 small red jalapeno, very thinly sliced into rings
  • ¼ cup coarsely chopped cilantro, plus additional sprigs for garnish
  • ½ cup coarsely chopped glazed pecans, plus additional for garnish
Instructions
  1. To prepare dressing, place water, vinegar, brown sugar, and fish sauce in a small saucepan and heat over medium heat, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat and stir in garlic, lime juice, and crushed red pepper. Set aside to cool until ready to use.
  2. Place squash, carrot, jalapeno, cilantro, and pecans in medium bowl and toss to combine . Just before serving, pour ½ cup dressing over slaw, and toss until combined. (Reserve additional dressing in covered container in refrigerator for another use.). Mound slaw on serving dish and garnish as desired with cilantro sprigs and whole pecans.

Knock knock

Who’s there?

Norma Lee

Norma Lee who?

Norma Lee I don’t eat this much!

 

 

 

 

 

 

WATERMELON GAZPACHO

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I found this cast iron Amish hourglass at an estate sale:

One of my early blog posts — Friendship Blueberry Muffins — was also inspired by cast iron Amish figurines that I found at an estate sale.  I’m curious as to how they ended up in Houston — to my knowledge, there aren’t a lot of Amish here.  In fact, as best I can tell, there is only one small community in Texas in Beeville, started by a group from Tennessee in 1999.  I can understand why there are not more Amish in Texas — it’s not a secret that summers here can be brutally hot, and given that most Amish don’t have indoor air conditioning, I would imagine living here would not be very appealing.

According to my favorite weather guys, “August is the worst month because it is the hottest month of the year in Houston.  And we typically vacillate between the extremes of drought and flood, sometimes within a matter of hours.  There is no happy medium, There is no break from the humidity.  There is only August.”  Nailed it.  On the bright side, there’s at least a gllimmer of hope for cooler days at the end of September.

So although Halloween stuff is starting to appear in stores, and there are whispers of pumpkin spice in the air, we have at least two more months of heat and humidity to get through before we start cranking up the heat in the kitchen.  Inspired by the little Amish girl patiently sitting by the hourglass (like sands through the hourglass, so are the days of our summers), this Watermelon Gazpacho is cool and refreshing, with a little kick from jalapeno, and requires no cooking and only minimal preparation.  It’s perfect for the “worst month” while watermelon, cucumbers, and tomatoes are still in season.

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WATERMELON GAZPACHO
Author: 
 
Ingredients
  • 1 medium English cucumber, peeled, seeded, and cut into large chunks
  • ½ medium red bell pepper, seeded and ribs removed, and cut into large chunks
  • 2 cups coarsely chopped tomatoes
  • 2 cups coarsely chopped seedless watermelon
  • ¼ cup olive oil
  • 4 teaspoons sherry vinegar
  • 2 tablespoons chopped jalapeno, seeded
  • 2 tablespoons chopped shallots
  • Salt and pepper, to taste
  • Fresh cilantro (optional garnish)
Instructions
  1. Place cucumber, red bell pepper, tomatoes, watermelon, oil, vinegar, jalapeno, and shallots in a blender, and blend until smooth. Season to taste with salt and pepper. (Note: you can add more oil or vinegar, if desired.). Transfer to a container and refrigerate for at least 2 hours. Ladle gazpacho into bowls and garnish with cilantro. Serve cold.

So refreshing