Summer Squash Rice Gratin

adapted from Gourmet magazine

2 cups cooked short-grain rice~ I like to use pearl rice from Winco's bulk section for this

2 yellow summer squash, sliced crosswise 1/4 inch thick (of course, you can use zucchini if you have some :-)

6 1/2 tablespoons olive oil, divided

1- 14oz. can diced tomatoes, drained well

1 medium onion, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced

3 garlic cloves, minced

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves

1 cup grated Manchego cheese (I get mine from Costco)~ you can also use Pecarino Romano or another hard cheese if you prefer

• Preheat oven to 450F.
• Toss squash with 1 tablespoon oil and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a shallow baking pan. Toss tomatoes with 1 tablespoon oil and 1/4 teaspoon salt in another baking pan.
• Roast squash on top shelf in oven and tomatoes on bottom shelf, turning vegetables once halfway through roasting, until tender, about 10 minutes for tomatoes and 20 minutes for squash. Leave oven on.
• Meanwhile, cook onion and garlic with 1/2 teaspoon salt in 2 tablespoons oil in a large heavy skillet, covered, over low heat, stirring occasionally, until very tender, 15 to 20 minutes.
• Stir together rice, onion mixture, eggs, thyme, 1/2 cup cheese, 1 tablespoon oil, 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Spread half of rice mixture in a 2 quart baking dish, then top with half of the squash. Spread remaining rice mixture over squash, then top with remaining squash. Top with tomatoes and drizzle with remaining 2 tablespoons oil, then sprinkle with remaining cheese.
• Bake on top rack of oven until golden brown, about 20 minutes.

The Keatley Household Does Not Live by Bread Alone~for this week, anyway

I realized this morning when I woke up thinking of what I'd have for breakfast that I've gone a little more crazy than usual. I am pretty sure it has to do with the fact that we have no bread or flour in our house at the moment. Some people love to eat sweets while others crave salty or even fatty foods~ for me it is definitely bread! I don't think I've ever met a bread I didn't like, so this week has been really interesting. I know the kids are thinking this is "interesting" (or "what do you mean we don't have any bread- what am I going to do???) too as they are having to be way more creative than usual. We do have a few other starchy items in the house, so I have been making use of pasta and rice as well as some Scottish oatmeal that's been sitting patiently in the cupboard waiting to be used.

This morning's repast was simple but made me feel like someone was giving me a big hug. I cooked up the aforementioned Scottish oatmeal, using 1/2 & 1/2 instead of water and adding 2 cinnamon sticks, a couple pieces of candied ginger, a few allspice berries and 1/2 of a vanilla bean. Once the milk was almost boiling, I strained out the chunky spices and added the oatmeal. 7 minutes and an occasional stir later, I was in oatmeal bliss. I then went over the top by spooning some King Kelly orange marmalade (bought at Winco but made where I grew up in California) and a little bit of brown sugar. It just got better as everyone was sleeping still, so I got to sit and watch a couple episodes of Gourmet's Diary of a Foodie- my new second favorite culinary-type show after Alton Brown! There are three seasons of shows you can watch on the internet~ be sure to watch the one on Italian home cooks, my numero uno favorite!

I was trying to figure out what to do for dinner when I remembered a recipe I had for zucchini rice gratin. The lead-in even said it would be satisfying for dinner with just a large green salad. This sounded perfect until I realized~ much to my horror (and Brian & Mary's amusement) that we were actually out of zucchini! I looked in everywhere I thought it could be, but alas, no zucchini was to be found. Thankfully, I did find a couple of summer squash, so I was able to make the gratin after all. It now sits on my counter waiting (patiently, like the oatmeal) to be dug into with a large spoon so as not to miss one bit of squashy, ricey, cheesy yumminess!

I also will wait patiently (but not on the counter) to see what else I can come up with this week while we live without the staff of life. When I do take my next bite of bread goodness, I plan on making it worth my while...now to decide what kind it will be.

"Out of this World" Roasted Kohlrabi & Potatoes

3-4 kohlrabi, ends trimmed and cut into 1/2 inch wedges

6-8 medium blue potatoes, scrubbed but not peeled cut into 1/2 inch wedges

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

3-4 cloves garlic, pressed or minced

1 1/2 teaspoons sea salt

1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

Preheat oven to 450F. Toss kohlrabi and potatoes with olive oil, garlic, salt & pepper. Place on rimmed baking sheet and roast for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and gently stir veggies. Place back in oven for 5 more minutes. Serve while warm.

I plan on using the leftovers for breakfast tomorrow~ if there are any. I like to whisk together a couple of eggs and scramble them up then add the kohlrabi & potatoes the last couple of minutes just to warm them up. I will probably then sprinkle on a little farmstead gouda from my friend Melissa at Willamette Valley Cheese Company and eat happily!

An Alien (Vegetable) Has Landed

As you know, I love to get new-to-me veggies in our wonderful CSA box from Gardenripe! Usually I don't have a problem thinking of new dishes to try, but a few weeks ago I was pretty stumped when I discovered kohlrabi in the box. It looks like something from another galaxy...far, far away~ a light green globe with bumps and three to four stalks sticking out from one side. I really think this might have been what I saw Aunt Beru feed Luke during a scene from Star Wars.

Anyway, I must confess that I tried to ignore these green globes instead of figuring out what to do with them...until today. I was at the house, alone~ a rarity for this mom of four~ and I decided to actually find out about kohlrabi. Googling is a wonderful thing as most people have already found out, and today's search yielded a world of kohlrabi information. I read that kohlrabi is an eastern European vegetable that is part of the cabbage family that can be used raw as well as cooked. I dove into my research a little further and found out that kohlrabi can also be roasted~ one of my favorite ways of cooking right now.

Looking through the rest of my veggie larder, I found some very pretty blue potatoes waiting to be boiled, mashed, stuck in a stew...or roasted! So, with no one else at home to make faces at the newest vegetable to hit the Keatley table, I chopped, drizzled, sprinkled and roasted some "out of this world" kohlrabi & blue potatoes. The smell during roasting was amazing and the taste once out of the oven was even better. Sign me up for more of this alien-looking vegetable anytime!!