Category Archives: Lunch

Curried Egg Salad Sandwich

Posted on September 6, 2011 by Ashley| 2 Comments

Eggs

I feel like I start every post these days with “sorry it’s been so long, I’ve been sooo busy.”  So I wont say it again.  Suffice it to say that I just dropped in to give off some Drunk Squash love and it’s criminal the way I’ve been treating this blog lately.

But enough of that, onward!

I’ve been enjoying some belated heat here in my lovely East Bay city, and in honor of those sweet summer afternoons I wanted to share a sweet little sandwich tip.

Curried

Last month I saw a recipe for Curried Egg Salad on Baker by Nature and was immediately excited in the belly.  And in the tastebuds, too.  I was just really excited.  See, I’m definitely a fan of egg salad sandwiches.  I know they’re not healthy (soo much mayo) and not usually fancy, but they are still just so comforting and tasty.  They were my special pals when I was a fourteen year old cutting meat out of her diet and trying to convince my parents that I’ll be okay without it.  Yeah, that wasn’t the best way to prove that I could be a healthy, well-balanced vegetarian, but at least I had something to order off of the lunch menu.  And even now that I’m a pretty staunch vegetarian sandwich orderer, I still find myself looking longingly at the good old egg salad sandwich.

So when I saw this recipe for CURRIED egg salad, I was immediately obsessed with the idea of making it for myself.  I didn’t have all of the ingredients (namely celery salt, Tabasco, Dijon mustard, lemon juice, mango chutney, celery, or scallions), but I definitely made do with what I had.  I realize that I just named over half of the recipe as “something I didn’t have,” so I’m going to admit that my own version was a loose interpretation that made do with spicy yellow mustard, regular salt, and Sriracha sauce.  Yet I still had the best egg salad sandwich I’ve ever had.  So one can only imagine what sorts of culinary ecstasy comes along with ALL of the ingredients.

Sandwich

If you’re in any way a curry fan, I implore you to try adding it to your next egg salad sandwich.  Better yet, follow this recipe directly and let me know what I missed out on!

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Tomato-Watermelon-Pepper Gazpacho

Posted on August 21, 2011 by Ashley| 1 Comment
Gazpacho

I am so excited to share this recipe with you, it is soooo good!  When I saw my newest stash of CSA goodies, I wasn’t really sure how I was going to use everything, but I knew that I wanted to really take advantage of the mini watermelon and the heirloom tomatoes.  They were so colorful and delicious looking, so I started thinking about salsas and salads.  Then, through Foodgawker I found these two blog posts, one on Fresh From Eva’s Kitchen and the other on Citron et Vanille.  Each one has a recipe for a watermelon-tomato gazpacho.  It was kind of the direction I was going in, but even better!

Mini Watermelon

I’m a huge soup lover, though usually during the winter months.  I love the way the flavors mingle together and create an easy-to-eat warming meal.  I love creamy soups and water-based soups, I love soups that are pureed and ones that have big chunks of food.  I love ‘em all, any way they’re simply divine.

Gazpacho, is a wonderful summer treat.  It has the benefits of all of those intermingled flavors, yet it cools you off in the heat!  Perfect!  I loved the idea of mixing tomato and watermelon and taking advantage of all of the juiciness both fruits have.  I also thought that the sweetness in the watermelon would balance well against the acidity in the tomato.

Skins

Then, however, I remembered all of the peppers that came in the box.  I decided to roast some peppers and add those into the gazpacho as well to add some depth to the soup.

In the end, the recipe turned out easy and delicious.  I topped the soup with a little bit of goat cheese and then slurped it all up.  It’s definitely a rich, sweet gazpacho, so I would suggest pairing it with some bread.  Enjoy!

Blending

Tomato-Watermelon-Pepper Gazpacho
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Recipe type: Entree
Author: Ashley @ The Drunk Squash
Prep time: 15 mins
Cook time: 15 mins
Total time: 30 mins
Serves: 2-4
A rich, sweet gazpacho- the perfect way to cool off on a warm afternoon.
What Do You Need?
  • 1 large tomato
  • 1 medium tomato (I used an heirloom and a plum tomato)
  • 1 mini watermelon (or 1/2 medium watermelon)
  • 2 Flamingo Peppers (or bell peppers? I don’t know the difference)
  • Olive Oil
  • Black Pepper
  • Salt
  • Dill
Make it Happen
  1. Preheat oven to 400F.
  2. Cut the peppers in half and remove the seeds, then place them skin-up on a baking sheet and roast them until their skins turn black.
  3. In the meantime, you can de-skin the tomatoes (or leave them with their skins on) and cut them into chunks..
  4. Also, cut out chunks of watermelon, remove the seeds, and add them to the tomatoes in a bowl.
  5. At this point you can add about a tablespoon of olive oil and pepper, salt, and dill to taste. Let all of the flavors sit.
  6. When the peppers’ skins have turned black, remove them from an oven and place them in a sealed plastic bag to build up steam.
  7. When the peppers have cooled to the touch, remove the skins and cut into chunks. Add to the tomatoes and watermelon.
  8. Either with an immersion blender or a regular blender, puree the majority of the soup. Leave about 1/4 of the total amount chunky so that your soup will have some texture.
  9. When you serve the gazpacho, sprinkle the top of the bowl or cup with goat cheese.
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Soup

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Corn, Lentil, and Tomato Salad

Posted on August 17, 2011 by Ashley| Leave a comment

Baby Tomatoes

I realized that I briefly mentioned a salad in the last Thursday Stash, but then never followed up about it!  For shame!

It may be three weeks late, but this recipe is definitely worth it.  You probably don’t remember, but I described this salad as “heartstopping,” and I was not exaggerating.  But the thing is, it definitely isn’t an intense recipe.  Instead, this salad relies on the quality of its ingredients.  I used my corn, basil, and tomatoes straight from the CSA box.  They were basically just out of the ground.

Juicy

That’s something I struggle with sometimes, actually.  Because I only get the CSA box every two weeks, I worry sometimes about evenly balancing everything.  I don’t want to cook everything up the first few days (although realistically, that’s never going to happen), but I also don’t want everything sitting around aging for the next two weeks.  If I was more organized I would make some meal plans… but let’s be real, that’s probably not going to happen.

So I’m really glad that this time I busted a move with the corn, basil, and tomatoes.  They deserved to be devoured immediately and they really made this salad into something special.  So here she is:

Salat

Corn, Lentil, and Tomato Salad
Recipe Type: Salad
Author: Ashley @ The Drunk Squash
Prep time: 3 mins
Cook time: 10 mins
Total time: 13 mins
Serves: 2
A simple salad that relies on the freshness of basic, yet flavorful ingredients.
Ingredients
  • 1 corn cob
  • 1 1/2 cups cherry tomatoes
  • handful of fresh basil
  • 1 cup cooked lentils
  • 2 tsp barbecue sauce
  • olive oil
  • salt
  • black pepper
  • thyme
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 400F.
  2. Cut the corn off the cob, and slice the tomatoes down their middles.
  3. Lay the corn and tomatoes in a pan or on a baking sheet and then drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt, pepper, and thyme.
  4. Place the corn and tomatoes in the oven for about ten minutes.
  5. In the meantime, mix your lentils with the barbecue sauce (lentils can either be hot or cold).
  6. In a bowl, add the basil and lentils together.
  7. After ten minutes mix the corn and tomatoes along with the basil and lentil mixture and serve.
Notes

If you don’t have pre-cooked lentils, you can either add the time to cook some up or just leave them out of the recipe- personally I think they add an important nutty flavor though.

Salad

There’s something about that combination of sweetness and acidity (and even smokiness) that makes this recipe extremely gobble-up-able.  So get yourself some fresh vegetables (CSA box?  Farmer’s Market?  Straight from the farm?  The down-low on your local grocery store?) and try it :)

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The Thursday Stash and Potatoes-Beets au Gratin

Posted on July 28, 2011 by Ashley| 3 Comments

Some Stash

It’s another Thursday where I have produce aplenty to share with you!  I’ve got some repeated vegetables from last week, and then a few new ones.  Also, I received two juicy peaches (one of which I immediately devoured all by itself).  And I’ve got high hopes for baking that other peach.  I’m completely into the idea of making a brown sugar crumble inside of it.  Ah, in short I am just giddy on my post-CSA retrieval high.

Veg

So this week I got more green beans (still have to come up with something killer to do with them- I’m not good with green beans), more corn (that’s easy!), garlic, green bell peppers, and a pretty little basket of cherry tomatoes.

I already made a heartstopping salad last night with the corn and some of the tomatoes, which I will share with you soon.  And tomorrow I’m making a vegetable tart for a work party.  I really want to use up the basil quickly because it’s already picked, and who knows how long it will last.  I could always dry some, of course, but the faster I can eat it fresh the better.

Yum

Also, I’m going to be spending some time at my parents’ house for the next two weeks or so, so I’m feeling like I should use up my stash pretty quickly and then bring the rest with me.  Luckily, my planned veggie tart should handle the bell peppers, some corn, and the tomatoes.  Too bad you can’t put green beans in a tart… can you?  I don’t think I’m going to go there…

Beets

I also wanted to include a recipe for a meal I’ve been eating for the past week.  I used up the rest of my beets and potatoes from my last Thursday Stash by making a filling, creamy, and lightly spicy Potatoes and Beets au Gratin (or Potato-Beet Casserole?).  And when I say that I’ve been eating it for the past week, I really mean it.  That’s no exaggeration.  I made a big dish (which lasts one person for quite a while) that I haven’t gotten sick of yet.  It’s eggy, cheesy, spicy, and filling.  And it makes the perfect lunch, dinner, or breakfast.  Here she is:

Au Gratin

Recipe: Potatoes and Beets au Gratin

Ingredients

  • 2 cups potatoes sliced (that was two medium potatoes and 6 small ones for me)
  • 1 cup yellow beets sliced (about two medium ones for me)
  • 1 white onion sliced
  • 3 eggs
  • 1/2 cup milk
  • 1/2 cup shredded cheese (sharp white cheddar was delicious)
  • 1 tsp black pepper
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp cayenne pepper
  • 1/2 tsp turmeric

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 375F.
  2. Slice your vegetables.
  3. Whisk eggs into the milk, and then add cheese.
  4. Stir in the spices.
  5. In a casserole dish, layer half of your potatoes, beets, and onions.
  6. Pour half of the egg mixture evenly over the veggies.
  7. Layer the rest of the potatoes, beets, and onions.
  8. Pour the rest of the egg mixture over the dish.
  9. Place in oven for about 45 minutes.
  10. Remove when a fork easily pokes into the potatoes and beets.

Quick notes

There is not a lot to the egg mixture, in fact it’s quite sparse. The idea is to have a dish that mostly features the potatoes, beets, and onions, rather than a dish that is mostly eggy. You, of course, can increase the amount of egg or milk.

Preparation time: 10 min

Cooking time: 45 min

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