Delicata Squash-I bet you've never heard of it!



Delicata Squash



So this week in my CSA box I received a Delicata squash. It is an amazing creamy delicious little squash. It is similar to a butternut squash but a lot easier to deal with. Thus I think it is much better than a butternut.

Butternut's tend to be huge with thick skins and can be a pain when you have to hack it apart. Since our family is so small this smaller squash is perfect. Plus it is so creamy after cooking!

With this sweet delicata squash all I had to do with it was wash it, chop it, scrape out the seeds, slice it and bake it. So easy! 

Roasted Delicata Squash Recipe
Serves 2-4 as a side dish

Ingredients:
2-4 delicata squash, depending on size
2 tbsp olive oil
salt to taste

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Clean the delicata squash by running under warm water and scrubbing away dirt with your hands. If there are any hard spots on the squash, scrape them off with a butter knife.

With a sharp knife, cut delicata in half lengthwise. This should be easy and not require any crazy hacking, wacking or knife smacking. With a spoon scoop out the seeds and discard (you can save these and prepare them like pumpkin seeds to put in your granola).

Cut each delicata half into 1/2 inch segments, creating moon-shaped pieces with slight bumps around the curve.

Arrange the pieces in a single layer in a metal baking pan and coat in 2 tbsp olive oil. Too much oil can make the squash soggy. Salt gently. It’s okay if the pieces are a little crowded, but try to maximize the surface area of the squash touching the pan. The browning only occurs where the squash and pan meet.

Place in oven and roast 10 minutes. Using a spatula (I use tongs for most veggies, but delicata squash are easily squished and it can be tricky to flip them with out compltely squishing them.) Turn the squash in the pan so the light sides are now touching the pan and the brown sides are facing up.

Continue roasting, turning every 7-10 minutes until both sides of the squash pieces are golden brown and when poked with a fork the texture is creamy, all the way through. It should take about 25-30 minutes total.

Serve as a side dish with the rest of your dinner. I served mine with barbequed chicken drumsticks and salad!

Dinner Rolls

My friend Robin made these last night and I am completly in love! They are so easy I may make them all the time and will probably gain 25lbs in the next week!

The dough can be made by hand, in a mixer or a bread maker...I will give you the mixer version!

Ingredients:
1/2 cup warm water (110 degrees F)
1/2 cup warm milk
1 egg
1/3 cup butter, softened
1/3 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon salt
3 3/4 cups all-purpose flour (I used half whole wheat flour)
1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast or 2.5 tsp yeast from the jar

Directions:
Mix water and milk, nuke in the microwave for 1 minute and 15 seconds, or if you don't use a microwave like me you can heat it in a pan on the stove - just don't scald it. I then pour it into the bowl of my KitchenAid mixer. Stir in the sugar until dissolved, then stirred in the yeast. After it gets all foamy, about 10 minutes, mix in the salt, butter and egg. Turn the KitchenAid on and start adding the flour a half cup at a time.
 

Without egg wash

Put it in a warm, oiled bowl to rise. I let it rise for about 45 minutes in the bowl, then punched it down, divided it into 12 balls (I didn't feel like making crescents) and let it rise for another hour, then bake for 10 minutes at 400 degrees, (I kept my oven at 350 degrees because it cooks really hot). They turned out like something from a bakery. Also, you can brush them with melted butter after if you'd like but they really don't need it. If you want them to be a deep shiny golden brown, brush them with egg yoke right before cooking.

With Egg Wash

Krazy Kristi's Kitchen

For more of my great recipes and meals check out Krazy Kristi's Kitchen...

Minestrone Soup or Whatever I have from the garden soup!

This is one of my fall favorites! Most people call it Minestrone soup or health in a bowl. But I like to call it Whatever I found in my garden or CSA box today soup! This is such an amazing soup, hearty, healthy and easy to make. It is a great dinner during the fall when things can be pretty crazy...kids are back to school, soccer practice, dance class etc...

Ummm can you smell it simmering?

Also you can substitute vegetables depending on what you have or what you like. You can use Swiss chard or kale instead of spinach if you wish. You can also cook it in a crock pot if you would like. I prefer to make this soup on the stove and let it simmer for about 45 minutes before adding the pasta. The crock pot however is so convenient when you are working all day and want to come home to a cooked meal. This is also great with browned venison burger, mini turkey meatballs or even some sauteed crumbled turkey sausage.
Ingredients:
3 tablespoons olive oil

3 cloves garlic, chopped (more if it is flu season)
2 onions, chopped
2 cups chopped celery
5 carrots, sliced
4 cups low sodium chicken broth (or vegetable broth for vegetarians)
2 (28 oz) can stewed tomatoes (I like the Italian kind)

1/2 cup red wine (optional)
1 cup canned kidney beans, drained (You can use cannellini or navy too)
1 (15 ounce) can green beans or fresh ones from the garden or your CSA!
2 cups baby spinach, rinsed (or fresh Kale)
3 zucchinis, quartered and sliced
1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup seashell whole wheat pasta (if watching your carbs or blood sugar you can omit)
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese for topping
1 tablespoon olive oil

Directions:
In a large stock pot, over medium-low heat, heat olive oil and saute garlic, celery, carrots and onion - saute for 4 to 5 minutes.
Add chicken broth, tomatoes, bring to boil, stirring frequently. If desired add red wine at this point. Reduce heat to low and add kidney beans, all the veggies, oregano, basil, salt and pepper. Simmer for 30 to 40 minutes, the longer the better.

Throw in noodles and cook until tender. Ladle soup in to bowls and sprinkle Parmesan cheese on top.

Kristi's Favorite Cucumber Salad

I love summer with all the cucumbers and zucchini growing in my garden. I'm always looking for great ways to make them and if I find a way without cooking that is even better.

Ingredients:
4 cucumbers, thinly sliced (I use a mix of cucumber and zucchini)
1 small white or purple onion, thinly sliced
1 cup white vinegar
1/2 cup water
3/4 cup white sugar (or zylitol)
1 tablespoon dried dill, or to taste

Directions:
Toss together the cucumbers, zucchini and onion in a large bowl.

Combine the vinegar, water and sugar in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil, and pour over the cucumber and onions.

Stir in dill, cover, and refrigerate until cold. This can also be eaten at room temperature, but be sure to allow the cucumbers to marinate for at least 1 hour.
               
Enjoy!

Caprese appetizer

Straight from the garden.

Fresh basil and tomatoes on fresh mozzarella (not from garden) then sprinkled with salt, pepper, balsamic vinegar and olive oil! Yummy!

Kristi

My baby likes to dance with her daddy!

I captured some great video I will upload soon! Once I figure out how to get it from my phone to YouTube :)

Kristi

Things I've learned

So I've learned something about myself since getting married and having children. I know you're surprised about this...Haha

One thing I've learned is to let go. I used to be very systematic about things. For example; everything in my cupboards always went a certain way. You could look in my cupboards on any given day and it was complete organization. Small plates stacked on top of bigger plates, bowls nicely nesting inside one another. It was cozy cupboard love.

Then I got married and found plates on top of bowls and little plates under big plates, you get the point.  It used to drive me insane. Now I've learned to let go and be happy the dishes are clean.

Now a clean dog...that is another story.

I also used to hang my clothes according to color. It was like looking at a happy bag of skittles everytime I opened my closest. Now I'm lucky to get the clothes hung up. Sometimes I'm in such a hurry to get it all done, while the children are not needing me, I fold them inside out and stuff them in the drawers.

Again letting go. I do cringe a little bit from time to time. But then I think, what is more important? Playing legos with my 3 year old or having complete order in my house? There will always be housework but my 3 year old will someday be 18 and leaving the nest. I can organize my cupboards then.

*Side note: this does not mean it looks like a bomb or in my case 4 Baums went off in my house. I do clean just don't organize every single detail of my house. It is a more macrocleaning then a microcleaning (yeah I took economics in college.)

It has taken me awhile to get to this point but it all comes down to what is important in life. When I get to Heaven is God going to say, "Well done thy good and faithful servant! You maintained an organized closet and cupboards. However, you were too busy mainting those things to truly nurture your children." Or is he going to say, "Well done thy good and faithful servant! You have raised two amazing godly woman."
 
Kristi

Veggies are even better when you pick them!

She ate them all.

Kristi

Buffalo chicken salad

Veggies from the garden are so delicious especially topped with buffalo chicken!

Kristi

Boating with kids

Boating with kids can be a grand adventure or a total disaster! There are a couple things you must have to make it a success.

#1 - Good Weather! Be sure to check the forecast ahead of time. You really do NOT want to get stuck in bad weather with little ones.

#2 - Larger boat with an enclosed cabin
#3 - Heater on above mentioned boat - cold kids means cranky kids. Cold mama means super cranky mama!
#4 - Lots of great snacks - for some reason everyone is hungry all the time while on the boat. Donuts are a must have according to my oldest daughter!
#5 - Juice boxes - keeps juice from spilling all over the place when the boat rocks.

This is mama sans a cup of coffee but with super awesome camping hair

#6 - Coffee - lots of coffee to keep Mama awake and warm.

#7 - Fishing poles - kids LOVE to fish. Mama LOVES to catch fish! Or just give the kid a bait fish to play with, that always works too!

#8 - Sleeping bags and blankets! Kids love to play in them and when mama gets tired she likes to roll up in them and let dad run the show while she naps.

#9 - A rubber Raft - it is great for rowing to shore but can also be filled up with water to make a great swimming pool or bathtub!

#10 - Portable DVD player - when they get REALLY bored I bring this out as my secret weapon. But use only as a last means of sanity.

#11 - Last but definitely not least! Always make sure your little fish are wearing their life jackets! They must wear them if outside of the cabin or if you are in rough seas! Remember kids don't float and they sure look cute all squished in a life jacket :) hehe Start them young and as they grow they don't mind it at all!

House Updates

Jeremy put house projects on the back burner this spring but now he is back to building! It's really neat to see the old come off and the new going up. For me it's really hard to mentally visualize how things will look once the project is complete. Now with the framing going up I can really visualize it!

Upstairs looking from living room toward master suite

Upstairs living room and master bath windows

Looking from living room toward my office downstairs

Master bedroom

Window over door - we are thinking half moon, porthole or maybe hexagon. Not sure yet.

The blue house is in forclosure so we paid the old owner to let us cut down 4 trees on his property. He's real hard up for money. Now we can see all the way to the lighthouse island!

Downstairs apartment kitchen!

Oh how life has changed...

Katie Lynn - Born December 29, 2010

The year 2011 started off with a lot of changes for Da Baum house!

With the addition of Katie Lynn, Kristi quit her job-Yahoo!!!

Jeremy bought a new boat! 22' Hewescraft!



We planted a large garden! Broccoli, tomatoes, cucumbers, zucchini, asparagus, carrots,
peas, lettuce, strawberries, blueberries, roses, flowers you get the point

We've been enjoying life!

With the addition of the new boat and the great weather we've put the house remodeling on hold for awhile! Instead we've gone on some amazing camping and fishing adventures! One super sunny weekend we headed south of Ketchikan to a place called Boca de Quadra where there are these amazing white sandy beaches we love to play on!



Jeremy and Katie Bug on her first camping trip!
Dad forgot his hat so fashioned one out of a baby blanket!



Hannah doing serious work!





The dogs have even enjoyed our camping adventures! 



I think we wore the yellow dog out..



Brown dog keeping watch-
never know when there might be something to kill











Katie Lynn Enters Our World

On December 29th baby Katie finally entered our world! She weighed 8lbs 10 oz and was 21.5 inches long. Katie is the sweetest, best baby!! She already sleeps 5-7 hours a night and rarely cries. Big sister Hannah is completely in love and adores her baby sister. She gives Katie about 300 kisses and hugs every day!