I'm just mad about saffron!

We are mad about saffron. What a special spice--long the world's most expensive spice by weight. Xandria's mom gave her some... the Lord knows we can't afford such an exotic luxury!

What to do with saffron? Risotto! Who doesn't love moist, rich risotto on a chilly evening? Today was perfect for such an indulgent treat--a sunny spring day, flowers petals floating down from trees all over the Hill, yet with enough of a nip in the air by evening to call for warm comfort food.

We lament, however, that risotto is typically made with nutrient-poor white rice and salty broth that's heavy on MSG. We decided to attempt a risotto that not only tantalizes our taste buds, but nourishes our bodies as well.

Last week left us with an abundance of vegetable scraps (onion, cilantro, kale and chard stems, and celery tops). We had chopped and boiled these for about an hour to make a hearty stock, then strained into a glass mason jar. The nutrient-dense brew was further inspiration to once again pull out the stock pot.

When eating a lot of carbohydrates, it is always a good idea to include some good fats and proteins. And putting together this with the ample vegetables we have on hand... here we go.

Scanning our cupboards once again, we found our ingredients:

Butter and liquid from the can of salmon for the sauteeing fats
2 onions, one red, one yellow -- diced until (we were) sobbing plus a few spring onions
1 cup plus 2 Tablespoons organic short grain brown rice
2 1/2 cups vegetable broth
Wild Alaska canned salmon (you could probably use good tuna as well)
3-4 stems each organic kale and chard (any greens will work, even ones that have been in the fridge for a few days too long)--chopped to your liking
1/3 cup organic diced (canned) tomatoes
Saffron

We were relative novices at making risotto; if you are too, you should know that it can take quite awhile--but it's well worth the wait.

We began by adding fat to the bottom of our stockpot--about 1/2 tablespoon of butter and the liquid off the can of salmon. We warmed this over medium heat for a few minutes before adding the diced onions. The onions should simmer (always so aromatically!) in the fats until they become soft and translucent. At that point, we added the rice to the pot to allow it to toast for a few minutes.

Once the rice was toasted (2-3 minutes), we added the broth bit by bit--we went in 2/3 cup increments as it was absorbed by the rice. This takes patience. We stirred the risotto to make sure the bottom did not burn, but we did not stir constantly--to be on the safe side, you probably can't go wrong with more stirring! [After the fact, we noticed that some recipes call for bringing the broth to a boil separately before adding it to the rice--this might make the process faster!]

We kept adding broth until it seemed as though the rice was not absorbing any more liquid. Then we dissolved the saffron in a bit of hot broth and added it to the rice mixture, allowing it to infuse for about 3 minutes.  We then added the tomatoes and the salmon (which had to be de-boned). When the tomatoes and salmon had warmed through, the greens were the last addition before serving. We wanted them to maintain some of their texture. We stirred them in and allowed them to wilt, then topped the risotto with salt and pepper to taste.

The short-grain rice resulted in a sticky but creamy risotto. If our delicious risotto is any indication, saffron's just mad about us, too!

leave no squash unturned

Many people seem to have the impression that winter is a drab, colorless season for vegetables, when starchy baked potatoes are the most exciting option. We could not disagree more--and squashes are the prime example of colorful winter excitement! (Xandria: "I wish I could write a ballad about squashes...!"). The multitude of options, once you get past the supermarket aisles, is truly astounding: from acorn to butternut to carnival to the more exotic kabocha and blue hubbard varieties, each squash offers a unique flavor and usually a different shade of orange.

Because Sarah has a farmer friend who kept her supplied through most of the fall with beautiful and exotic squash varieties, we have had the opportunity to enjoy multiple culinary experiments, from a night when we accompanied blue hubbard with four varieties of cheese and spices to this post's delightful pairing of butternut and acorn squash. In any event, the aesthetic squash can provide countertop adornment (don't refrigerate it!) for weeks at a time, so in the winter we always seem to have a few sitting around when cravings call. And they inevitably do.

Picking your squash: Alice Waters tells us to "look for heavy, hard-skinned squash with no blemishes or bruises." Usually, we find it's kind of hard to go wrong with squashes.

Generally, before making a specific grocery trip, we figure out what we have on hand and whether the ingredients we already have could constitute a full dish. This week, true to form, Sarah had an acorn squash and Xandria had half of a butternut. A spicy squash stew sounded like the perfect antidote to the cold, rainy weather, so we scoured the internet for recipes that we could adapt to our purposes.

2 stalks celery
4 carrots
2 red onions
1lb butternut squash
1lb acorn squash
5 cloves garlic
2 springs fresh thyme
red pepper flakes
Real Sea Salt (Celtic Sea Salt is also a healthy option)
Olive Oil!
2 cups of veggie stock
1/2 inch of fresh ginger

We tend to scour our fridges for veggies that will work. You could use any winter squashes here. White onion will have a different flavor, but won't miss too much excitement. Thyme could be replaced with rosemary or sage, depending on your herb collection.

We always use unrefined sea salt, a readily available brand is Real Salt. It retains the trace minerals that make salt healthful and delicious.

When prepping your veggies, you can choose to pre-chop your ingredients or race against the simmering concoction to have the next vegetable ready before the others overcook. The former is probably preferable, though you might enjoy the adrenaline rush of the latter option! We prefer the pace and aesthetic of chopping ahead and piling them all together, their colors and abundance reflecting the bounty of God's creation.

First, we warmed up a couple dollops of EVOO in a stock pot and let the thyme sprigs sizzle in it until the air was aromatic and the thyme became crisp. Remove the thyme and that oil is ready for the chopped onions, celery, carrots, and garlic. We allowed them to cook until tender and translucent. Then, we poured in a couple cups of broth and let the squash cubes tumble into the mix.

Then, we waited, tantalized by the mouth-watering aroma rising from the stockpot. Luckily, we had Michael Buble tunes on Grooveshark and Ladson's fancy camera to entertain us. He played with lighting to get the perfect textured shot of brussels sprouts (did you know they're little cabbages that were cultivated in Belgium in the 14th century?!).

Finally it was time to add the salt (to taste), and we decided it needed a bit more flavor, so we finely chopped a little fresh ginger, poured some broth off of the cooking soup into a smaller saucepan and let the combination simmer so that the ginger cooked a little and diffused through the broth. We added the ginger-infused stock back to the soup and let it all simmer until we absolutely could not wait any longer. You'll know your soup is done when the squash flesh is no longer stringy or hard--it should practically melt in your mouth.


The soup can also be pureed, should you so desire, although we concluded that it's best when you can taste the flavors of each separate vegetable coming together.