Rebecca Davis 6/28/19 Rebecca Davis 6/28/19

Pickled veggie pasta salad

This pasta salad requires a tiny bit of forethought so that you can let the veggies pickle for a few hours, but it’s well worth the effort for a crowd-pleasing, tangy and bright salad that complements any other BBQ dishes. #meandthemoose #pastasalad… — This pasta salad requires a tiny bit of forethought so that you can let the veggies pickle for a few hours, but it’s well worth the effort for a crowd-pleasing, tangy and bright salad that complements any other BBQ dishes. #meandthemoose #pastasalad #pastarecipes #summerbbq #pickles #pickledveggies

This is my platonic ideal of pasta salad: Tangy, bright, and crunchy, but also a little creamy and, frankly, oily. You can’t help but smell a smoky grill, hear kids laughing, and feel the sun in your face with this salad on your plate.

Just the pasta, please.

So, pasta salad is often an underwhelming affair. It feels necessary at BBQs and is easy to produce in huge quantities. And sans eggs or mayo, it keeps in the sun for hours without risking a side of salmonella. But what a waste when it’s totally boring!

This recipe uses a huge quantity of quick-pickled seasonal vegetables and aromatics, which takes a little pre-planning, but is very worth it. My kid also happens to love pickles, which is a pretty good way to get him to eat veggies.

The recipe I’ve developed here is best when left overnight, but the veggies can be eaten after about 3 hours and definitely taste pickled. Leaving them overnight helps the garlic to mellow, which can be considered a kindness to your guests, no? But also feel free to omit the garlic if you must.

And while I haven’t included anything but the pasta, dressing, and veggies in this recipe, you can customize this dish in whatever way suits your family. I make this for the three of us with mozzarella balls or feta. I’ve also thought about searing some salmon and flaking it in there or just opening a can of tuna and dumping that in. Also, the pickled veggies remind me of gardiniera, so I’m sure a salami or other Italian cured meat would be amazing in there. Experiment! Go crazy!

A couple of notes:

I’ve made this salad by putting all of the veggies into one jar and I’ve made them by separating the different veggies into their own jars. If you do the veggies separately, you might need to increase the amount of pickling liquid. Just double or triple the amount of vinegar, sugar, and salt that you mix together and spread it among the different containers.
I opted for scallions because, though I LOVE a pickled red onion, they turn the pickling liquid (and everything else that’s being soaked) a bit pink.
I also used fresh corn because it’s in season and is so sweet and perfect right off of the cob that I can’t imagine not using it. But I’m sure frozen would do the trick too.
I give a range of oil and a range of pasta to use here. Some fancier pasta comes in smaller amounts (12-14 oz is a popular weight), but you can definitely use a whole pound of that’s the amount you have. Obviously, the more pasta you use, the less prominent the veggies will be and the more sauce you’ll need and vice versa.
I’ve also made this with chickpea pasta and, dare I say it, I might PREFER the bean pasta to regular white pasta. Shocking, I know.

Pickled veggie pasta salad

Active time: About 30 minutes, mostly spent chopping and mixing
Total time: Anywhere from 3 hours to 1 week, depending on how much you let the pickles sit
Yield: About 9-10 cups of salad

¾ cup white vinegar
1½ Tbsp sugar
¾ tsp salt
3 large cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
½ large bunch scallions (about 4-5 large), trimmed and roughly chopped
1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
½ large orange bell pepper, roughly chopped
2-3 large ears corn, with kernels removed (or about 1½-2 cups)
12-16 oz dried pasta (depending on the ratio of vegetables to pasta that you prefer)
1/2- 3/4 cup olive oil
2 Tbsp red wine vinegar
½ tsp Dijon mustard
½ tsp kosher salt
¼ tsp fresh pepper
½ tsp dried or 1 tsp fresh oregano, well minced if using fresh
¼- ½ cup fresh basil leaves, torn

For the pickled vegetables:
In a small bowl, combine the vinegar, sugar, and salt and stir until the sugar has dissolved, about 2 minutes. (You won’t hear any more crunching on the bottom of the container.)

In a large container or several smaller containers with a tight fitting lid (see note above about the amount of pickling liquid if making the pickles in separate jars), add the smashed garlic, chopped scallions, and chopped vegetables. Pour in the vinegar mixture, seal the container, and shake a few times.

Place in the refrigerator and leave for 3 hours or up to 1 week.

For the salad:
Cook your pasta according to package directions in well-salted water.

While your pasta cooks, combine the oil, red wine vinegar, dijon mustard, salt, pepper, and oregano in a small container.

Once the pasta is cooked, drain it and add it to a very large bowl. Add half of the olive oil mixture and stir well.

With a large fork or slotted spoon, remove the vegetables from the pickling liquid, transferring as little of the brine as possible (though don’t go crazy). Set aside the garlic cloves and mince the pickled cloves. Add everything to the pasta and stir well.

Add more of the olive oil mixture to taste until you feel that the pasta salad is wet enough.

Mix in and top with the torn basil before serving.

Rebecca Davis 5/9/19 Rebecca Davis 5/9/19

Roasted strawberry and rhubarb butter

Roughly chop some fruit and toss it in the oven for a spring-y fruit butter that’s naturally sweet, SUPER EASY, and extremely versatile. #meandthemoose #strawberryrhubarb #fruit #fruitbutter #naturallysweet #jam

Rhubarb season is here! Turn this tart veg into a thick, spreadable butter to use all day, every day.

Take me to the recipe!

If you’ve searched Instagram recently, it’ll come as no surprise that rhubarb is a very photogenic vegetable. The variations in color lend themselves to ombre-ing and chevron-ing to your heart’s content. But today, we’re keeping it simple by doing neither of those things.

Instead, we’re turning strawberries (fresh or frozen!) and those giant rhubarb stalks you find in the grocery store (or your garden if you’re lucky enough to grow your own) into a butter akin to apple or pumpkin. Because why should fall fruits and vegetables have all the fun?

In early spring, I use frozen berries because it annoys me that strawberry and rhubarb are a perfect combination, but their growing seasons only overlap for a hot minute here in New England. Buuuuut, I found some giant berries in the grocery store recently, so I went for it with the fresh ones a little earlier this year.

A couple of notes:

Let the berries and rhubarb cook until the juices start to get a little syrupy. You can test this by sticking a spoon into the hot liquid (DON’T USE YOUR FINGER!!!). If the strawberry juice coats the back of the spoon and doesn’t drip off entirely, you’re about done. Make sure that your berries don’t burn because they can taste bitter.
This is a TART butter because, well, rhubarb is tart and that’s the beauty of it. If you like things a little sweeter, you can add a bit of sugar or use more berries than rhubarb. OR, you can combine the tart butter with sweeter things like cakes, cookies, sweetened yogurt, and whipped cream.

Roasted strawberry rhubarb butter

Time: About 1 hour, 45 minutes, about 5 minutes active time
Yield: 12 oz (1½-2 cups)

4 heaping cups strawberries (fresh or frozen)
2 heaping cups chopped fresh rhubarb (about 3 extra extra-large stalks or 6-8 smaller stalks, chopped into 1-inch chunks)

Preheat the oven to 350.

Wash and chop the rhubarb. Combine with the frozen strawberries on a parchment-lined, rimmed baking tray.

Cook for 25-30 minutes, until the fruit is soft, the strawberries have released their juices, and the juice has started to become syrupy (see note above). Watch the berries closely after about 20 minutes to ensure that they don’t burn.

Let the fruit cool completely, about 15 minutes.

Scoop the fruit into your blender. Whatever juice gets onto the spoon is fine, but don’t add any remaining syrup.

Blend until smooth.

Store in the fridge for up to 7 days.

Rebecca Davis 4/4/19 Rebecca Davis 4/4/19

Sloppy Joe baked potatoes

These baked potatoes are dressed up with healthier turkey sloppy Joe filling for a tasty, healthy, and easy version of this kid-friendly sandwich.

Take me to the recipe!

M used to love sloppy Joes. LOVE THEM. However, when offered these, he declined saying, “I didn’t order that.” SOMEONE GAVE HIM THE GIFT OF SASS FOR HIS FOURTH BIRTHDAY AND I AM NOT HERE FOR IT.

After calmly explaining that I am, in fact, not his waitress, he proceeded to eat a dinner of pickles, cheese, and guacamole, all of which were the toppings and “safe” options I’d put out with the sloppy Joes. You win some, you lose some.

I’ve explained before how we started serving one family meal and adding lots of “safe” options as alternatives for M so that he can self-direct at dinner. Sometimes that means an apple and almond butter on the table or lots of condiments like pickles, olives, and cheese. Guacamole is usually reliable. But sometimes that means he doesn’t eat a ton for dinner and I’m slowly learning to be okay with that.

So, sloppy Joes, while traditionally a very kid-friendly option, were for the grownups in our house. But I have hope for the future.

What tends to appeal about Sloppy Joes is their sweetness, but I find that when the filling gets too sweet (like, when a recipe calls for a cup of ketchup), it can become cloyingly sweet. Also, who needs to eat all of that sugar for dinner?

However, the signature sloppy Joe flavor gets lost when you omit sweetener entirely, so I’ve included the bare minimum of brown sugar (2 tsp!) in this recipe. You can also wait to add it until the very end to decide for yourself if you really need it!

Sloppy Joe baked potatoes

Yield: 3 cups or 23 oz
Time: between 60-75 minutes (35 minutes active time)

4 large Russet potatoes
2 Tbsp olive oil
Flaky sea salt

1 Tbsp olive oil
1 lb ground turkey
½ medium white onion, minced (about ¾ cup)
1 medium stalk celery, minced (about ¼ cup)
1 small carrot, peeled and minced (a scant ½ cup)
2 large cloves garlic, minced
½ cup water, divided
6 oz tomato paste (one small can, about 10 Tbsp)
2 Tbsp yellow mustard
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 Tbsp malt vinegar (or whatever vinegar you have on hand), plus more for the potatoes
2 tsp brown sugar (optional)
2 tsp flaky sea salt, divided

Optional garnishes: cheese, pickles, pickles jalapenos, guacamole, sour cream, yogurt, coleslaw

Preheat the oven to 400.
Scrub 4 potatoes thoroughly and prick all over with a fork or small paring knife. I usually do 10-12 stabs per potato.
Brush the outside skin with a very thin coating of olive oil. You should have some of the 2 Tbsp left over. Sprinkle with flaky sea salt.
Place the potatoes on a sheet pan and bake for 45 minutes to an hour, or until the skin is crisp and the potato is fork tender.
While the potatoes cook, heat the olive oil in a large sauté pan over medium heat for 1-2 minutes. Add the ground turkey and chop the meat into small pieces with the end of your spatula or spoon. Stir a few times and reduce the heat to medium low.
Chop the onions and add to the pan, stirring a few times.
Repeat with the celery, carrots, and garlic, letting each vegetable cook while you prep the next one.
Cook and stir until the turkey is fully cooked and no pink remains. The whole process of cooking the turkey and veggies should take about 13-15 minutes.
Turn the flame back up to medium and let the turkey and veggies brown slightly. When they begin sticking to the pan a bit (about 3-4 minutes), pour in ¼ cup of water and scrape the browned bits from the bottom of the pan.
Add the tomato paste, mustard, vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, 1 tsp salt, and brown sugar (if using), and mix well. If the mixture seems too dry, add the other ¼ cup of water. If you’ve added all of the water and it seems too wet, let the mixture bubble for a few minutes until your sauce has thickened.
When the potatoes are done, carefully remove the pan from the oven and, using an oven mitt on one hand to steady the potato, cut it open with a sharp knife, being careful of the steam that escapes.
Pour a few drops of malt vinegar and a large pinch of sea salt into each opened potato. Top with 1/2 -3/4 cup of the turkey mixture.