plums in the icebox

18 healthy breakfast ideas you probably already know about but let me remind you about them, anyway

Honestly, I feel like one thing the world can't get enough of is good breakfasts. Not to mention good breakfast ideas. I mean, right? Yeah, it's the most important meal of the day and all but also I often find it to be the most satifisfying in lots of ways. Like when I have a really awesome breakfast, it sets the tone for my whole day. Like when I sit down to do my work I'm better at it: I type faster, I think quicker. I even feel like a good breakfast has the power to make me be a little nicer and more patient. Even more organized! Weird and probably wisful thinking, but breakfast is powerful, y'all.  

None of these ideas are earth-shatteringly creative or brilliant; I'm not saying I'm a breakfast guru or anything. But here's a bunch of the breakfasts that make me feel great. They're healthy and they might be a welcome addition to your butter-and-toast, bagel-and-cream-cheese, milk-and-cereal-routine.  Some are vegan, some are gluten-free, and all are relatively easy.

Breakfasts In Bowls

1. Chia Seed Pudding: All you need is chia seeds, milk of your choice and then some stuff to top the pudding with. My favorite way to make it is with coconut milk and topped with sliced mangoes. Mix the seeds and milk, leave it in the fridge overnight, and done. 

2. Overnight Oats: The possibilities for this are endless, really, as you can jazz up the overnight oats with yogurt, jam, nut butter, fruit, nuts, seeds...Here's one version (I never make mine in a jar though, because it's just too Pinterest-y).

3. Quinoa as Oatmeal: Here's my recipe for this! I don't eat it often, but when I do, it's good. 

4. Breakfast Kasha: I made one with apple, if you'll remember, but any fruit would be great. 

Eggy Breakfasts

5. Eggs Baked In Tomatoes: Cute, easy and healthy. Here's a recipe.

6. Fried or Poached Egg on a Bed of Greens: Saute or steam greens of your choice and put an egg on it! Eat with toast on the side. 

7. Oatmeal With A Fried Egg: This sounds kind of weird, I know, but try it with salsa and a few avocado slices. 

8. Breakfast Tostada: Char or toast a tortilla and serve it with some sauteed greens, an egg cooked any style, and salsa.

9. Microwave Omelet: I know a lot of people are wary of using a microwave to cook rather than heat things up, but I ate this breakfast all the time in grad school. Recipe here at my old food blog. 

10. Tortilla Egg In The Hole: When I was a kid, I called egg-in-the-hole "the egg thing." Cut a circle out of a tortilla, fry an egg inside and top with salsa.  

Breakfasts with Breads

11. Avocado Toast: Toast some bread, mash up half an avocado, spread it on, sprinkle salt and pepper. Add sliced tomatoes or red pepper flakes if you're feeling crazy.

12. Nut Butter Toast With Banana: Spread your choice of nut butter on toast and top with sliced banana. Ta-da! So easy I can't even believe I typed it out.

13. Morning "Pizza:" Toast spread with ricotta (or farmer's cheese, my new obsession!) and topped with sliced tomatoes, salt, pepper and a little bit of olive oil. 

Baked Breakfasts

14. Baked Oatmeal: Baked oatmeal is so good in winter. I usually make it the night before and eat it for a few days as breakfasts and snacks. I made a pumpkin apple one this fall!

15. Baked Quinoa: This is very similar to baked oatmeal. Here's a recipe that I really like. 

Random Breakfasts

16. Breakfast Wrap: If you're a gluten eater, get yourself a whole-wheat tortilla, spread some nut butter, coconut butter or cream cheese on it and then put in some fruit, granola, nuts, seeds. Roll it up or eat it like a taco. 

17. Smoothies: I mean, duh. SMOOTHIES FOR BREAKFAST. But sometimes I forget about them. Is that just me? My go-to is usually a handful of spinach, almond milk, a banana, and cinnamon. But lately I've been making them with yogurt or kefir, almond butter and sometimes oats and of course, all different fruits. 

18. Tofu Scramble: I ate tofu scrambles a lot during my vegan challenge. It's a good way to get protein without eating eggs, obviously, and can be spruced up with different vegetables, hot sauce, and more.

What are your healthy breakfast ideas that other people probably already know about but that you'd like to share anyway? Please do so in the comments!

roasted vegetables with peanut sauce

I haven't written too much about how my month-long vegan eating challenge is going, but I've really enjoyed it so far. Will I stay vegan? No. But that doesn't mean it hasn't been a worthwhile experiment. I have about six days left and I have lots more I want to say about it, but I'm planning on writing a longer post once the whole month is over. Right now, I need to share a recipe for one of the best things I've made while eating vegan. THIS IS SO GOOD, YOU GUYS.

I whipped this up for lunch last Sunday on a whim, wanting something different than the bean-heavy meals I'd been eating for the last few weeks. I usually like peanut sauce, but I'm not terribly good at making Asian food myself (or at least Asian food that I actually want to eat. There are so many tasteless Thai curries in my past, ew), so I was pleasantly surprised by how flavorful this was. It's also ridiculously easy to make and is endlessly customizable, too—I really want to try it with different vegetables and maybe even sub the peanut butter I used for cashew or almond butter. 

I used carrots, shredded brussels sprouts, cabbage (duh) and green onions for this, but I think any combination of Asian-y vegetables would be good. Broccoli, peppers, bok choy, onions, mushrooms and more could all work in this recipe.

Roasted Vegetables with Peanut Sauce

sauce recipe adapted from the Eat, Drink and Be Vegan cookbook

makes about 1 cup of sauce

total time: 30 minutes

total hands on time: less than 5 minutes

What you'll need:

5-6 cups total of vegetables (see above for the kinds I used)

a few glugs of the oil of your choice (I used a combination of sesame and coconut oil)

salt to taste

for the sauce:

1/2 cup peanut butter

3 tbsps Bragg's Liquid Aminos or soy sauce

1 tbsp sesame or vegetable oil

2 tbsps lime juice

1 or 2 garlic cloves, chopped

1 tsp ground ginger

1 tbsps honey, brown sugar, or agave nectar

2-4 tbsps water or unflavored non-dairy milk (to make it more liquidy)

pinch of salt

What you'll do:

1. Preheat oven to 400.

2. Toss veggies in oil (I used a combination of sesame oil and coconut oil), sprinkle with salt, and roast for 20-30 minutes in a large pan. After 10 or 15 minutes, stir to make sure they're cooking evenly. Mine were done at about 25 minutes.

3. Meanwhile,in a blender or food processor, combine all the ingredients for the sauce and blend until it reaches a consistency kind of like a thick alfredo sauce. It should be easily pourable, but not runny. Add as much additional liquid as you'd like. 

4. Once the veggies are done, pour the sauce over them and enjoy!

The peanut sauce keeps for about a week in the fridge and has a lot of other uses: you can try it as a dip for fresh veggies, chicken satay, fried tofu, or spring rolls; as a sauce for a stir fry; or as a sauce for tofu, fish, or meat. I bet you could even blend it with some tofu or edamame and turn it into a thicker dip to serve with Asian crackers and snap peas.  I'm sure I'll be making this recipe again soon, maybe with a chicken breast on the side. 

apple cinnamon breakfast kasha

This is actually a breakfast I was eating before I started eating vegan, but it's something I've relied on a lot during my vegan eating challenge.

Since it's still cold as balls around here (and I need some warming up when I get in from my dog's morning walk), I've been really into eating warm breakfasts. I love oatmeal and I also like quinoa as oatmeal, but I'm also always trying to expand my eating horizons. Enter kasha, often called buckwheat. I'd heard about it when I first went gluten-free, but I hadn't ever really tried to incorporate it into my diet, other than eating the Kashi cereal once in a while. It's super healthy, though—filling, full of fiber, and pretty close to being a complete protein. It has a very distinct, very earthy flavor. I like it, but kasha can be strong for the morning, much stronger than the flavors of oatmeal or quinoa. That's why I like to mix it with applesauce, it adds a bit of sweetness (plus another fruit serving!)

This is the quick, easy way I've been eating kasha for breakfast in the mornings. The recipe says it takes 20 minutes, but if you cook up a pot of kasha and keep it in the fridge, you can have this breakfast ready in 3 minutes flat. 

Apple Cinnamon Breakfast Kasha

serves 1

total time: 20 minutes

total hands on time: 3 minutes

What you'll need:

1 cup of dry buckwheat kasha

1/4-1/2 cup applesauce

1/2 cup milk of your choice (I used almond, but soy, coconut or even regular milk would be fine)

1 apple, diced

sprinkle of cinnamon

squirt of lemon juice

What you'll do:

1. Prepare the kasha according to these directions. Like with quinoa, you use a 2:1 ratio of kasha to water. You will likely have some leftover.

2. Once the kasha almost finished (about 20 minutes), chop the apple, squirt on some lemon juice, sprinke on some cinnamon, and microwave it on high for about 1 minute 45 seconds, or until just slightly cooked.

3.When the kasha is done, portion out the amount you want to eat (it will have cooked up in size quite a bit) and place it in a bowl. Stir in the applesauce until it is totally mixed in with the kasha. Add in a bit of the milk of your choice here, too.

4. Top with diced apples and enjoy.

When I make this, I usually make enough kasha for a few days' breakfasts and just microwave it with the applesauce and the milk. It's easy to modify this to include what you have on hand; today, I ate mine with blueberries and bananas. Dried fruit and granola would be good to add, too. 

roasted carrot, mushroom & spinach quiche

I haven't made a quiche in ages, although I used to make them all the time. I've been kind of obsessed with roasting carrots lately and when I got the urge to make a quiche, I thought "I'll put carrots in it." Carrots, especially large ones, are not something I'd ever seen in a quiche before...but why not? I don't know. Anyway, I roasted up some carrots, mixed them into a quiche with some other fresh vegetables and had a great dinner. It was also tasty for lunch the next day; quiches are like that, I guess. Similar to soups, they're identifiably better after a bit of time has passed. 

Roasted Carrot, Mushroom & Spinach Quiche

serves 4-6

total time: about 2 hours

total hands on time: about 15 minutes

What you'll need:

1 pie crust (you can also do it crustless)

2-3 tbsps olive oil

garlic to taste

5 large carrots, cut into chunks

3/4 cup mushrooms, chopped

1-2 cups fresh baby spinach

4 eggs

1 cup milk

1 cup to 1 1/2 cups of shredded cheese of your choice (I used cheddar and parmesan)

salt and pepper to taste

What you'll do:

1. Preheat oven to 350.

2. Roughly chop your carrots into chunks, toss them into a pan and generously splatter with olive oil. Mix to coat.

3. Roast carrots for 35-45 minutes, until tender. Transfer from pan to cutting board.

4. While the carrots are cooling, cook mushrooms and spinach with fresh garlic (or even garlic powder) in another bit of oil in a pan. When spinach is wilted, it's done. 

5. Change oven heat to 375.

6. In a large bowl, whisk together eggs and milk, then stir in the mushroom-spinach mixture, cheese, salt and pepper, or any other seasoning you want to use.

7. Now that the carrots have cooled, cut them again. I sliced mine vertically (as you can see in the above picture) but you can do whatever works. You don't want them diced or anything like that, just bite-size or slightly-larger pieces. I like the chunkiness of the carrots in this dish, particularly.

8. Stir carrots into quiche mixture, pour into prepared pie crust and pan and bake at 375 for about 35 minutes, or until a fork inserted comes out clean.

I feel like Bon Appétit (or another in-the-know foodie publication) would call this quiche "rustic," but I don't know if that's accurate or not. It's certainly hearty, and delicious with a side of salad or a big old hunk of crusty French bread, toasted and slathered with butter.  Is that what "rustic" means in relation to food? I feel like it is, like we're supposed to think of hale French peasants passing around a pewter flagon of water at a big wooden table, eating plain yet classic food that comes from simple family farms. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think this quiche would qualify (minus, perhaps, the farms part. Although the carrots were organic.)

kimberly southwick's famous cucumber salad

This is the seventh entry in my Writers Eat series. I'm asking writers I admire to share their favorite recipes and/or foods here on Plums in the Icebox. The food will sometimes tie in with the writer's work, but sometimes not. If you're a writer and you're interested in participating, let me know!

We haven't had a Writers Eat in ages! And here's a great one to finish out the summer (I know, the first day of fall was yesterday, but whatevs). My friend, the writer Kimberly Southwick, is sharing her delicious cucumber salad. Kimberly, in addition to having two middle names just like me, is a poet, writer and editor-in-chief of the amazing journal Gigantic Sequins (full disclosure: they published my poem "Blooms").  Also like me, she Gchats a lot, teaches composition classes as an adjunct instructor and wears lots of printed dresses. Her beautiful poems feature Lancelot and Guinevere, clever-but-not-too-obvious rhyme schemes, and dense, compact stanzas. Read them! Here's Kimberly:

KIMBERLY ANN'S PHILLY GARDEN CUCUMBER SALAD

INGREDIENTS

2 large cucumbers and 2 small cucumbers, sliced, and then sliced in half. peeled if need be.

(we grew cukes in our garden this year, and we had two VERY LARGE ones, so that's how I came up with these #s. four normal sized cukes would do too, or less if you are making for less people. the proportions here do NOT have to be exact.)

2 small hot red peppers, diced & de-seeded

(i am not 100% sure what kind I used today, but last summer we used hot cherry red peppers, and those were amazing. I say red because it makes the salad prettier.)

basil, chopped to taste

(AGAIN, from our garden. we try to use as much of it as possible.)

SEA salt. (there is no other salt. preferably the himalayan pink sea salt.)

rice vinegar 

(the better the rice vinegar, the better the salad. you can use any kind of vinegar, but it's not my recipe unless you use awesome rice vinegar)

TO DO:

combine cukes (if they are extra large, cut out the seeds and peel. if they aren't too big, you can leave the peels on AND the seeds in.) & diced peppers. 

pour rice vinegar liberally over salad until everything is wet.

stir with wooden spoon.

add more rice vinegar because you probably didn't add enough but don't add too much because it's not the cheapest kind of vinegar. stir

pull basil leaves from stems and chop, then add, then stir.

add sea salt to taste.

let sit 15-20 minutes. taste. consider adding more salt/rice vinegar depending.

enjoy!

okay, one other note. everything in this salad can be grown in a tiny garden, and i highly recommending growing it all yourself organically. there is nothing like eating something that was 90% grown by you in your own backyard. i live in the city and only have a tiny garden, but it's prolific when it comes to basil, hot peppers & cucumbers. The cucumbers are a new addition this year, and they are TAKING OVER. if you can't grow your own, buy organic! it's worth it.

**

Little did Kimberly know, I actually HAVE that fancy pink Himalayan salt (thanks, TJ Maxx!)

This was so fresh and summery. Spicy and green-tasting and just all around wonderful. RUN DON'T WALK to your local farmer's market, snap up some peppers and the very last of the summer cucumbers and make this ASAP. It's perfect as a side for a light dinner. I think I might try to make this for the next warm-weather potluck I'm invited to;  very little time to prepare, yet so bold in its simplicity. 

A huge thanks to Kimberly for sending me this great recipe. Now make sure you check out her journal, Gigantic Sequins, and send some work!

farro with chard, cannellini beans and kalamata olives

Here's a quick, healthy, flavorful dinner for a weeknight. Or anytime, really. But it works well when you're tired and lazy and pressed for time, aka the way I am most weeknights despite the fact that I do 80% of my work from home. 

There's some debate over the gluten content of farro; supposedly it's not 100% gluten-free, but it has a lower gluten content than other grains. Luckily, eating it didn't see to affect me in a negative way. I really like the texture of farro as an alternative to quinoa and rice. And it tastes delicious paired with the bold, salty kalamata olives!

Farro With Chard, Cannellini Beans and Kalamata Olives

serves 2-4

total time: about 20 minutes

total hands on time: 10 minutes

What you'll need:

1 can cannellini beans, drained

glug of olive oil

garlic to taste

4 tbsps white wine

4-6 large chard leaves (chopped)

1 cup cooked farro

1/4 cup kalamata olives, diced (or just cut up is fine too)

What you'll do:

1. Cook the farro. I used this method, but it only took about 20 minutes. 

2. In a large frying pan, saute a bit of olive oil with some fresh garlic. 

3. Add the beans and saute them for about 3 minutes.

4. Add the chard leaves and saute for a minute. Add the wine.

5. When the chard is wilted, add in the chopped olives and cook for just a minute or two.

6. Combine farro and vegetable mixture in a large bowl; toss with more olive oil.

7. Serve garnished with parmesan and more olives. 

kale and apple saute

More kale! I've been on a kale kick lately, and for good reason. The stuff is so darn versatile: I've put it in smoothies, salads, and frittatas, all in the last few days. Plus, it's as healthy as an ingredient as you could ever possibly want. Green goodness forever. 

Here's how I cooked my kale the other day: sauteéd with apples. SO GOOD. This little dinner is definitely one of my new favorite "alone" meals: easy, healthy, fast foods I can make while R is at class. As much as I like cooking for my boyfriend, I also like to take his class nights as opportunities to cook food that he wouldn't eat. R doesn't have a problem with apples or kale per se, but he feels very strongly that fruit should not be a dinner food (see also: my Shrimp and Starfruit Stir-Fry, which he respectfully declined). So, I made this for myself, served it over quinoa, and had enough left over for lunch the next day.

Kale and Apple Sauté

serves 2-3

total time: 10 minutes

total hands-on time: 10 minutes

What you'll need:

2ish tbsps virgin coconut oil

4-6 individual kale leaves, deribbed and torn

1 or 2 apples, sliced (mine were small so I used 2. Also, I wanted there to be a lot of apples)

1/4 cup sliced or silvered almonds

sprinkle of lemon juice

fresh garlic to your taste

optional: crumbled goat cheese or feta cheese

What you'll do:

1. Heat the coconut oil in a large frying pan. Place in apples and sauté until heated through.

2. Add in garlic and kale, sauté until kale is wilted. Sprinkle with lemon juice and stir to coat.

3. Add almonds and remove from heat.

4. Top with goat cheese, salt and pepper. 

I think what makes this recipe really good is the coconut oil. I've been making a conscious effort to cook with it more often; it shows up often in my baking, but I was wary of having a coconut taste in savory dishes. Actually, though, I find that the coconut flavor is so slight you can barely taste it, although it does impart some kind of lightly refreshing taste I can't quite put my finger on. Whatever it is, it's something that tastes just right to me after years and years of sautéing only in olive oil. 

As I mentioned, I ate this over quinoa but I think it would be great by itself, or as a side dish. The goat cheese (which I went HEAVY on, as you can see) is optional, but unless you're vegan, opt for it! Why would you EVER opt out of goat cheese? 

 

tomato basil quinoa

Tomatoes and basil are the perfect pairing. There's a reason those mofos go together so frequently, and that's because they taste so damn good. During the summer, when both are in season, I eat some combination of tomatoes and basil at least a few times a week, because why resist? Tomatoes and basil are meant to be together in my (and your) mouth. Eat them with oil on pasta, eat them with fresh mozzarella in a Caprese salad, eat them in quesadillas, soups, and sauces. Just make sure you eat your fill before it turns cold and you have to resort to pale hothouse tomatoes and scrawny store-bought basil. Or at least, that's my philosophy. I can't get enough.

This recipe is basically my grandmother's easy tomato salad (which I recently shared with Marissa over on The Boot!) with a twist. The twist is quinoa and potatoes, so not that exciting, but still really good. I know I haven't featured any quinoa recipes here since the Great Three Day Quinoa Challenge of Early 2012, so I figured it was high time for another one. 

There's nothing innovative here, but that's really the charm of this recipe: you simply can't go wrong. Tomatoes, potatoes, basil, quinoa, oil, vinegar. Toss in some salt, pepper, and garlic powder and it's a light but also hearty dinner or lunch.

Tomato Basil Quinoa

total time: about 20 minutes

total hands-on time: about 5 or so minutes

serves 4-6

What you'll need:

1 cup of dry quinoa

2 medium tomatoes, diced (I used one yellow and one red!)

1 (or maybe 2) small red russet potato, diced

about 1/4 cup of basil, chiffonaded

2 tbsps olive oil

1 tbsp balsamic vinegar

a couple healthy shakes of garlic powder

What you'll do:

1. Dice the potato and boil it for about 15 minutes. Drain when finished.

2. At the same time, prepare the quinoa. I cooked mine in vegetable broth, using two cups of broth to one cup of dry quinoa.

3. While those are cooking, dice the tomatoes and do a quick chiffonade to the basil.

4. Combine oil, vinegar and garlic powder to make the dressing. 

5. When the quinoa and potatoes are finished cooking, combine them with the tomatoes and basil in a large bowl (get in as much tomato juice as you can).

6.  Toss the dressing on and season with salt and pepper to your liking, I used a few generous pinches of salt. You also might add in a bit more basil, oil, or vinegar, depending.

You can also mix in some shaved parmesan or chunky feta cheese if you'd like.  Also, literally as I was about to post this, Real Simple emailed me a similar recipe, using cucumber, tomatoes, and quinoa. It looks delicious if you're looking to add in some more vegetables! 

hiker's cookies

My boyfriend R's mom is doing the Appalachian Trail right now. The whole thing. By herself. Going 20 MILES PER DAY in wind, rain, heat, etc. And she's almost finished! She started the trail in March in Georgia, and now, almost five months later, she's getting close to the end, inching on up to Maine. Isn't that awesome and amazing? Don't you feel like such a blob for sitting in front of your computer reading this blog post? As the one sitting here writing this blog post, I sure do.  

We drove out to Front Royal, VA to visit her on the trail around Memorial Day. At that point, she was about halfway finished, and told us all sorts of interesting and crazy stuff about life on the trail. Did you know Appalachian Trail hikers have their own lingo? And trail names? (Hers is Sugar Plum!) It was fascinating to spend some time with her on her journey, hearing about all the people she meets, the animals she sees, even just the daily ins-and-outs of a long hiking trip. We even hiked a little bit of the trail ourselves, although I was wearing sandals and we had our little dog Pablo with us, so it wasn't at all like roughing it (not even a little).

not my best hiking apparel

Anyway, I wanted to send R's mom a little bit of sustenance to get her through the home stretch of the trail. She can't carry much in her pack, so the food she does have has to be small, portable, and as nutritious as possible. I toyed with the idea of making granola bars (like these I made for HelloGiggles) but in the end I decided on some high-protein, high-fiber (and gluten-free!) hiker's cookies. R's going to send them to her today and she can pick them up when she stops in Vermont. 

I wanted these cookies to be big and substantial, something she can have for a mid-morning snack that will fuel her for a few hours. If you make these, customize them to your liking; use different dried fruits, another kind of nut butter, or whatever kind of nuts you like. They don't have to be strictly for hiking, either; I'll probably make another batch to just have on hand for snacks (especially good on my occasional metro commutes).

Hiker's Cookies

makes 6-8 large cookies

total time: about 17 minutes

total hands-on time: 5-7 minutes

What you'll need:

1 cup oats

1/2 cup chickpea flour

1/3 cup flaxseed meal

1/4-1/2 cup sugar (depending on how sweet you'd like the cookies)

1/2 cup shredded coconut

1/2 cup sliced almonds or other nut

1/2 cup raisins

1 tsp baking powder

pinch of salt

2 eggs

1/2 cup almond or other nut butter

1/2 cup applesauce

2 tbsps honey

1/2 tsp vanilla

What you'll do:

1. Preheat oven to 350.

2. Combine dry ingredients in a bowl.

3. Beat eggs, then add in all other wet ingredients and stir until well-mixed.

4. Combine dry and wet ingredients into a batter. It will be thick and wet.

5. Generously scoop the batter onto a greased cookie sheet; I did 6 cookies on a sheet because I wanted them to be LARGE.

 

I tried one cookie. It was healthy-tasting (as it should be!) but a little bit sweet at the same time, courtesy of almond butter, applesauce, honey, raisins and sugar. If you want to omit the sugar altogether, you probably could just use a little bit more honey, or maybe add more dried fruit. Another option would be to use coconut flour in this recipe rather than the bean flour; I chose the bean flour because it's higher in protein, but coconut flour has a good bit of protein, too.

pesto pattypan squash bake

You guys. Sorry I've been MIA for a little bit. I've been busy....I got a new gig, writing two posts a day for the women's health and wellness site Blisstree. AND, as a result of a freak storm, our power went out for six days right around the 4th of July (goodbye everything in the refrigerator, including all my precious frozen New Mexico green chile). AND I've been teaching, and doing my other writing work, and trying to write poems again. AND I'm in the process of becoming a birth doula, and I recently attended my first birth!

So, a lot going on. But I missed Plums In The Icebox and I'm back! I hope not to go away again for so long. Here's a simple, summery recipe I made a few weeks ago, pre-power outage.

I first discovered pattypan squash a few years ago at my local farmer's market, which was then the one on the downtown mall in Las Cruces. I'd never seen them before, and I'm not much of a squash person aside from zucchini, but I gave them a try and I loved them. Pattypan squash became part of my regular side dish rotation that summer. I saw them at my local market here in Alexandria and bought a few, thinking I'd work them into a meal somehow. Here's what I came up with:

Pesto Pattypan Squash Bake

serves 3-4

total time: about 20-30 minutes

total hands-on time: maybe 5 minutes

What you'll need:

2 1/2 to 3 pattypan squash

1 tbsp of olive oil

a lot of pesto (I probably used a full cup, but use as much or as little as you'd like)

mozzarella cheese

What you'll do:

1. Preheat oven to 350.

2. Wash squash, cut the tops off, and slice horizontally.

3. Grease a ceramic baking dish and place a layer of squash in the bottom, then drizzle a bit of oil on top.

4. Add pesto on top of the squash. I did a few tbsps, then smeared it around with a spatula to see if I needed to add more. You don't want the layers to be too thick, but you want the pesto flavor really in there. 

5. Continuing layering as you would a lasagna. Top with lots of mozzarella or parmesan cheese.

6. Bake at 350 for about 30 minutes. I like my squash to be kind of squishy, but if you like yours firmer, try doing only 20 or 25.

To be honest, it looks really awkward when it's portioned out like this, but I swear it's tasty. Ugly food can be good food. Just think of refried beans! I ate this for lunch, actually, but I think it's better as a side dish.

I made the pesto from a huge bunch of basil I also got at the same farmer's market. I like to eat as much basil as I possibly can during the summer, and I find it really naturally pairs with summer foods like tomatoes, eggplant and even peaches. You could also try mixing some tofu in here as another layer with the pesto and squash, too!

Here's another delicious pattypan squash recipe I found: Pattypan Squash Grilled Cheese. Do you cook with pattypan squash? How do you prepare it? I'm always looking for recipes for these little guys.