Ravioli and Butternut Squash Sauce

Holy tastebuderific dinner I made tonight!  Yeah, I don't know, I was trying to come up with a fun, made-up word for super delicious taste times.  ANYWAYS...

I bought this big ol’ butternut squash the other day totally on a whim.  I love squash, but had nothing in particular in mind that I was going to do with it.  Today I decided I wanted to do something with that squash and some pasta, and then I remembered I had some cheese ravioli…it sounded like a fantastic idea (and it was a really fantastic, that’s why I’m sharing).  I really wish I could tell you that I made the ravioli, and then give you an awesome recipe for it, but I've never made pasta in my life.  So anyhow, I did a quick interwebs search and found this recipe, which was perfect because I also have a shit-ton of 2 different types of basil growing in my garden.  I only very slightly strayed from the recipe I found, and here’s what I did.  This was so delicious, you should go get a squash right now and start cooking.

Yep, that's Beeb, eating squash out
of the food processor.

Ingredients

Your favorite cheese ravioli (in whatever amount you want)

1 medium to large butternut squash, roasted

   (I’ll give roasting instructions, in case you’re not sure about that)

1-2 cups half &half

½ cup grated parmesan cheese

3 tbsp fresh basil, torn
cayenne pepper (optional - use as much as you'd like, I like my food spicy!)

salt & pepper to taste

Instructions

1) Cook ravioli according to package instructions. 

2) While your ravioli is cooking, place squash, approximately 1 cup half & half, cheese, basil and cayenne pepper in food processor.  Blend, and add half & half until the sauce reaches a consistency you like (I like it thicker, so I only used about a cup).  Add salt & pepper to taste, if desired (I didn’t add any, I thought it was perfect as is).

3) Drain ravioli and spoon desired amount of sauce over the top.

**My squash was still hot when I put it in the food processor, so I didn’t heat it at all after I blended it…you may want to heat your squash sauce after blending it.

Roasting the squash:  Pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees F.  Cut the squash in half lengthwise, scoop out seeds, place in a 9”x12” baking dish (cut side up), put approximately 1 tbsp butter in each side and sprinkle with a little salt and pepper (I also sprayed a little bit of olive oil all over the squash, but it’s not necessary).  Place the squash in the oven for 30-45 minutes (until the squash is all soft and can be easily scooped out).

Enjoy!

 ~ j

Sriracha-Lime Popcorn

This is delicious.  I'm not sure where I got this one from, so if you've seen it somewhere else, let me know and I'll give credit where it's due.  No measurements, I just can't do it.  I think I'm going to start posting the stuff I make with no measurements.  That is, honestly, the only thing holding me back from posting more recipes.  I'm incapable of measurement.  I make all sorts of great dishes and take photos of them, and then I don't know how to write them up because I just don't measure.

ANYHOW...here is a delicious mix of stuff to put on your popcorn.  Please don't use pre-packaged microwave popcorn, that stuff is poison and you're just killing yourself with it.  I have a Stir Crazy popper that my sis-in-law gave me for Xmas, and I love it!

Ingredients

popcorn

butter

Sriracha amazing hot chili pepper sauce (as much or as little as makes your mouth happy)

lime juice (you don't need a lot...experiment with it to your liking)

salt (optional)

If you know how to make a bowl of popcorn
look exciting and photogenic, let me know.

Instructions

1)  Pop your popcorn.

2)  While the corn is popping, melt the butter using whatever method you like.

3)  Whisk the Sriracha and lime juice into the melted butter.

4)  When the popcorn is done, pour the butter mixture over the top a little bit at a time, stirring the popcorn around with each pour.  Shake salt on top if you'd like.

enjoy!

 ~ j

Homemade Ginger Ale!!

Homemade ginger ale!!  How great does that sound??  Okay, so I definitely did not come up with this recipe on my own.  I got this directly from my new favorite book “Make the Bread, Buy the Butter” by Jennifer Reese.  Seriously, I LOVE this book!  It’s more than just a cookbook or how-to book, it’s also full of great stories from the author’s life…like the good and the bad of raising chickens and goats in her family’s suburban backyard.  Including a highly entertaining attempt at raising their own Thanksgiving turkey(s).  The book is funny and witty, and SO informative.  Reese gives an overview of many common foods we buy all the time (Oreos, cream cheese, mustard...over 120 recipes!).  Reese breaks each item down by cost and hassle to determine whether you should buy it or make it (hence, the title of the book), and then gives a recipe or two or three.

Buy this book!!

Ginger ale seemed to call to me.  We don’t drink soda very often at our house, but when we do it’s almost always ginger ale.  The thought of making it myself with all-natural ingredients was extremely appealing, and this is a great recipe.  That being said, I didn’t quite follow the recipe, but I should have, and next time I will.  What did I do differently?  Well, I used active dry yeast instead of instant because that’s what I had in the house.  I didn’t have a lemon, but I did have lemon juice…so it’s very possible I didn’t even come close to adding the correct amount.  And I skimped a little on the ginger because I was being lazy and tired of grating it.  I definitely should have added more ginger, it’s such a great flavor!!  Oh, and by the way, Reese's verdict is “make it.”  She compares Canada Dry at about $1.79 for a 2-liter bottle and the homemade version at about $1.59.  DO NOT go and try to compare this to some cheap shit, generic ginger ale because that stuff sucks ass…it doesn’t even have ginger in it!  Now make some of this, mix it with a little dark rum and have yourself a fabulous dark 'n' stormy!

Ginger Ale

Props to Terrapin

Ingredients

1 lemon

2 tbsp finely grated fresh ginger (~2” chunk)

1 cup sugar

¼ tsp instant yeast

cold tap water

Empty 2-liter plastic bottle with a screw-on cap to put it all in

Instructions

1) Place funnel in the mouth of 2-liter bottle.  Juice the lemon and strain the juice in the bottle.

2) Add the ginger, sugar and yeast.  It’s okay if some is stuck to the funnel, the water will flush it out.  Pour in enough water to fill the bottle and cap tightly.

3) Gently shake to mix up all the sediment (ginger, sugar, yeast).  Press on the bottle, you’ll notice there’s a little give.

4) Let the bottle sit at room temperature for about 24 hours.  You’ll know the soda is done when you press on the bottle again and there’s no give.  Put the bottle in the fridge, and as soon as it’s cold, it’s ready to drink!  If you don't want the ginger "pulp," strain it into a glass to drink.
*Open the bottle with care, it may be very bubbly.  Finish off within a few days, as it will lose its effervescence.

enjoy!

~ j