Ohm Cooked

Recipes prepared by Pathways Executive Editor Jeanne Ohm, DC and her family.

Sautéed Squash & Feta Cheese

This is a great autumn harvest meal or side dish to make from the numerous selections of squash and pumpkins available into the winter months. It can be served as a cold salad, but we prefer it warmed. It’s a great addition to a main course of poultry.

Ingredients

  • 1 whole pumpkin or butternut squash (Any winter squash can be used; for acorn squash, use 2–3)
  • 1 head of garlic, peeled
  • 8–10 baby shallots, whole, peeled
  • 2–3 bay leaves
  • 2 fresh red chilis, de-seeded, finely diced
  • 12 oz. feta cheese (our preference is creamy sheep’s feta)
  • ½ cup nuts or seeds, toasted (Try pumpkin or sunflower seeds, slivered almonds or pine nuts)
  • Olive oil

Prep and Cooking

  1. Preheat the oven to 355°F (180°C). Peel and cut the squash into small, uniform pieces.
  2. Add 1 tbs. olive oil to a heated pan. Slightly brown the squash on each side, but do not cook it all the way through. Set aside the browned squash in a medium bowl.
  3. Combine garlic cloves (slightly crushed) and shallots with the squash. Coat with olive oil, salt and pepper. Gently mix with spoon.
  4. Spread the medley onto a medium-size baking tray. Add the bay leaves and roast in the oven for 30–40 minutes, or until the squash, garlic and shallots are just tender.
  5. While the squash is roasting, place the diced chili peppers in a small bowl. Add olive oil and let the oil mingle with the chili flavor. Dry-roast the seeds and/or nuts until golden and set aside. Crumble the feta cheese and place in a bowl.
  6. When the squash medley is cooked, remove from oven. If you are presenting the cooled salad version, allow the squash medley to cool. Then place in a serving dish and top with the crumbled feta, nuts and seeds of your choice. Drizzle the chili oil over the top. Parsley is also great chopped up and sprinkled over this dish for added color, contrast and flavor. For the warm dish, simply add the same toppings and serve immediately while warm. (If you are preparing this dish in advance to serve it warm later, top it with the crumbled feta and slightly reheat the dish for just 5 minutes in a medium oven. Then add the nuts and chili oil.)

Serves two as a main dish, four as a side.

Brown Rice Casserole

This is a delicious and hearty casserole for chilly winter nights.
Gluten-free bread crumbs may also be substituted.

Ingredients

  • 1 cup organic brown rice
  • 2 med. organic zucchini, chopped
  • 4–6 organic carrots, sliced
  • 1 large onion, chopped
  • 1 cup grass-fed cheddar or
  • Monterey jack cheese, grated
  • ¼ cup unseasoned bread crumbs
  • 2 tsp. dried thyme
  • Olive oil or coconut oil

Prep and Cooking

  1. Preheat oven to 375°F (190°C). Sauté chopped onions in coconut or olive oil until clear. Add sliced carrots and continue to sauté. Add chopped zucchini and stir in vegetables, sautéing gently until slightly softened.
  2. While cooking vegetables, grate cheese in a bowl. Add bread crumbs to the cheese and the dried thyme.
  3. Mix with hands. Combine vegetable medley with the cooked brown rice in a shallow casserole dish.
  4. Sprinkle cheese/ bread crumb mix on top of rice and vegetables.
  5. Cover dish and bake until cheese is melted.

Serves four as a main dish, eight as a side.

Brown Rice and Veggie Stuffing

The above recipe can substitute as a hearty, whole grain stuffing for your holiday pastured turkey or chicken dinner. To save your cooking time, make an extra ¼ - ½ cup of rice and the proportional veggies as you are cooking the above casserole dish and then put aside the rice and vegetable mixture for your future use for stuffing. The stuffing mixture should last in the refrigerator for a few days, so plan your poultry dinner accordingly. 

We love a slight sweetness added to our stuffing, so peeling and dicing a tart, organic apple and adding it to the rice and veggie mixture before you stuff the bird gives it a sweet touch when cooked.

Brussel Sprout Delight

As a kid, whenever my mother served brussel sprouts I would turn up my nose in protest. Her usual way of preparing was boiling and the bland and mushy result never suited me. When my son came up with this recipe, I reluctantly took a small taste expecting the same experience. How surprised was I to taste a recipe that I have made time and time again since then. I now look forward to “brussel sprout season” in the fall to prepare this simple and savory dish.

Depending on whether you will be using this as a side dish or main, and of course how many people you have in your family will determine the portions you use. We usually make this dish as a side and we usually are serving at least 8-12 people.

Ingredients:

  • 1 large brussel sprout stalk
  • 1 medium sized butternut squash (may be substituted with any winter squash or several sweet potatoes)
  • 1 large, whole garlic clove

Prep and cooking:

  1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
  2. Remove the sprouts from the stalk, wash them well and then cut into halves or quarters depending on the size of each sprout.
  3. Peel the squash or sweet potatoes and dice them into small chunks.
  4. Peel the individual garlic cloves and leave whole.
  5. Choose a large, shallow baking dish, and cover the bottom with olive oil.
  6. Spread the sprouts, squash and garlic evenly on the pan and season with salt and pepper.
  7. Place in the preheated oven for 20-25 minutes or until the veggies are cooked to your liking.
  8. This is one dish that if left in the oven a wee bit longer than planned because you were distracted by one of the numerous diversions that occur at dinner time, don’t worry! A slight crispiness to the sprouts makes them even sweeter and gives the whole garlic cloves a chance to soften and caramelize.

Quick Cook Substitution:

In the very rare instance when it is just Tom and me cooking for the two of us, we have sautéed the above combo of veggies reducing the portions significantly. With constant stirring and a medium to high heat, it will cook in less than 10 minutes. (Coconut oil is the preference for stove top sautéing).

Chai Tea

A hefty pot of chai tea is a great winter treat and we have two delicious recipes to share:

Traditional Chai

Spice ingredients for one pot of tea:

  • 1/2 of a star anise star
  • 10-12 whole cloves
  • 6-7 whole allspice (or a pinch of ground allspice)
  • 2 cinnamon sticks
  • 6-7 whole black or white peppercorns
  • 1 cardamom pod opened to the seeds (or a pinch of ground cardamom)
  • Pinch of nutmeg

Other ingredients:

  • 1 cup water
  • 4-6 cups whole milk
  • 2 heaping tablespoons of black tea
  • Sprinkle of cinnamon

Prep and cooking:

  1. In a 2-qt saucepan, add spices to 1 cup of water. Bring to a boil; remove from heat; let steep for 5-20 minutes, depending on how strong a spice flavor you want.
  2. Add 4-6 cups of whole milk to the water and spices. Bring the milk and spice mixture just to a boil and remove from heat.
  3. Add the tea to the milk and let steep for 5 to 10 minutes to taste. [At this point you can reheat to simmer then remove from heat. You can also now add honey to sweeten up (3 or so Tablespoons or to taste) or let others sweeten themselves]
  4. Strain into a pot and serve with sprinkled cinnamon (if desired).

Spiced Pumpkin Chai

This recipe was submitted by Courtney Shuman. It puts a great healthy and seasonal slant on chai tea and is delicious!

Ingredients:

  • 2 cups of coconut milk (not canned) or other milk of your choice
  • 6 Tbs of fresh roasted pumpkin puree
  • ½ tsp ground cinnamon or 1 cinnamon stick
  • ¼ tsp allspice
  • ¼ tsp nutmeg
  • 3 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 Tbs raw honey

Preparation:

  1. Heat up milk in a saucepan (do not boil).
  2. Add 1 tea bag of your favorite black tea or red tea.
  3. While steeping, add pumpkin puree and mix well.
  4. Add remaining ingredients above and continue steeping for about 4 minutes.
  5. Pour in mugs and add a dash of nutmeg before serving.

Photos: Tia Ohm