Thayer in the Kitchen

  This is a great recipe for macaroni and cheese. Healthy from the addition of the butternut squash (or whatever kind you have available), but still delicious with all the extra sharp cheddar cheese and bacon. I guess you could skip the bacon but why would you want to? INGREDIENTS 8 oz. medium pasta shells (or whatever short pasta you have available) 6 slices bacon, diced 2 tablespoons unsalted butter 1 small shallot, minced 2 tablespoons flour 1 1/2 tablespoons chopped fresh sage (you could substitute another herb) 1-1/4 cups half and half 1 cup whole milk 1 15 oz. can butternut squash puree* 1 tsp. Dijon mustard 10 oz. shredded extra sharp cheddar cheese, about 2-1/2 cups Kosher salt & freshly ground black pepper to taste 2 tablespoon chopped fresh chives or green onion tops * Note: I used fresh squash. I cut a squash in half, removed the seeds and roasted it in the oven until tender.  You could probably also steam it or cook it in your instant pot. I had a big squash so I only n

Adapted from  Cook This Now  by  Melissa Clark .  A great way to use some of those carrots from your CSA farm in a familiar dish. Ingredients 2 cups whole wheat macaroni 2 1/2 cups coarsely grated carrot (about 8 small) 3 cups grated sharp cheddar cheese (note: any kind of cheese you have available will work fine) 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, cut into pieces 3/4 cup sour cream 1/4 cup whole milk 2 large eggs 1 teaspoon kosher salt 3/4 teaspoon mustard powder 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 1/4 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese Directions 1. Preheat oven to 400° F and grease an 8-inch square baking pan. Arrange a rack in the top third of the oven. 2. Cook macaroni according to package instructions in a large pot of salted boiling water; add carrots 3 minutes before the pasta is finished cooking; drain well. 3. While pasta is hot, stir in all but 1/2 cup of the cheddar and the butter. In a bowl, whisk together the sour cream, milk, eg

This is a recipe that I found on the New York Times cooking website and have adapted somewhat.  In this case it is not a healthier dish than the original but it is delicious and easy! 2 tablespoons butter (divided) 1 cup full fat ricotta cheese 2 cups 1/2 and 1/2 1/4 pound cream cheese 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard Pinch cayenne (these are both optional--I actually forgot them) Pinch nutmeg 1/4 teaspoon black pepper 1 pound sharp or extra-sharp cheddar cheese, grated (I used Hook's white cheddar) 1/2 pound elbow macaroni (I used 2 different whole wheat pastas and it came out fine) 1/4 cup Panko bread crumbs Use 1 tablespoon butter to grease a 9 inch square baking pan.  In a blender, puree ricotta cheese, cream cheese, 1/2 and 1/2, mustard, cayenne, nutmeg, and pepper.  In a large bowl, combine all but 1/4 cup of the grated cheese, the liquid mixture and uncooked pasta.  Pour into the prepared pan.  Cover tightly with foil and refrigerate for a few hours. When ready to e

I wasn't allowed to put any weight at all on my left leg for 10 weeks which is a very long time. The work that the surgeon did was successful and now I'm starting to get around my condo with the aid of a walker. I've also started to do some cooking while hanging onto counters, etc. Last night I made a very simple supper but the salad was excellent and the pasta dish quite good as well. Apple Spinach Salad 4 cups baby spinach 1 medium apple, sliced (I also peeled mine because I don't like apple peels) 1/2 small red onion cut into thin wedges 2 tablespoon roughly chopped dried tart cherries 1/4 cup pecan pieces 1/2 cup blue cheese (about 2 ounces) or you could substitute feta Thyme-Dijon Vinaigrette 1/4 cup olive oil 1/4 cup white wine vinegar 2 teaspoons fresh thyme or 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme leaves 1 teaspoon Dijon-style mustard 1/4 teaspoon salt Put ingredients for dressing in jar and shake well. Use the amount you want on the salad. Adapted from a recipe from Hear

In case you're wondering what to do with baby turnips and their greens, the following is a very good salad with interesting flavor contrasts. Baby White Turnip Salad With Toasted Pecans And Bacon 4 small white turnips with their greens attached (or 1 bunch of baby white turnips) 1/4 c. pecan halves or pieces 3 oz. bacon 1 green garlic stalk and 1 green onion, sliced on the bias (a garlic scape is also a nice addition if you happen to have them available) salt and pepper, to taste 1-2 Tbsp. Balsamic Vinegar 1-2 Tbsp. olive oil Toast pecan pieces. I usually do mine in the microwave. It take 1-2 minutes. Otherwise toast them in a 350 degree oven. Make sure they don't burn. Remove the greens from the turnips. Tear the leaves with your hands into medium to large pieces and set aside. Slice turnips as thin as possible. I used my food processor using the thin slicing disk. Put into a bowl of iced water. In a non-stick pan, saute the bacon until crisp. Remove from the pan and crumble,

This is a hint that I found on the Harmony Valley website, "The secret to cooking them is to trim the ends to where the stems begin to be tender and chopping them into 2 inch, or smaller, pieces." I did chop them into small pieces, but failed to remove the tougher woody stalks. It kind of all looks alike, so its easy to think all of it will cook OK. This is not the case! We wound up having to pick the tough little sticks out of our pasta. This is not something you want to experience. It gives you a rather negative feeling about the whole pea vine thing. I recommend the following recipe, but be sure to do a better job trimming the pea shoots than I did. Pasta Carbonara with Pea Shoots 1/2 pound pasta of your choice 3-4 slices bacon 2 large cloves garlic, minced 4 cups pea shoots, including leaves and tendrils, roughly chopped (1 bunch, trimmed) Salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste 2 large eggs 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese, divided 1/2 cup chopped f

We got up (not so bright and early) and went to the farmers' market on the west side of Madison. Obviously with our CSA box we don't need to buy vegetables, but we like to get our milk, yogurt, eggs, cheese, bread and meat there. Next we went and picked up our CSA box from Harmony Valley. We realized we better get busy eating our produce. We did this by starting out with greens for breakfast by incorporating sorrel into a quiche. Sorrel and Goat Cheese Quiche Premade pie crust (Whole Foods has a decent frozen whole wheat crust) 2-3 cups sorrel, coarsely chopped (1 bunch), don't use the tough stems 3-4 few scallions, chopped 4 ounces goat cheese (I used Dream Farm French Herb goat cheese) 3 eggs 1½ cups milk Salt & pepper Parmesan cheese, preferably freshly shredded Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spread goat cheese in the bottom of a pie crust . Cover with chopped sorrel and scallions. Beat eggs, salt, pepper and milk together. Pour over greens. Sprinkle with Parme

I borrowed this recipe from A Good Appetite blog and made a couple of modifications for items I had on hand. Creamy Sausage and Ramp Pasta 8 oz. Trader Joe's whole wheat fettuccine 1 tablespoon olive oil 3 precooked chicken Italian sausages 1 bunch ramps (8-10) 3/4 cup half & half (the fat free works fine in this dish) 1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese Salt & Pepper to taste Cook the pasta according to the package directions. Drain & set aside. Slice the ramps. Keep the leaves separate. Heat the olive oil, brown the sausage, bulbs and stems from the ramps until slightly softened. Add the half and half and cheese. Simmer until everything is warm. Add the cooked pasta and the ramp leaves. Stir until the leaves wilt slightly. Season with salt & pepper. This is a quick easy dish and very satisfying.

We have quite a lot of cabbage from our farm share so I'm trying a number of different recipes with cabbage. This is a recipe that I converted from a British website. The author comments: "This is a lovely, robust winter dish, perfect for when you come in chilled from outside and need something a bit stodgy and warming." Pasta with Savoy Cabbage, Dolcelatte and Roasted Walnuts I researched and found that Dolcelatte was similar to blue cheese, so that is what I used. 1 tablespoon butter 1 tablespoon olive oil 1 small Savoy cabbage, finely shredded (I used about 4 cups) 1 clove of garlic, crushed or finely chopped salt and freshly ground black pepper juice of half a lemon 2 teaspoons fennel seeds 5 oz rotini (or any available pasta--I used penne) 2 oz roasted walnut pieces 4 oz Dolcelatte cheese, roughly cubed (I substituted blue cheese and would suggest using about 2 ounces, you can always add more if you want to) 2-3 tablespoons cream fresh Parmesan, gr