Dinner Tonight

Dinner Tonight

Healthy Cooking for a Healthy Texas

Squash – Winter Squash

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Winter squash (including acorn, buttercup, butternut, and Hubbard varieties) is rich in Vitamin A (beta-carotene), dietary fiber, folate (folic acid), and potassium. It is naturally low in calories, fat, and sodium which makes it a perfect canvas for your healthy fall recipes. Here is a bit more about these winter squashes.

Selecting:

Choose a firm, well-shaped squash that is heavy for its size and has hard, tough skin. Do not choose those that have sunken or moldy spots. Avoid squash with cuts or punctures in the skin. Also, slight variations in skin color do not affect flavor. A tender rind indicates immaturity, which is a sign of poor quality in winter squash varieties.

Harvesting:

Since winter squash is harvested mainly during the time that pumpkins are harvested, they need to be planted in the late summer months (August to September). Harvesting would then occur from October to November.

When harvesting winter squash, handle them carefully to avoid cuts and bruises.  These injuries are not only unsightly, but they also provide entrances for various rot-producing organisms.  Cut the fruit off the vine with pruning shears.  Leave a 1-inch stem on each fruit.

Storing:

After curing, store winter squash in a cool, dry, well-ventilated location.  Storage temperatures should be 50 to 55 degrees Fahrenheit.  Do not store squash near apples, pears, or other ripening fruit.  Ripening fruit releases ethylene gas which shortens the storage life of squash.

When properly cured and stored, the storage lives of acorn, butternut, and hubbard squash are approximately 5 to 8 weeks, 2 to 3 months, and 5 to 6 months, respectively.

Recipes:

Sources:

Iowa State University Extension. Harvesting and Storing Winter Squash. Richard Jauron.

Texas A&M AgriLife Extension. Food Technology & Processing – Winter Squash. Aggie Horticulture.

Tacos

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Make your Taco Tuesday (or Wednesday, or Thursday, or Friday….whenever!) the best it can be with these tips.

Tips for Taco night:

1. Start with the Seasoning

Who doesn’t love the convenience of a packaged seasoning mix? But take 10 minutes to put together a custom batch of the chili-based stuff and be prepared to be blown away by the difference. Bonus: DIY mixes are almost always lower in salt, so the brilliant pop of the spices shine more brightly.

2. Fine-Tuning The Tortillas

If you’re feeling ambitious, you could make your own corn or flour tortillas. Even if you go the store-bought route, there’s a simple way to make those soft tortillas even better. Most people warm them up, wrapped in foil, in the oven. That’s cool, but next time, try tossing them in a hot skillet and sprinkling a few drops of water in the pan. Turn a couple of times and keep the tortillas warm under a tea towel.

3. Prepping Pays Off Big Time

Get out ahead of your Taco Tuesday party by making the fillings the morning of, or the day before. That works especially well when you use that kitchen MVP, the slow cooker.

4. Bring on the Veggies

Tortillas make for the most amazing blank canvas. So many clever cooks have contributed plant-based taco fillings that taste incredible and work so well if you’re trying to eat less meat. That doesn’t mean you have to skip the pork, chicken or beef. Just pile on the veggies and use the meat almost like a condiment.

5. Try These Better-Than-Salsa Toppings

OK, there’s nothing better than salsa, right? Or a zesty slaw? Pico de gallo treads the fine line between salsa and salad, while landing smack in the middle of tasty town. Since Taco Tuesday rolls around every week, mix it up and try something new.

Original article can be found here.

Tortilla Breakdown

If you’re looking for the healthier option, corn tortillas outshine their flour alternative. Whichever you select, be sure to top your tortilla with plenty of veggies and beans to make it a truly nutritious meal.

 

Which Fish for Fish Tacos?

Most types of fish can be thrown into a taco, but each kind works best with a different set of toppings.

1. White-fleshed, mild, saltwater fish. Whether snapper, mahi mahi, grouper, flounder, halibut or cod, wild, local fish are the tastiest choice for Baja-style tacos. Since these fillets tend to be expensive, keep the toppings simple (think raw shredded cabbage and guacamole) so the mild flavor of these fish can really shine through.

2. Salmon. Salmon isn’t necessarily traditional, but there’s no reason you can’t wrap it in tortillas. Because the fish’s flavor is stronger, it can stand up to spicy rubs as well as the charring heat of the grill.

3. Farmed freshwater fish. At US taco shops and trucks, you’ll often find fish tacos made with tilapia or maybe even catfish. These can be a sustainable choice, for sure, but the fillets can have a murky, muddy flavor that’s best covered up with lots of vibrant toppings.

original article can be found here.

Wooden Skewers

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Most skewers are made out of metal or bamboo. If you’re using bamboo, soak them before cooking/grilling.  To prevent wooden skewers from burning follow the following tips:

  • Submerge skews in room-temperature water for 30-60 minutes before grilling.
  • Remove excess water by laying skewers on paper towels.
  • Soak a few extra skewers, just in case you break some.
  • Or soak the whole package of skewers, drain them well and put the extras in your freezer to pull out as needed.

 

*If you don’t want to soak then use stainless steel or metal skewers. They do not require any soaking and can be reused.

 If you enjoyed this tip, check out more about Grilling Safety.

Grating vs. Shredding

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Recipes can be confusing, especially for those who are just starting to cook.  Cooking terminology is not as easy to comprehend or implement. Thus, learning a few new cooking terms can help improve your cooking skills.  In many recipes, grating and shredding will pop-up.  Even though, both words appear to be the same; they look entirely different.  Grating looks like choppy short fragments while shredding looks like long strips; however, both use the same kitchen equipment/tools.  So no worries, no need to buy another kitchen appliance/utensil. You can use what you have! Plus, knowing the difference between these two cooking skills will help you be more proficient in the kitchen.

Shred Away with These Nifty Tools

Anyway you shred it – gets the job done! A box grater, hand grater, or food processor can shred the vegetables that you need. These tools are best used on root based and non-leafy veggies.

Before shredding,

  • Wash vegetables.
  • Pell vegetables, if needed.
  • Push the veggies along the holes, if using a box or hand grater.
  • Make a top-down notion – starting from the top and moving down.
  • Be careful with your fingers!

When vegetables get too small to shred, simply cut the piece with a knife to prevent your fingers from getting scraped.