mother hubbard's bare little cupboard

Twice recently I threw together a meal from some disparate ingredients that were all that remained in the house.  I don't fancy myself a gifted chef, but I do hit on a keeper once in a while.  Next time I make them I'll have to take pictures.

Roasted Veggies & Mushroom Ravioli with Maple Orange Glaze

1 small yellow crookneck squash
1 bulb fennel
2 small parsnips
20 or so baby carrots
2 oranges
2 tsp maple syrup
1 package wild mushroom ravioli

Preheat oven to 400F.  Coarsely chop fennel, squash, and parsnips.  Zest oranges, then juice.  Toss veggies in mixing bowl with juice from 1/2 of one orange and a couple of tablespoons of olive oil.  Spread in jelly roll pan, sprinkle lightly with salt.  Roast for ~35 mns or until tender.  In the meantime, prepare maple orange glaze and start water boiling for ravioli.

Maple Orange Glaze:
Combine remaining OJ and maple syrup in saucepan and bring to boil, then reduce heat and cook down until mixture begins to thicken.  Add zest and cook another 2-5 minutes.

Remove veggies when tender and toss with maple orange glaze.  It will have cooked down substantially and what is left is a small amount of syrupy glaze -- just enough to glue the zest to the veggies.  Serve on a bed of ravioli with a wild yeast chardonnay.

Summer Spaetzle Salad

6 oz. spaetzle

1 can white beans, drained & rinsed

1/2 can quartered artichoke hearts, drained and slightly chopped

1/2 pouch ( 1 1/2 oz.) sun-dried tomatoes, julienne cut

12-20 leaves fresh basil, julienned

1/4 cup romano cheese, grated

1 Tbsp. cream cheese

Boil spaetzle in lightly salted water 20-25 mns or until tender.  Drain and return to warm cooking pot.  Stir in cream cheese until melted.  In a large bowl, toss remaining ingredients.  Add spaetzle mixture and stir until combined.  Serve immediately.  Leftovers can be refrigerated and eaten cold.

This recipe is deliberately bland to showcase the basil, but I do think it could be "kicked up a notch" if desired.  What pleased me the most about it was the complementary textures of the spaetzle and white beans. It's got to be the German in me.  I'm definitely taking it on my next camping trip.