Cooking: Half Baked Harvest (Pt. 1)

I can’t remember where I was when I stumbled upon the Half Baked Harvest cookbook but I’m sure it was while endlessly perusing a bookstore with Jacob. I do remember that when I picked up this cookbook, I was immediately stunned by the beauty of it. There were so many different things to cook! It was love at first sight. I only found Tieghan on Instagram afterwards. She’s probably my favorite person on Instagram. Her recipes are fantastic. You can find easy or more complicated recipes. She is not afraid to play with flavors and you can find a way to cook just about anything. You can buy this specific cookbook here. I have her other one (that’ll come at another date) and she has another on the way (I’ve already pre-ordered). Before my “One Cookbook a Week” adventure, I was probably cooking from one of her cookbooks (or her blog) once a week. At least. She’s my go to.

You can follow Tieghan on Instagram or you can check out her blog here!

1. Wild Rice & Havarti-Stuffed Acorn Squash

Find the recipe here

I think that Jacob was super skeptical with this one because he’s not HUGE on squash. I’ve forced him to love it. This is why I can’t be a chef though. I don’t know how to come up with the different flavors that really actually work. How do you say “No really, chipotle in adobo tastes great with dried cranberries and havarti cheese” and get people to believe you? To be fair, there’s not a lot that havarti cheese doesn’t make more delicious. I almost left the cranberries out because I thought it was too weird. I never made this one specifically for that reason. The weirdness of it all. I don’t know why I question Tieghan. It was delicious. The different textures of the wild rice and squash really worked. The chipotle brought just the right amount of spice and smokiness. My only complaint was that the squash was a little too sweet – I would probably use less brown sugar next time. However, this did not bother Jacob. Then again, he’s more of a sweet tooth than I am.

2. Pumpkin & Oregano-Butter Gnocchi

Find the recipe here

Oh yes. I am a basic bitch who loves pumpkin everything. I hoard cans of pumpkin so I can have the beautiful taste of pumpkin in my mouth all year round. I would apologize for the obscenity of that sentence but I don’t care. That’s how much I love pumpkin. Although, as this post shows, I just really love all types of squash.

Making your own gnocchi sounds really daunting. I’ve done it for two different recipes and while it is a bit of a pain, it’s not as hard as you think! You should definitely give it a chance. A nice, brown butter on any pasta is really how you capture my heart. I’ve made this recipe a few times, it’s a household favorite. It is definitely heavy and not meant for a nice, light meal. You’ll need a nap after this.

3. Spicy Italian Sausage & Arugula Pizza

Hi. I LOVE arugula on pizza. It’s my favorite thing. This is the recipe that told me that. Again, when I first made this, I almost left out the arugula. If you’ve never put arugula on pizza, you are 100% missing out. That peppery beautiful-ness works perfectly on pizza. Give it a shot.

I couldn’t find this recipe online so I’ll tell you whats on it cause it’s pizza. This is easy peasy. Jacob makes all our pizza dough and he’s made his own recipe (maybe I’ll talk him into sharing one day), so that is what we used. Otherwise, you’ll need Spicy Italian sausage (casing removed), marinara sauce, basil, roasted red peppers, oil-packed sun dried tomatoes (drained and chopped), mozzarella (recipe does call for Buffalo or Smoked – I couldn’t find either), fresh arugula, parmesan cheese, crushed red pepper flakes. You’re done. It’s 2022, let’s experiment with pizza toppings!

4. Braised Mediterranean Lentils with Roasted Spaghetti Squash

Find the recipe here

You know when you look at a recipe and you’re tired just looking at how much is in it? That was me with this recipe. But since it was Fall when I made this and squash was clearly my theme, I went with it. And boy I am glad I did! It was phenomenal. For the entire week, this was my favorite. Don’t get me wrong, I’ll make them all again, but this one took the cake for me. The honey cooked carrots were the best. Clearly, the only way I’ll eat cooked carrots voluntarily is if you cook them in honey. The salty level in this dish was perfect (for my salty self). The cherry tomatoes on top brought out the freshness there at the end. It was so filling and clean.

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I hope you enjoyed this week of cooking! Which one are you most excited to try?