Alias

I miss it. The television show, for those who don't immediately know where I'm going with this. But I must admit that I am currently intrigued by J.J. Abrams' newest show, Fringe, which promises to be almost as addicting as Alias (alas without the great eye-candy - sorry, Joshua Jackson, but you're no Michael Vartan!).

Since you asked

I've not been home for dinner at all this week, so my lasagna looks like it may be a weekend venture. I've been eating lots of yummy things, however, mostly fixed by the catering staff at my museum - mushroom ravioli; wilted kale and fancy 'mac 'n' cheese'. All so good that I've become a bit spoiled and can no longer really remember what it was like to cook myself dinner!

But, in response to my last post, Jerseygirl77 asked for a no-fail butternut squash recipe. This question prompted me to look in my recipe box and among my many papers for two of my favorite dishes that incorporate winter squashes. Pumpkin, butternut, acorn, or whatever variety you have on hand will do. The flavors will vary slightly, but I don't think you'll be disappointed.

One of my favorites that I use time and time again is for butternut squash soup. It has fresh ginger and Dijon mustard to give it a little kick (which I admit may not be kid-friendly), but certainly makes it interesting. I make a large vat of it and then stick batches in the freezer for later lunches or dinners. It also gives me an opportunity to use my immersion blender - always a fun thing!

Butternut Squash Soup
From A Veggie Venture
2 cups vegetable broth (I assume you can use chicken as well), heated
1 T olive oil
1 onion, minced
1 T minced garlic
1 t fresh ginger (feel free to use the powdered version if that's what you have)
1 T Dijon mustard
3 cups cooked winter squash (butternut is my norm)
salt & pepper to taste

1. First, you must peel, cube, and cook the squash. This is super-easy with butternut squash or crook-neck pumpkins. Just peel the skin, dispose of the innards, and cube the meat. Place the cubes in boiling water for about 20 minutes or so or until tender.
2. In a large saucepan, heat the olive oil on medium until it shimmers. Add the onion, garlic, and ginger and cook for 3-5 minutes until just beginning to brown. Stir in the mustard and cook 1 minute. Add the broth and stir well. Continue until the broth is hot and the ingredients are incorporated.
3. Stir in the squash until incorporated. Cover and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally.
4. Use an immersion blender to puree the soup. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

This is a good pairing to a nice fall salad or some crusty bread toasted with Parmesan.

I also have a super-yummy pasta recipe that I absolutely adore that I've adapted from the November 2007 Everyday Food. The first time I made it was when my mother came to visit last fall, and although it didn't fit her Weight Watcher's point system very well (pasta!), it is a good substitute for really cheesy pasta dishes that we normally identify as comfort food. Leaving out the parmesan wouldn't hurt the flavors too much and I've done it before to no great detriment.

Pasta with Creamy Squash Sauce
Adapted from Everyday Food
12 oz. pasta (I use whole wheat penne or some sturdy pasta)
coarse salt
2 T olive oil
1 T fresh rosemary
2 cups cooked crook-neck pumpkin, butternut, or acorn squash (just boil up the cubes and blend them a bit with an immersion blender or by hand until slightly creamy)
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 cup milk (I've used skim before and it worked just fine)
1/3 cup Parmesan (optional)
1 T white-wine vinegar
1/4 t red-pepper flakes (more for garnish if you like it spicy)

1. Cook pasta as directed until al dente. Reserve 2 cups pasta water, drain pasta and set aside.
2. In pasta pot, heat oil over medium. Add rosemary and fry, stirring until starting to brown (1-2 minutes). Transfer rosemary to paper towel, leaving oil in pot. (I normally don't like fried things, but I must admit that this step really adds a glorious flavor to the dish!)
3. Carefully add squash, garlic, milk, Parmesan, vinegar, red-pepper flakes, and 1 cup reserved pasta water to pot. Stir until heated, about 3 minutes.
4. Add pasta to sauce and toss to coat. If sauce is too thick, add more reserved pasta water. Season with salt. Serve with fried rosemary sprinkled on top and more red-pepper flakes if desired.

Jerseygirl77, you'll have to let us know if these work for your family!

Image courtesy marthastewart.com

Whirl

The past week has flown by in a whirl. The craziness has been mostly work-related as a board meeting and various activies have meant late nights and lots of wine! I've not done anything remotely blog-worthy other than running by the farmer's market very briefly Saturday morning before heading into work. Acorn squash and kale were just two of my treats and I'm envisioning some sort of savory lasagna sometime soon...

Saved

Just when I was about to give in and ruin my frugal streak by purchasing a coffee drink during the work week at Hyperion, it arrived. Peppermint Mocha Coffee-mate creamer. I'm a happy girl. My friend Christine will understand.

Well, I'm a happy girl at least for the next few weeks while I go through the three bottles I stumbled upon at Giant last night. Now, this certainly is not to say that this is the most tasty way to go, but with Hyperion peppermint mochas at over $4 a piece, it definitely is the smart way to go.

Transition

Well, I've cooked my first sweet potato of the season. I roasted sweet potato fries along with the last of summer's green beans for dinner one night this week. It's official in my book - fall has arrived. Now that my food has made the leap, that means this weekend I should also transition my clothing - pull out the wool sweaters that I'll soon be needing and pack up the tank tops that sadly (sniff) just won't cut it anymore.

Off to the farmer's market this morning. This will be one of the last weekends the market is still teeming with tons of vendors and shoppers. I love this time of year, but I do hate that hibernation is right around the corner. No more late evening runs around the neighborhood. No more working in the garden in the early morning. Darkness is beginning to descend and soon I'll just be holed up in my house reading on the couch with my blanket and a cup of hot chocolate - hey, that doesn't sound so bad.

Next year I need to be better about buying vegetables and fruit in bulk during the season and freezing it for the long winter months. I have some corn in the freezer and some applesauce, but other than that am wholly unprepared. I guess I'll have to continue to succumb to buying frozen grocery store veggies this time around. I'll see what offerings are out this morning and maybe I can mend my ways in some small measure. We'll see...

Chicken of the woods

Chicken of the woods. Really a sulphur shelf mushroom that grows wild in the woods. Cindy and Chris at Cub Creek Farms collected a 50lb one the other week and had a whole bunch at their market stand. Cindy was shocked that I'd never used the mushroom before, being a vegetarian. She seemed to think it was part of the rules, but having not lived in the woods since childhood (and we didn't hunt mushrooms!) and not really shopping at farmer's markets while living in D.C., this is my first foray into this delicacy. The only rule with this mushroom is that you need to cook before consuming (luckily I don't like raw mushrooms anyway).


Well, I'd have to admit that cutting into this weird-looking mushroom did remind me of cutting into a dry chicken breast - very flaky and the "meat" did have that grainy look I think I remember from my poultry-eating days. I think I've said it before, but I'm not one of those vegetarians who actually likes fake meat (well, I do like fake bacon because, as Krissy and T can attest, I used to love bacon - especially Papa's - nice and crispy). Anyway, I had prepared myself to not like the chicken of the woods mushroom due to the fact that it was supposed to taste like chicken. I am not sure I remember the taste of chicken but this mushroom was pretty light and relatively bland in my opinion. On the positive side, it certainly doesn't taste 'mushroomy', but on the other hand it doesn't really taste 'mushroomy' if you know what I mean.


My 'chicken' went into a simple quesadilla: I sauteed it with corn and black beans and a touch of enchilada sauce. I placed the mixture with a little sprinkle of cheddar cheese between two wheat tortillas it on my wonderful Santa Fe Quesadilla Maker that I received as a gift a couple of Christmases ago and must admit use pretty often. Nothing could be simpler - like a George Foreman grill for tortillas and filling. Pretty yummy and very easy. I have a few more pieces of the mushroom left and now need to decide my next recipe. I've definitely been inspired.

Tastes like chicken

Warning: food experiement coming up... and I'm not sure how I feel. I don't like chicken - that's one of the reasons I'm a vegetarian. Should I be happy about a mushroom that's praised because it 'tastes like chicken'?

Image of 'sulphur shelves' courtesy http://botit.botany.wisc.edu/toms_fungi/jul2001.html

Green with envy

When last visiting my parents up in Frederick, Maryland, we took a little trip to their local co-op, The Common Market (oh, how I wish Fredericksburg would get themselves a co-op). After dining on goodies from their cafe (I had a yummy marinated tofu sandwich), we took to shopping (okay, Dad sat and people-watched while Mom and I shopped). We didn't buy much (thanks, Mom and Dad, for my Klean Kanteen and huge bag of organic carrots!) but I did pick up a new face lotion on a whim.

It's got good moisturizers without feeling greasy (important as we head into dry skin season). Has SPF 15 (good for us fair-skinned types). Plus, is cruelty-free (the brand name is a dead giveaway). I'm a convert.

Fall fiend

Missing: the cute pumpkin from my front stoop. So sad to come home from the farmer's market this morning to an empty spot next to my pot of yellow pansies and winter squash. Guess some unfortunate soul out there needed a pumpkin and just couldn't afford it. I'll likely tempt fate and buy another one soon. The composition is just all off balance now - I need odd numbers here! Three was perfect; two just looks awkward.

Now I just need to figure out how to lock pumpkin #2 in place. Would duct tape look silly?

Comfort (finale)

Well, a week of crisp fall-is-just-arriving weather is drawing to a close. My front porch has a pot of yellow pansies, a pumpkin, and a small yellow and green squash to bring my house in line with the new season. And today also marked the day of reaching my pinacle of comfort food - the first peppermint mocha.

I love this time of year. Acorns are raining down with their little caps ajar. The nights are chilly making me burrow deep under the covers. Sweaters come out of hiding. Apples abound at the farmers market. What are your favorite fall things?

Image of this c. 1830 tin coffeepot is courtesy the Index of American Design (http://www.nga.gov/collection/gallery/iadmetal/iadmetal-30068.html). Lots of great treasures of the American past captured in exquisite watercolors - check it out for a little nostalgia (perfect this time of year).