It's not unusual that a dish will taste better than it photographs, especially the stews and gruel-like consistencies that I favor. This dinner attempt sadly proved the reverse. Maybe I strayed from the original recipe, I can't remember. But it was way too sweet and the texture didn't make up for anything (should I have fluffed the grains more?). I'm still determined to use millet and stuff squash, perhaps just not together. Recipe from The Gluten-Free Hippie.
That may be one of the last potential personality test questions that isn't already an internet quiz (really? which smurf am i? i did succumb to the supervillian quiz, though: Poison Ivy, with Mr. Freeze in second (who is that?)).
This one's great for the sheer number of varieties it mentions. Try this one for deciding which apples will suit your purpose, this one for which varieties to plant in your backyard (US only), and this one's probably redundant but I liked it. Oooh, this one has photos.
I love this soup. And by this soup I mean the platonic ideal of all of the soups that Emma's made these past few weeks. They are all squash soups, with some potatoes thrown in for thickener, and they all share the distinction of lacking a recipe. I made a few honest attempts at recording the process, but deep down I was worried that my involvement would somehow throw the soup off course.
Don't have the time to bake bread but need something to go with that soup? Crackers! These were really quick and simple--just flour, water, and olive oil, with salt and dried herbs. I got the recipe from Straight From the Farm. She used dill, pepper and oregano on hers, I did basil, cumin, and pepper. You could use anything--rosemary, coriander, cayenne, ooh, even sage.
Spaghetti squash is a native of China, where it's called sharkfin melon; this one came from Rose's family's garden in Chico. I quartered the squash and steamed it--it took only slightly longer than actual spaghetti. It can also be baked. You have to clear out the seeds when you cut it open, like a pumpkin or a cantaloupe. Then you scoop out the insides. I used an ice cream scoop. Whee! Even a small squash will yield a huge pile of 'spaghetti,' since the inedible rind is so thin.
The normal thing to do is just treat it as pasta by adding sauce. Wikipedia recommends making mac and cheese out of it, which I'm going to try next. But there have to be lots of other fun things to do beyond the 1:1 pasta replacement concept.
To pluralize or not to pluralize, that is the question with Brussels Sprouts. Cultivated in large quantities for the first time in the 1200s in Belgium, this Brassica family black sheep was named for their capital. The Netherlands quickly took over production--today they produce three times as many Brussels sprouts as the US does. So if that elided "s" gives you pause when you go to write out this veggie's name, take comfort that in Dutch, the Belgium capital is called "Brussel".
Roasted Brussels Sprouts
The garlic got planted this week, so I'm reminiscing about the rainy day I spent in the steer shed cleaning it, for sale and seed. Some combination of the dreary light from outside and the shimmery colors of the cloves gave them a translucent glow--I was bummed that most of my shots came out blurry. To speed away sniffles and colds ('tis the season...) I like to eat slices of raw garlic smothered in honey.
First frost! The whole garden was ice-kissed and sparkly...
