Eating and living locally . . . mindfully . . . simply.
Can I just say, this was the most delicious meal I’ve had in awhile? This Dark Days Challenge thing is harder than I thought it would be. Before I started this challenge, I thought I had the eating local thing down pat. What I didn’t realize was, how very hard it is to have every. single. ingredient local. So many times, the sides are mostly local, but the meat isn’t. Or the meat is, but the sides aren’t. Or I {Read More}
The introduction to this recipe from Simply in Season states that it’s “inspired by peanut stews served in West Africa.” Indeed, I have been to West and East Africa, and in both areas of the continent I’ve been inspired by their use of peanuts (called groundnuts) in savory dishes. One recipe that I really wish I had gotten was sort of like a green bean casserole only with peanuts. It sounds kind of disgusting but it was awesome! For this {Read More}
A perfect turkey day side dish or a nice Sunday afternoon lunch. Much less fussy than risotto!
Ok folks, this is heavily adapted from Simply in Season. I started with a 3 lb stewing chicken, the one left from last week’s farm pickup. At about 7 AM this morning I put it, along with 9 cups of water, an onion cut in wedges, 2 peeled whole cloves of garlic, 1 stick of cinnamon, 1 tsp whole cardamom pods, and 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg in the crockpot and set it to low. When I came home from work {Read More}
Call me a hedonist, but I like just about any soup with the word “bisque” in the title. This version from Simply in Season gets its creaminess from nonfat plain yogurt, so I’ll put this in the healthy category. Cook the butternut or winter squash. For this, I turn to my trusty Betty Crocker. Simply pierce the rind with a fork or sharp knife so it doesn’t explode, and put in the microwave for 4-6 minutes until it’s easy to {Read More}
I was a little nervous to make this recipe, because DH and his family have this “thing” against mushy bread. My mother in law makes a creamed corn dish with bread in it and that is the only thing they like with that sort of texture. Peel and cube 3 C of butternut squash into 1/2 inch pieces, and bake in a single layer on a cookie sheet covered in cooking spray in a preheated oven at 400 degrees until {Read More}
Even though I’ve been cooking for two months now, my idea of what is “a cinch to throw together” is still miles away from what the editors at Simply in Season consider “a cinch to throw together.” First, for this recipe, one must peel and cube 2-3 C of butternut squash (or you can use pumpkin). I usually peel my butternuts with a vegetable peeler, as a knife is tricky to maneuver. Then, you have to chop an onion and {Read More}
Over the past year I’ve grown to appreciate fresh ginger. Like garlic, the dried or jarred version just doesn’t compare. In case you aren’t sure what fresh ginger looks like, or how to cook with it, there is a great tutorial at Cookthink. Gingery Butternut Squash Soup from Simply in Season highlights fresh ginger, and is a simple soup to make on a rainy, chilly autumn afternoon. Simply chop 2 onions and mince 2 T of fresh ginger, and saute’ {Read More}
This is another recipe that I wouldn’t have tried were it not for the challenge of cooking every recipe in Simply in Season. Pumpkin? Sausage? Pasta? Oh well, it has wine in it, if it tastes bad I can always finish off the bottle! Ingredients: 1 lb penne pasta 1 lb bulk sweet Italian sausage 1 medium onion (finely chopped) 4 cloves garlic (minced) 1 bay leaf 2 T fresh sage (cut into thin strips; otherwise use a dash of {Read More}
For my second soup attempt of the day, I chose Butternut Harvest Stew from the autumn section of Simply in Season. It begins easy enough, melt 2 T butter and saute 1 medium onion, chopped and 2 cloves of minced garlic along with 1.5 lb of cubed pork until the meat is no longer pink. I bought the pork at Byron Center Meats this morning, and was really impressed with the customer service. I asked if they had cubed pork {Read More}
