Herby Winter Squash Hummus [recipe]

New Year’s Eve parties are absolutely littered with unhealthy foods. Maybe everyone is looking for that final hurrah before coming face to face with their diet resolutions?  But we have found a secret: eating healthy, local food doesn’t mean eating foods that taste bland.   

Low-Fat, High Vitamin Winter Squash Lasagna [recipe]

Just when you think you’ve had enough squash, there’s a lovely delicious lasagna recipe you just have to try. And after we tried it out, we’re adding it to short list of ideas for our 2016 Christmas dinner.  Squash replacing turkey!  

Kale and Winter Squash Strata [recipe]

I am a huge fan of breakfast, I  wish we could have breakfast meals all day long!  It is one of the main reasons I wanted to get chickens, in order to have fresh eggs every day.

Winter Squash Tacos [recipe]

We make rice and beans and tacos all the time.  We have even changed the way we make them to incorporate the seasons.  So in the height of summer, our tacos are all dressed up with tomato salsa, colorful peppers, fresh garlic, lots of greens from the garden, and cilantro piled high!  This Autumn we figured we would just keep experimenting with our tacos to keep them in season too.  We have had great success with black bean and sweet potato with onions and other root vegetables.  This week the abundance of squash let me try tacos with squash too!

Winter Squash Long Grain Risotto [recipe]

Risotto has always been a favorite of mine but it always seems daunting, maybe I need the right rice, don’t I need cream? And white wine? I don’t have time to make this, do I?  But this time I didn’t get hung up on arborio rice and found a way to make do with what I had in the cupboard!

Squash Buttermilk Pancakes [recipe]

We have a weekly pancake ritual on sunday mornings.  One of us melts the butter and starts brewing coffee and then one of us will start the pancake steps.  Weigh and measure all the ingredients, while the other parent entertains the kiddos with walking the dog or letting the chickens out.  The pancake maker will weigh out all the dry ingredients and sometimes a little 3-year-old will come help measure (read: take the leveled measuring spoon from my hand and dump it and tap it on the side and into the bowl of flour) and then we mix it all together!  

Roasted Winter Squash Soup [recipe]

After roasting and pureeing the Blue Hubbard Squash we have plenty to make a winter soup that we love and keep on the meal planning rotation all winter long.  This is my double batch recipe for a big crowd or for making once and freezing for lunches and dinners when we’re short on time or don’t want to cook.  This simple recipe honors the flavor of whatever squash you choose and is so yummy after a long day outside shoveling snow or as a side dish to a larger meal. 

Healthy Winter Squash Muffins [recipe]

I don’t think there anything better than warm bread from the oven. Oh, maybe warm bread with a slab of butter melting on it after emerging from the oven, mmmmm and the crack of the crust, and teeth sinking into a soft crumb.   Ahhh.  But most days, I don’t want to wait for the sourdough starter, and then firm starter to rise, and then playing with the dough and waiting. The quicker path to satisfaction is a muffin. The texture is there and it takes under an hour from opening the recipe to having a warm muffin in hand. And what a great snack for a chilly winter day, sitting with a cup of tea or warm in your pocket as you wander in the snow onto the next adventure.

Simply Amazing Brussels Sprout for Thanksgiving [recipe]

I absolutely LOVE my grandmother’s stuffing and when I first made it for my husband when we were dating I realized, it tastes pretty good, but I had much more fun buying the ingredients and making it than just sitting down to eat the dish.  I had to work hard to buy the exact kinds of ingredients, as directed by my aunt and mother.  I had a smile on my face talking to each of them listening to how they remember making the stuffing and how they would assign tasks to me and my sister, my cousins, and uncles too!  When the final steps came and I was tossing it altogether, before I baked it, I was so happy it looked just right, but even happier that I had followed the food back through the stories, and through the traditions, and even back to the source.  My aunt’s handwriting of the ingredients and meticulous steps are permanently stained and next to my new recipes in my cookbook.

Thanksgiving Wild Blueberry Cranberry Sauce [recipe]

Thanksgiving is such a great holiday in our country focused primarily on traditions,  food and family.  Brian was interested in trying to spatchcock and roast the turkey, so, of course, I got very excited about what will adorn it.  I was given free reign over the cranberry sauce and some other side dishes.  And while, the staples of the meal have their place, why not try a few new side dishes or a new twist on an old favorite?