Stuffed Acorn Squash

I got some nice acorn squash at the last farmer's market of the season, along with some other beautiful fall vegetables. Preparing it to bake, I decided to add a bit of stuffing and began looking in the refrigerator. The resulting dish is light and flavorful and not overly sweet like some baked squash recipes. The sage gives the otherwise fruity dish a savory touch. Give it a try.


STUFFED ACORN SQUASH

Ingredients:

• acorn squash (I used two for two people because they were small; you may only need one for every two people if they're larger)
• butter (about 2 t. per squash)
• brown sugar (about 1 T. per squash)
• maple syrup (about 2 t. per squash)
• leftover cooked apples or applesauce (at least 1/2 c. per squash)
• golden raisins (about 2 T. per squash)
• toasted pecans (at least 1 T. per squash)
• dusting of finely ground sage

Method:

Cut squash in half lengthwise and remove seeds. Score the flesh with a sharp knife. Rub each half lightly with butter -- about 1 t. per half. Place on baking sheet or in shallow pan.

For the filling, mix together the remaining ingredients and divide among squash halves.

Bake at 375 for about an hour.

Serve and enjoy!


And... cook, eat, dance, love!

Harvest Apple Bread Pudding

I keep buying apples from the orchard down the road. I love just about anything when it's in season and the variety -- and varieties -- of apples available now aren't matched by anything found the rest of the year. I've made a lot of different apple dishes lately, including several apple desserts. Here's the latest.

HARVEST APPLE BREAD PUDDING

Ingredients

• 4 leftover corn muffins
• 1 2/3 c. whole milk
• 3 eggs
• 1/4 c. molasses
• 2 tart apples, peeled, cored, and cut into chunks
• 1/2 c. dates, chopped
• 1/2 t. ground ginger

Method

Crumble the corn muffins into large chunks. Mix with apples and dates, sprinkle with ginger, then pour molasses over all and stir gently to coat bread pieces.

Turn corn muffin mixture into a greased 2-quart dish. In a separate bowl, beat eggs, then stir in milk, and pour over corn muffin mixture.


Cover and let sit for at least 1/2 hour so the bread absorbs some of the liquid. Bake, 350F, 45-60 minutes. Top should be golden and a knife inserted into the pudding should come out clean.


Notes

I would substitute about a tablespoon of grated fresh ginger for the ground ginger -- the ground ginger didn't give it the zing I would have liked. Otherwise it turned out well; moist, dense, with rich corn flavor, and just the right amount of sweetness. It's perfect with a little whipped cream.

Enjoy -- and cook, eat, dance, love!

Apple Ginger Pie

It's autumn -- and finally feels like it after a heat wave that ended Monday with record highs in the 80's and 90's. Trees show reds, oranges, golds; birds migrate; the air is crisp and cool; and apples fall from trees. What better time of year to enjoy an apple pie?

This is a fairly traditional apple pie, with the slightest twist -- a bit of fresh ginger. The ginger is an ideal compliment to the tart-sweet fruit, adding just a bit of zing to a familiar treat.

APPLE GINGER PIE

Ingredients

filling:

• unbaked 9" pie shell
• tart apples to fill pie shell, peeled, cored, and sliced, about 5 c.
• 1/3 c. sugar (part brown sugar)
• 1/2 c. golden raisins
  
• 1 T. grated fresh ginger
• dash nutmeg
• 3 T. flour

topping:

• 3/4 c. whole wheat pastry flour
• 1/3 c. brown sugar
• dash cinnamon
• dash salt
• 5 T. butter

Method

Preheat oven to 425F.

Combine all filling ingredients and set aside.

Combine flour, sugar, cinnamon, and salt; mix well. Add butter and work into mixture until it's well combined and crumbly.

Pour apples into pie shell; sprinkle topping to cover the apples right up to the crust.

Place in oven and immediately turn heat down to 375F. Bake about 1 hour.


Don't hesitate to enjoy it with a slice of good cheddar cheese or top it with a little vanilla ice cream.

And don't hesitate to cook, eat, dance, love!

Fair Food

I went to the Great Geauga County Fair -- and if you know anything about fairs, you probably know it's all about the food. Or at least partly about the food. Fried food, primarily, but if it isn't fried it's probably sweet. And sometimes it's both.

And, it's about food competitions.

First, food to eat... and no shortage of it fried.


Battered-dipped Oreos and the now-traditional fried Twinkies, all in one spot. Yetch. But you gotta get a kick out of the concept.

And yes, I indulged in some fair food. You have to. It's part of going to the fair. (More about fairs, fair geeks, the Great Geauga County Fair, and fair rules here. Oh, and fair needlework here).

Next, on to the competitions.

Preserves.


Baking.


Baking-related: a new twist on the gingerbread house... a pretzel and graham cracker house.

Not to be missed, all the veggies:




And finally, the veggie critters. I've never seen them at a fair before but they're the epitome of county fair. And they made me laugh.

I love fairs. I love the food at fairs in all its forms. And I love to cook, eat, dance, love!

Apple Blueberry Crisp

This recipe just happened -- I brought home a peck of apples from the orchard down the road, looked in the fridge at the blueberries leftover from our last visit to a local grower, and decided dessert was in order. Pie? not enough time to make a crust (and too lazy). Crisp? Yes -- easy to throw together, quick to bake. So throw and bake I did.

For a change I thought to write down measurements in case it turned out well. And I'm glad I did! This dessert turned out great -- the blueberries and apples played off each other well, neither drowning out the other; the cardamom is a delicate touch that brings out the flavors of the fruit; it's just the right amount of sweetness, enough to tone down the tartness of the fruit without having sweetness dominate; the touch of maple lends a bit of complexity; and the topping is the perfect amount of crunch, with neither too much sugar nor butter, and not so much topping that it seems cloying. So, not to break my arm patting myself on the back or anything, but this is a true keeper!



APPLE BLUEBERRY CRISP

Ingredients:

fruit:

• 3 c. peeled, sliced tart apples (I used MacIntosh but any tart apple would work)
• 1 1/2 c. blueberries
• 1/4 c. sugar
• 3 T. maple syrup
• 2 T. flour
• 4 cardamom pods worth of seeds, seeds removed and lightly crushed
• pinch of cinnamon
• pinch of salt

topping:

• 1 c. oats
• 1/2 c. whole wheat pastry flour
• 1/3 c. brown sugar
• 1/4 c. softened butter
• 1/4 t. cinnamon

Method:

For the fruit mixture, combine apples, sugar, maple syrup, cardamom seeds, flour, pinch of cinnamon, pinch of salt; mix well. Add blueberries and mix gently. Pour into greased 9" square baking dish.

For the topping, mix the oats, flour, cinnamon, brown sugar. Cut in butter with pastry blender or fingers. Crumble topping over fruit.


Bake at 375 for 30-35 minutes, or until fruit is bubbling and the topping is brown.

Enjoy!


And part of that enjoyment is to cook, eat, dance, love!