Falling in love with fall produce: sweet and spicy squash

For this invention, I put together yummy late-season hot peppers from the garden of a colleague at work, a squash from the farmer's market, and a little of the brown sugar-cayenne pepper mixture left behind by a friend after our last mini-bonfire party (it was a originally a coating for skewered pineapple).

Sweet and Spicy Squash

Cut a winter squash in half and put it cut side down on a greased or parchment-paper-covered baking pan. Be sure the pan has a lip around all the edges because squashes give up some juice while baking. Bake at 400 degrees Fahrenheit until, when poking at the skin with your finger, the flesh underneath feels mushy.

In another pan at the same time, roast a handful of whole hot peppers, turning peppers occasionally. The peppers will be done when the skins are dark brown and starting to char, long before the squash is ready. Put the peppers in a bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Leave to steam until the squash is ready, then peel the paper-thin skins off the peppers and discard skins, seeds and stems. Mince the roasted peppers.

Scoop the squash out of its skin into a bowl and mix in about one tablespoon of butter/vegan margarine for each pound of squash. Depending on how hot the peppers are, add all of them to the squash or just some until the desired level of heat is achieved. Sweeten to taste with brown sugar and add cayenne pepper if the roasted peppers just aren't spicy enough for your taste. Season with salt and pepper and serve.

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Breakfast skillet today

Something easy, warm and comforting for a late breakfast on a day full of chores today. This one is a nice mishmash of leftovers I had in the fridge. The basic recipe is not a really strongly flavored breakfast and could probably use some chili-garlic sauce or fresh herbs or salsa to dress it up.

Veggie breakfast skillet
for one very hungry person or two lighter portions

1/2 cup liquid egg substitute
a splash of milk or soymilk
1 or 2 tsp dijon mustard
1 or 2 Tbsp olive oil
2 Tbsp chopped green bell pepper
6 oz fresh mushrooms, sliced
1/2 cup leftover cooked rice
salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste

Whisk together the egg substitute, milk, and mustard in a bowl. In a large skillet, heat the oil and saute the mushrooms and green pepper. When tender, add the cooked rice and cook, stirring, until rice is heated through. Pour the egg mixture over the contents of the skillet and stir occasionally to scramble the eggs. Sprinkle with salt and pepper just before the eggs are done.

Ideas for additional vegetable add-ins: roasted red pepper, leftover cooked broccoli or carrots, onions, tomatoes (at the end of cooking), leftover stir-fried vegetables

Eggs and meat are a classic combination and this breakfast would also be good with bits of leftover sausage, ham, bacon, steak or roast beef or pork. Keeping the same amounts of other ingredients, meat packs enough calories to make this a recipe for two or three servings.

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First squash soup of autumn

Fall has truly arrived in the kitchen when one of us makes the first soup from farmer's market squash. Butternut is definitely the favorite soup squash in our household. In fall and winter, we often have a container of roasted squash hanging around in the refrigerator or freezer, waiting to be turned into stew or casserole or dessert. My long-time favorite squash soup recipe is a spicy bisque with coriander and jalapeño scalded with the (soy) milk, and Andrew's is a thick curry stew with potatoes.

This year's first squash soup was a team effort. We both were hungry and in a little bit of a hurry to get to other engagements after dinner, so we tossed together a quick soup that combined elements of both favorite recipes, plus the new additions of apples and The Spice House's Vadovan curry mixture.

Curry Squash Bisque with Apples
makes four large servings

2 or 3 Tbsp oil or butter
1 medium-sized butternut squash, previously roasted
1 pound potatoes, peeled and diced large
3 carrots, sliced thickly
4 small apples, sliced thickly
1 medium-sized onion, chopped
2 or 3 hot peppers (jalapeño preferred, but others are great too), halved
2 cups unsweetened soy milk or 2 percent milk
1 tsp whole coriander seeds
1 or 2 Tbsp Spice House Vadovan curry mix
4 cups chicken broth or vegetable broth
salt and pepper to taste

In a soup pot, heat oil/butter and cook potatoes, carrots, onion until the onion is tender. In a separate pot, scald the milk with the hot peppers and coriander seeds. When hot, remove from heat and cover. Let stand until other soup ingredients are cooked. Going back to the vegetable pot, sprinkle on the curry mix and toss in the apples. After a minute of stirring, add the butternut squash and the stock. Bring to a boil, then cook covered over medium-low heat until the potatoes and carrots are tender (about 20 minutes). Stir occasionally. Lastly, pour the milk through a strainer held over the vegetable pot. Heat through, stirring often, and season with salt and pepper to taste.

[To roast squash, cut in half, oil cut sides and place cut-side-down in a baking pan and roast at 400 degrees until tender, then scoop out flesh from squash halves]

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