Butternut Squash and Red Lentils, East Indian Style

Here’s a perfect vegan dish that even meat-eaters will enjoy. First, the recipe as made for 10 to 12 people. This is easy to put together, and is great both for entertaining a crowd on a cold fall evening or for making ahead for several meals–it reheats well. In case you want to make a…

Butternut Squash–Hints and Links to Squash Soups

Fall has really arrived, so I once again have a stash of butternut squash in my “root cellar,” otherwise known as my garage. It is unheated and is “tucked under” my house instead of being detached, so it is the perfect place to store all kinds of fruits and vegetables throughout the fall and winter….

Refried Beans and “Flat Enchiladas”

Refried beans are a staple of so many Mexican meals, and there is nothing quite so good as those you make at home. Here’s a list of just a few of the meals you can prepare focused on this great dish: Burritos–bean and cheese, bean, bean and vegetables (sauteed peppers, onions, and spinach or other…

Raspberry Filled Coffeecake and Sticky Buns

One way to stretch precious raspberries–and brighten up the brunch or breakfast table–is to put raspberries in a favorite sticky bun or coffee cake recipe. Here is one dough, shaped in two ways, half as buns, half as a coffee cake. If you want to make the entire batch into rolls, double the glaze recipe…

Minnesota “Hot Dish”–A Fall/Winter Tradition?

I grew up and lived most of my life in parts of the country where a conglomeration of starch, vegetables, and protein in some kind of (usually creamy) sauce was called a “casserole.” My kids will tell you that this catch-all title probably made up over half of our family meals when they were growing…

The Time Has Come…

I have covered the raspberry patch, along with my pretty scraggly tomatoes, green beans and yellow summer squash, through two nights of possible light frost in late September. The effort was worth it, as unprotected ferns next to the house are blackened while I have continued harvesting a few garden vegetables and lots of raspberries….

Caramel Apple Bread Pudding

Sometimes a cool and cloudy fall day calls out for an old-fashioned dessert, and this bread pudding fills that role well. Served warm or cold, with or without a dollop of whipped cream or (while still very hot) even a scoop of vanilla ice cream, this will say comfort food anytime you serve it. Best…

Polenta Pizza

I have been thinking lately of how some foods come back into fashion only when they have been given more “presentable” names. In earlier posts, I mentioned my mother’s simple “fried apples” were virtually identical to “Tarte Tatin.” I discovered some time ago that the onions, celery, and carrots that I have often browned lightly…

The Final (maybe!) Zucchini Entry for This Season

A friend who bakes prodigiously, and then shares all the tantalizing results on Facebook, recently shared her recipe for Zucchini Chocolate Chip Bars. I guess I was speed reading when I saw her praises for the cookies, as I had thought they were chocolate chocolate chip bars, something I promised another friend I’d bring to…

Late Summer Pasta Salads

We were blessed to have a little rain over the weekend after a prolonged dry spell. Nothing like so many parts of the country, of course, but we had been spoiled by plenty of moisture well into August, so having to water the garden (and the raspberries–always the raspberries!) was something we hadn’t had to…