Stuffed Acorn Squash

These make a very pretty individual-serving vegetarian dinner. The taste of the squash mixes very well with the taste of the stuffing, if you scoop the soft squash into the stuffing with your spoon as you eat. If you wanted to add some sausage to the stuffing, I don't think anyone would mind. It's not the world's fastest meal -- they need to bake for an hour -- but if you have leftover cooked rice the prep time is very fast, and then you can forget about them while they cook

Stuffed Acorn Squash

4 small acorn squash
1 cup cooked brown rice
1/2 cup almonds, chopped roughly (measure before chopping)
1/2 large onion, diced
3 tbsp butter
2 tbsp soy sauce
6-10 leaves fresh sage (depending on how much you like it)
pinch of dried thyme (fresh would be good too, obviously)
salt & pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Melt the butter in a frying pan over medium-low heat. (It seems like a lot of butter. It's for 4 people, so I don't think it's extreme, but 2 tbsp would probably be ok.) When it has bubbled for a while and is just starting to turn color, add the onions and almonds and cook until the onions are soft, about 4 or 5 minutes. Add the herbs after about 3 minutes. Meanwhile, cut (and reserve) little "hats" out of the top of the squashes, and scoop out the seeds. When the onions are soft, add the rice, turn the heat to low, and stir thoroughly. Add the soy sauce. Taste, and add salt as necessary. Add more pepper than you think it needs (should be a bit spicy). Cook, stirring constantly, two or three more minutes.

Using a teaspoon, stuff the squashes full of rice stuffing. You'll probably have some left over, depending on the size of your squashes. Replace their hats, place in a baking dish or roasting pan, and bake for an hour to an hour and a half -- they should be easily-pierced with a fork. (For me, they were done enough to eat, but not soft enough to be ideal, at 75 minutes). Let cool a few minutes, and serve.

Serves 4.

Fettucine with Brussels Sprouts

I only recently discovered Brussels sprouts -- we never ate them growing up. They're so good! Mostly I just roast them, but decided to try something new (maybe because they've been sitting in the fridge for a few days and I couldn't help but daydream about dinner all afternoon at work). This is a really nice, seasonal, quick pasta dish, one that I think will quickly become one of our staples, even despite the extra pan that has to be washed. I used fettucine rigate, because the lines helped hold the sauce, but you know, it's not the kind of thing to be too picky about. The bechamel is just a little -- just enough to hold everything together.

Fettucine with Brussels Sprouts

1/2 box fettucine rigate
about 10 large Brussels sprouts, sliced very finely or, perhaps, grated (about 3 cups)
1/2 large onion, chopped
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp butter
1 cup skim milk
1 tbsp flour
4 dashes red pepper flakes
small pinch nutmeg
3 tbsp grated cheese (Swiss or Parmesan in particular would be good) plus more for serving
Pepper to taste

Set the water to boil. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large frying pan. Saute the onion over medium heat about two minutes, then add the thinly-sliced sprouts. Continue to saute over low heat, stirring frequently. When the water is boiling, add the pasta and stir once or twice so it doesn't stick. (If you're me, you'll break the fettucine in half so they're easier to eat.) Make a bechamel: Melt the butter over low heat in a small saucepan; when it's bubbly, add the flour, stirring, and cook a couple of minutes. (Keep stirring the vegetables!!) Add the milk, turn the heat to medium-high, and cook until it coats the back of a spoon. Turn off the heat. At this point, your pasta should be about 2 minutes away from being done. Add the nutmeg and red pepper to the vegetables; turn the heat to medium-high and stir frequently, about 2 minutes, until the sprouts are beginning to brown. Turn the heat to low and add the bechamel. If it's runnier than you'd like, also add 3 tbsp cheese. Stir well to incorporate the cheese, which will thicken the sauce. Drain your pasta, and toss with the sauce. Add pepper to taste, and serve, passing remaining cheese alongside if desired.

Serves 4 (3 if it's all you're eating).

Basic Bread

A flexible, fail-safe bread recipe, that can be adjusted for however much time you happen to have that day. You don't need to be too precise about measuring or about timing. If you have lots of time, use less yeast; if you are in a rush, use more. The flavor will be a little different -- a little better if you use a little less yeast and a little more time -- but either way it's still homemade bread, so who's to complain?

The only unusual things it calls for are (a) vital wheat gluten and (b) a large, covered cast iron pot or Dutch oven. Vital wheat gluten is available at any grocery store. It's helpful because it improves the gluten structure of the bread, which isn't ideal otherwise because of the whole-wheat flour. If you don't have it, you can substitute an equal amount of flour, although the bread may rise a bit less or be a bit denser. The Dutch oven helps create a crisp crust with a tender interior. You can always bake it in a regular oven, but the crisp/tender distinction will be less apparent -- you may want to brush the dough with water first.

This makes a rustic, crisp-crusted loaf, good for eating with soup and making sandwiches.

Basic Bread

1 3/4 cups whole-wheat flour
1 3/4 cups white flour
1/4 cup vital wheat gluten
1 1/2 cups warm water
1/2 to 1 tsp active dry yeast (use less if you have more time; use more if you have less time)
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar if desired

Combine the dry ingredients in a large bowl. Combine the yeast and warm water; stir until dissolved. Add the liquid to the dry ingredients and stir until it's as combined as you can get it with a wooden spoon. Then use your hands to work in the remainder of the flour. (If you can't work it all in, don't worry.) Turn onto a clean, lightly-floured surface and knead about 10 minutes, until it passes the "windowpane test" (if you stretch a small amount between your fingers, you should be able to see light through it). If you're new to bread making, it can be hard to know how long to knead it; in time you'll figure out how to recognize it's done without doing the test. 10 minutes should be fine.

Put the bread into a large clean bowl you've dribbled a tiny bit of oil into, and turn to coat evenly. Cover with plastic wrap or a cloth and leave alone for a while, anywhere from an hour to a few hours, depending on your schedule. Punch down and let rise again for however long you have. When you're ready, punch it down again, shape into an oval loaf that will fit into your Dutch oven, set on a large piece of aluminum foil, and let proof (rise) for about a half hour.

Meanwhile, put your Dutch oven (uncovered) into the real oven and preheat to 450 degrees. After your bread's done proofing, slash 3 or 4 slashes on the top. (Deeper than in the photo.) Carefully remove the Dutch oven from the oven and set the foil and bread inside. (The foil makes it easy to put the bread in the blazing-hot pot without burning yourself.) Cover the Dutch oven and return to the oven. Bake, covered, about 25 minutes at 450. Uncover. Bake another 5 minutes at 450, then turn the heat down to 425 for another 5-15 minutes. This will depend on the exact size of your loaf, the humidity of the day, etc. Bread is done when it is lightly brown and sounds hollow if you thump the bottom.

Let cool, slice, and eat!

Zucchini Pancakes

This is exactly the perfect thing to make, I think, for yourself for lunch on a rainy Sunday, or if you're eating alone on a weeknight. It's got a lot of food groups covered: zucchini, egg, flour, a little cheese... paired with some grapes, it's a great little meal. This recipe makes enough for side-dishes or appetizers for a few people, but they're really best straight out of the pan as a meal for one. Very similar to other vegetable pancakes or rice patties, but the grated zucchini gives them a nicer, more uniform texture -- and the zucchini has so much water that you can hardly overcook them.

Zucchini Pancakes

1 large zucchini, grated (should yield a bit more than a cup)
1/4 cup flour
scant 1/4 cup grated Cheddar cheese
1 egg, beaten
pepper & salt to taste

Using your (clean) hands, squeeze the excess water out of the grated zucchini. Mix all ingredients well in a medium sized bowl. Grease a nonstick frying pan with a butter wrapper or tiny piece of butter, as if you were greasing a baking pan. Heat the pan over medium heat a minute or so. Using two tablespoons, drop batter into the pan to form pancakes. (Mine are ideally about two inches in diameter, but use your judgment.) Cook over medium heat until the bottom has begun to turn golden, 2-3 minute. Flip and cook until the other side is golden, again about 2-3 minutes. Don't take them out if they're still too pale, because the center won't be set. Eat immediately!

Makes 8-9 2 inch pancakes.