Spooky Black Rice & Carrot Stuffed Acorn Squash + Happy Halloween

 

 

Halloween night is always a toss up and we never know we’re we’ll be. So planning the (read: my family’s) traditional chili, cornbread, apple cider and doughnuts was null. I decided to start a new tradition of making a black and orange meal to enjoy while we carved our pumpkins.

Squid ink spaghetti pasta (I’d bought at Caputo’s years ago) was my first choice, and then I remembered I trashed it after our move back in early 2011. Boo, why did I wait so long to use it. What else was black and spooky, and a good base for a festive fall meal? Forbidden black rice! Yes, that awesome Chinese black rice I couldn’t get away from earlier this year. I’d used it for Black Rice Risotto and Peas and that yummy Grilled Pineapple with Coconut Black Sticky Rice. Both successes.

  

 

Determined not to step foot in a grocery store, I used what I had on hand and ended up with one heckuva Meatless Monday Halloween dinner: Spooky Black Rice & Carrot Stuffed Acorn Squash.

Pumpkin Butter with Cinnamon & Star Anise

I think I'm driving my husband nuts. I can't stop talking about (and making) pumpkin recipes. In fact, pumpkin recipes have invaded my life. I have several hand-written notes around my office and throughout my home. Then there are long lists in my recipe development notebook and reminders in my phone to make them. Our pillow talk has turned into pumpkin recipe brainstorm sessions. I think I reached the limit, because earlier last week my husband downright told me he is sick of pumpkin.

The ironic, yet not surprising, thing about my husband's anti-pumpkin rants is the fact that he is eating his words. I don't think I ate all that pumpkin bread myself, or what about those pumpkin no-bake cookies and that batch of savory pumpkin muffins? Humm...who is sick of pumpkin now?

I have since forgiven my sweetheart of talking so ill of fall's greatest gift, and I'm happy to share my most recent pumpkin recipe concoction. It's a twist on Pumpkin Butter, using star anise as a side-kicking spice next to a nice dose of freshy-fresh ground cinnamon and nutmeg. You'll love it.

Bob's Red Wok Chili

Crisp autumn days with her leaves colored and blowing in swirls are just what I'm experiencing here in Utah. It's fall and I love it. These exact sights and sounds summon me to the kitchen to make soups, stews and chilies, along with savory cornbread and an eagerness to work down my fall baking list.

Today, my friend Lindsey and I are teaming up again to each share a soup, stew or chili recipe on our blogs for October. I'm revisiting my childhood kitchen through my father's chili recipe and Lindsey shares her Roasted Pear and Parsnip Soup with Rosemary Balsamic Caramelized Pears.

Sausage, Sweet Potato and Rosemary 13 Bean Soup

I love Fall. The heat is gone, the leaves are changing colors, college football is in play and soup season is here. There’s nothing like a warm bowl of savory, satisfying soup. Am I right?
I always feel creative and confident when I am making soup. I make use of pantry staples, cut up fresh veggies for aromatics and use whole grains or beans to make it a wholesome, well-rounded and healthy meal.

My Sausage, Sweet Potato and Rosemary 13 Bean Soup is no different. With 13 beans this soup is high in fiber, rich in protein and low in fat. Oh, and it tastes delicious. So have seconds, people.

Roasted Strawberry & Toasted Coconut Steel Cut Oatmeal Recipe

Mid-October doesn't bring much chatter on the subject of strawberries, especially living in Utah where the overall growing season is short. However, if you're a member of CSA that grows produce year-round, including strawberries then you have access to freshly grown strawberries even in the middle of fall. I'm one of those lucky people, and I keep getting fresh strawberries from La Nay Ferme.

My recipe for Roasted Strawberry & Toasted Coconut Steel Cut Oatmeal makes these cold fall mornings bearable, even delightful. Roasted strawberries are warm, soft and full of concentrated strawberry sweetness. The lemon zest and juice add a bit of welcomed tartness against the creamy steel cut oatmeal and creamy coconut.

Roasted Spaghetti Squash Salad with Toasted Hazelnuts, Figs and Basil

Dinner changed one day. It was the day I realized squash was more than some festive centerpiece for the Thanksgiving table or a funky gourd banished to the front porch during the crisp autumn months. A whole world opened up to me in my early 20s. Suddenly I was obsessed. I was using these hearty winter squashes instead of meat. In fact, I was roasting up so much squash my husband wondered if I would ever get sick of them.

Though butternut squash is my favorite, spaghetti squash has woven its way to my soul, especially when it's prepared in such a way like this new recipe of mine for Roasted Spaghetti Squash Salad with Toasted Hazelnuts, Figs and Basil.

Spiced Pumpkin & Oatmeal No-Bake Cookies

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Pumpkin spice and everything nice. That's the smell flooding kitchens across America right now, including my own. Though I have to be honest, I jumped the gun back in late August and made pumpkin bread. (Cook's Illustrated published a brilliant new version that is my new go-to.)

After my friends, family and coworkers devoured my Brown Butter & Dulce de Leche No-Bake Cookies, I knew I had to play around with more no-bake cookie recipes. What better flavor to introduce to the no-bake cookie than pumpkin.

Oven-Roasted Bacon Recipe + 35 Bacon Recipes

 

There are some ingredients in the world of food that are team players. They're not always the MVP but if they are missing, it's never the same. You could say this about bacon. It's not usually the main ingredient. It's often sprinkled on top, mixed in and for those who aren't afraid of it...bacon drippings are used in place of oil. The ironay is that eaters are drawn to the bacon aspect of the dish.

I love bacon. Most of the recipes I make in my kitchen that call for bacon are used this way. But on the rare occasion that bacon is the star of the dish, life just gets better. When I was making my new favorite bacon recipe, these grilled cheeses, I got thinking about the preparation and my guess is most of America does not make bacon the way we do. We bake it in our oven.