Posted by Lisa
Last week I posted a recipe for Pasta with Butternut Squash, Bacon, Onions, Three Cheeses and Pine Nuts. I was dubious about this recipe because I generally roast my squash and serve it as a side or put is in a soup, but since the grumbling is near about the abundance of winter squash, I was looking for an unusual way to mask its presence. Wow! That pasta was delicious! I’m still thinking about it, so we will certainly see it on our fall and winter menus again. The only change I made was to use mozzarella in place of Gruyere, because that’s what I had on hand.
This week’s meal plan would typically include Thanksgiving as my meal plans cover Friday-Thursday, however, this year I won’t be responsible for Thanksgiving because we will be spending the holiday with family, for the first time in a long time. My aunt and uncle are coming up from NM to spend time with my cousin, his wife and their new baby, so we will have a family holiday close to home. I’m very excited. I haven’t included the dishes I will take with us, either, because I hear rumblings that it will be a non-traditional Thanksgiving, so I will plan my contributions closer to Thanksgiving when I have more details.
Fall vegetables are filling up our CSA share, though perhaps unbelievably, we are still pulling a random summer vegetable out of our untended garden area every now and then. My daughter brought in two small eggplants, a green pepper and a summer squash yesterday. I turned the eggplants into baba ganoush for an afternoon snack to accompany leftover pitas from our falafel meal. The summer squash joins two larger ones that we brought in last week. Part of one of the larger ones made a tasty double batch of Double Chocolate Zucchini Brownies. We also still have some green tomatoes ripening in paper bags, so I’m able to pull a few of those out for dishes as they become ripe. Our CSA share included: autumn greens mix, collard greens, celery root, carrots, pie pumpkin, sweet potatoes, onions and garlic. Such bounty makes me feel blessed despite the financial hardships we have been facing all year.
Happy Thanksgiving to all of you!
- Big Curry Noodle Pot (with the addition of some carrots and summer squash)
- Pasta Bake; Green Salad (mushrooms, green pepper, carrots, salad greens)
- Mushroom, Ham and Feta Quiche; Greek Greens and Rice (mushrooms, collard greens)
- Chipotle and Sweet Potato Soup; Summer Squash Gratin (sweet potatoes, carrots, summer squash)
- Pork Spare Ribs; Potato and Celery Root Gratin; Green Beans (with feta if I have some leftover) (celery root)
- Chicken, Carrots and Greens Stir-fry, Steamed Rice (carrots, autumn greens)
