Roasted Squash Salad

Quite frankly, this is a combination of ingredients that had never crossed my mind.. until I took a look at what I had left hanging around from the past fall and winter! I used the pretty cross-cuts of the delicata squash that my sister grew in her garden last year (still good!), a large potato chopped into thumb-sized peices, some kale, radishes, almonds and some miso and curry.
It was good. It really was.
The flavor was bold and vibrant and it was a breeze to make - no need to peel this type of squash. I suspect you could do endless riffs on this depending on what you have on hand, or what is in season. The nuts give a great texture and crunch. Feel free to play around with this general idea.

Roasted Delicata Squash Salad

1/2 pound potatoes, cut into thumb sized paices
3/4 pound delicata squash, (or butternut squash)
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup white miso
1 tsp curry
3/4 tsp cummin
1/4 tsp cayenne
1/4 tsp salt
1 garlic cloves finly minced
a pinch of cinnamon
3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice, (About 1 lemon, you could also use lime)
A big bunch of kale, finely chopped (cabbage works well here too)
4 radishes, very thinly sliced
1/4 c toasted almonds, other toasted nuts

Preheat the oven to 400F degrees. If the potatoes aren't tiny, slice them into pieces no larger than your thumb. Cut the delicata squash in half length-wise, and use a spoon to clear out all the seeds. Cut into 1/2-inch wide half-moons. You can leave the peel on if your using delicata squash.
In a small bowl whisk together olive oil, and next 7 ingredients. Place the potatoes and squash in a large bowl with 1/2 of the miso/curry/oil. Toss well, then turn out onto a baking sheet. Bake until everything is baked through and browned, about 25-30 minutes. Toss once or twice along the way after things start to brown a bit. Keep an eye on things though, you can go from browned to burned in a flash.
In the meantime, whisk the lemon juice into the remaining miso-harissa oil. Stir the kale into the leftover dressing and set aside.
Place the warm roasted vegetables in a bowl and toss with the kale mixture, radishes, and almonds.

Avacado dip

I'm particular about my guacamole. I don't think I have ever had a restaurant do it right - seems they (and commercial products) always add all sorts of ingredients to stretch the green goodness. Guacamole should be awesome! You should be able to recognize the goodness (and color) of the avocado. The other ingredients should enhance and complement, pure and simple.

Great guacamole starts with ripe avocados (they should be slightly soft to the touch, leaving a mark maybe, but not too smooshy! If the skin feels as if it might collapse beneath your grip, it's no good)



Other things to consider:
Resist the urge to over mix guacamole, it should have lots of big chunks - texture is great. You could also add fresh tomatoes to this. I love them, I only really have them around in the summer though so I don't call for them here. But that would be a great addition!!
Dip in chips, tortillas, bread, naan or anything

Avacado dip Recipe

Feel free to add a chopped tomato if you like, a bit of cilantro might be tasty as well. Many stores now sell reheatable naan bread - Trader Joes and Whole Foods, etc., or, stop into your favorite local Indian restaurant and pick up a stack to use for dipping.

1 small white onion, finly chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
4 avocados
juice of 1 lime
1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste
1/4 tsp cumin powder
1/4 tsp curry powder

naan or flat bread, cut into wedges, for serving

Heat oven to 350 and bake the naan wedges for 10 minutes or so - just enough for them to crisp up a bit.

In a small bowl combine the onion, garlic, and avocado flesh. Take the lime and give a generous squeeze or two. Add the salt, cumin and curry powder. Give everything a good stir, but don't overdo it. Taste. Now start adjusting. Do you need a bit more lime? A bit more salt? Want a stronger curry flavor? Go for it.
Serve in a bowl with a big pile of the naan wedges on the side and a sprinkling of curry powder on top (a bit of chopped cilantro would look nice as well).
Makes one party platte

Flat bread

These are really great to keep on hand. I try to under cook them slightly, through them in the freezer and then when I need them I can through them in the toaster oven for a minute to make them soft or 5 minutes to make crunchy chips! You can also cut them into wedges and bake them or fry them to make dip able chips!


Flat bread Recipe

1 cup warm tap water
2.5 tsp sour dough start (or 1 1/4 tsp yeast)
1 Tbs. olive oil
3/4 tsp. salt
2 Tbs. sugar
2.25 cup white flour (or your favorite)
cornmeal for the bread stone (optional)

I mix the dough in the bread machine. (email me if you want the directions for doing this without the machine) Place the ingredients in the bowl of the bread machine:
If using sour dough start: Place warm water, sour dough start and oil in the bowl, then top with flour and salt.
If using yeast: Place warm water and oil in the bowl, then top with flour. Add the yeast in the middle and the salt in a corner. Set the machine to dough cycle and .. wait.

After the sough cycle is complete pull the dough out of the bowel and let it rise for an hour or so. Then divide the dough into even round balls. You should have about 8 or 10 small balls, depending on the size of flat bread you want. Roll out the sough using a rolling pin or something.

Heat the oven to 425 with a bread stone in. Let the dough rest while the ove is heating. Bake the flat breads for about 2 - 4 min on each side. Cool o a wire rack or serve warm!!

Basic Hungry Hill Sourdough Casera Loaf

The word 'Casera' means of the house, which is how this bread got it's name. This is a great sourdough for any meal, and one of my personal favorites. It has a lightly sour flavor. (It might even be great for cinnamon toast!) I'm using a bread machine for the dough here but you don't need one. (Let me know if you would like instructions for no-bread machine! (Although its very much the same!)) I'll try to get the 'non-bread machine' recipe up here soon!

Basic Hungry Hill Sourdough Casera Loaf Recipe

3/4 cup sourdough starter
1.5 cup warm water
3.5 cups flour
2 teaspoons salt

In the bowl of your bread machine, add the water and the start. On top of this add 3.5 cups of flour) (letting it float on the liquid) sprinkle the salt on top of the flour and place in the bread machine. Set to the dough setting and press start. It should be about 1.5 hours before the dough is done and ready to bake!



Form the dough into a smooth ball and slash a few cuts into the top. Let it sit while you preheat the oven, with a baking stone in, to 400 degrees. When the oven is heated put the bread in and bake for 45-50 min or until hollow souning when tapped on the bottom.

Butternut Squash and Sage Ravioli

Butternut Squash and Sage Ravioli

2 Cups cooked butternut squash
2 tablespoons butter
Salt and freshly ground pepper
½ cup grated Parmesan
½ cup bread crumbs
1 garlic clove, minced
2 tablespoons chopped fresh sage leaves
1 batch of fresh egg pasta dough

Freshly grated Parmesan, for serving

Scoop out 2 cups of flesh from a butternut squash. Combine with butter until smooth. Add cheese and bread crumbs, garlic and sage and season with salt and pepper.

Making the filled pasta
Roll out the pasta dough, either by hand or with a pasta machine, into wide long strips. Crease a strip of dough crosswise, lay out a double row of filling on one half, then bring the second half over the top. The ravioli should be about 2-inch squares. Seal with a ravioli stamp or if you have a ravioli attachment for your pasta machine you could use that too! I find using the stamp works the best though. Cut with a sharp knife to seperate the ravioli. I then through them into a plastic siplock and straight into the freezer, or pot of boiling water if you plan to eat them right away!