I love squash!

So, you probably guessed from the title that this post is going to be about squash! I love the stuff - acorn, spaghetti, butternut... I love stuffing it, baking it, topping it... and of course, eating it! My husband may not be enjoying my new love affair as much as I am, but he is tolerating it so far and we have not had to order in take-out due to any squash disasters. (Thanks Will!)

Anyways, I wanted to spread the love and share one of my favorite recipes with you all. I borrowed it from the New Moosewood Cookbook, and then made a few adaptations of my own. The ingredient list is long and the recipe may seem daunting, but it is really easy (I swear). While the squash are first baking you can prep the stuffing, the as soon as they are finished flip them over, stuff them and leave them to bake another 30 minutes. For dishes you're basically looking at a baking tray, pan, and large bowl, plus some chopping stuff - not too bad!

Acorn stuffed squash

Ingredients:

• 2 medium-sized acorn squash
• 2 Tbs olive oil
• 2 cups chopped yellow onion
• 1/2 lb. minced white mushrooms
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 3 celery stalks, chopped
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 1/2 tsp sage
• 1/2 tsp thyme
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg
• 2 Tbs lemon juice
• 2 tsp grated lemon zest
• 1/4 cup chopped walnuts
• 1/4 cup raw sunflower seeds
• 1/8 cup raisins
• 1/8 cup dried cranberries
• 2 cups of bread crumbs or chopped, toasted bread pieces
• 6 chopped dried apricots
• 1 cup grated cheddar cheese (optional)

Directions:

1. Pre-bake the squash - cut in half, scoop out the insides, place face down on an oiled tray, bake at 350 deg for approx 30 min - check to make sure they are soft when finished
2. While the squash are cooking - heat the olive oil in a large pan - Add onion and garlic - saute until the onion is soft and slightly browned
3. Add the mushrooms, celery, and seasonings - saute for 10 to 15 min until everything is tender.
   
4. In another bowl mix the lemon juice, walnuts, sunflower seeds, raisins, cranberries, bread crumbs (or little bread pieces), apricots and cheese.
   
5. Add the onion/mushroom mix to the bowl - blend everything together well.
   
6. Once the squash are baked - turn them so that the opening is facing up - fill to overflowing with the stuffing mix
7. Bake the stuffed squash at 350 deg for 30 minutes - if they start to burn on top cover with a piece of foil

That's it! Now eat and enjoy!!

Oh yeah, if you leave out the cheese this is totally vegan - if you add the cheese it is still vegetarian - and if you use rice bread for the bread part it is gluten free. :)

P.S. sorry for the looooooong time between posts - I'm back now though!

C.A.L.W.....continued

The CALW continues (that would be Carrot And Lettuce Watch for those who weren't plugged in last week)!

Right now the count (if we were keeping count) would be 1 to 1. Meaning one pot is doing something (like growing delicious little veggies I will later consume with great gusto)... and one pot is doing nothing (like NOT growing anything at all to speak of).

I have attached pictures of both so that you may compare and contrast the party that is occurring in pot#1 to the party that is NOT occurring in pot #2. For those who are concerned about my level of commitment, I have most definitely not given up on pot #2, I'm just not as enamored with it right now, because frankly it's not doing anything to be enamored with!

Happy planting! Happy growing! I just got the new Sunset magazine and there's a great article about cool weather crops, so this may just continue year round! I know you're excited!!

C.A.L.W.

What is C.A.L.W. you might be asking? Well, it is the new abbreviation for Carrot And Lettuce Watch, catchy eh?

So how are the new batches of carrots and lettuce doing?!?!

Well, I currently have two beautiful pots full of very beautiful and healthy looking dirt!! I know it's exciting isn't it?!?!

C.A.L.W. will continue next week (or earlier if something really exciting happens, like little green shoots popping up through the dirt!)

Happy gardening!

These might replace M&Ms for me...

So this week I want to throw out a super simple, super tasty recipe for a snack that really might replace M&Ms for me! (Okay, probably not, but they are delicious.)

Candied Nuts

• 1 1/2 cups of chopped walnuts or pecans (or any other raw nut of your choice)
• 2 Tbs of pure maple syrup
• sea salt to taste (optional)

1. Use a small bowl to mix the nuts, syrup, and salt
   
2. Heat the oven to 300 deg F.
3. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes - rotate every 10 min. or so to ensure even baking (I like to use parchment paper on the pan to prevent the nuts from sticking and it makes for really easy clean up)
4. After baking let the nuts cool - then enjoy!

I have tried these as a snack, on salads, with yogurt, on cereal... I also expect they would be tasty on ice cream and frozen yogurt.

I usually store these in a tupperware container in the refrigerator - they are quite tasty and refreshing when they are cold.

Happy eating!

Monet

I know, another impressionist artist - I just love that phase of art, so here are a few highlights from one of my favorites.

• Claude Monet, born in 1840, died in 1926.
• Applied to art school multiple times in his early life, but was denied. Eventually served in the military and was honorably discharged.
• Started seriously painting in 1862 (at the age of 22) - almost no paintings exist from this period in his life.
• Participated in his first independent artist's exhibit in 1874 - continued to participate in exhibits for the rest of his life
• Throughout his career Monet worked with only 6 colors on his palette - lead white, cadmium yellow, vermilion, deep red, cobalt blue, and emerald green
• In 1883 (at the age of 43) Monet started painting on multiple canvasses at one time. He would pick a site, set up multiple canvasses and work on each one in succession as the light changed. He could have up to 12 canvasses going at one time in one site.
• In 1887, at the age of 47, Monet achieved his first year of financial stability as an artist.

• 1888 was Monet's first year of painting wheat stacks
• 1892 was the first year Monet painted the Rouen cathedral
• The water pond was first drafted by Monet in 1893 - it was eventually built on his property at Giverny. Over the years the pond evolved and grew to involve an island, 4 bridges and multiple installments of plants

• Monet first started painting the water lilies there in 1903. He continued to paint water lilies until his death in 1926.
  
• Throughout the years Monet was seized by bouts of melancholy - it is estimated that he may have destroyed as many canvasses as are still in existence today during those low times.
• In 1908 Monet started going blind - but he continued to paint until 1926, when he died.
• Look at the cathedral paintings - can you tell which was painted at what time of day? Can you feel the differences in the colors?
  
• The same with the japanese bridge in his garden - can you feel what time of day Monet might have been painting based on the colors?
  

Is it time for a comeback???

It has been a little while since my last garden update... so here it is. The lettuce has done great - it is all eaten and Lettuce Watch - part deux is beginning. A new crop was planted today!!

The tomatoes seem to be recovering - I trimmed all the really diseased looking branches. Hunted down and destroyed all worms, bugs and moths that were free-loading on my lovely plants. Took some advice (thanks Dad) and sprayed the leaves with a mix of water and dish soap - apparently it makes the plants slippery and bugs can't hang on. It seems to be working! Check out the photo of the current tomato plants.



Finally, the mint, chives and basil are all doing fine - the basil took a hit along with the tomatoes, but it seems to be turning the corner and making a comeback! The marigolds I put in near the tomatoes are also flourishing so I have thrown in a picture of them too. Enjoy! And thanks for those who sent gardening advice.

Oh! I almost forgot, in addition to a new crop of lettuce I also planted late summer carrots today too - so it is now Lettuce and Carrot Watch!!

Is it Art?

I think this is a fascinating interactive website that could be art... or it could be an interesting way to quantify feelings... or it could just be pretty... or it could be a complete waste of time (but I don't think so) or... you be the judge and check it out for yourself!!!

www.wefeelfine.org

So these 2 guys (Jonathan Harris and Sep Kamvar) decided to "harvest" human feelings from blogs all over the world. They took the feelings and gave them colors and shapes depending on whether the feelings were happy or sad and how strong they were. The shapes bounce all over the screen (Madness) and you can click on them to see what they mean - the blog that matches that feeling (sometimes it has a picture linked to it) will post at the top of the screen. These guys have created a database of millions of feelings - and made the database pretty! What a cool way to share information!!

In addition to displaying feelings in Madness (random bouncing shapes with colors), they have also created visual displays of their database that include montages of pictures, quivering mounds of feelings and metrics (numbers) linked with colors. All of this is interactive.

I know this is not what you think of as typical artwork, but it's a pretty interesting and a fresh way to show a database of information. I find myself mesmerized by the Madness display and the crazy spinning scene of colors.

Couldn't the mass of human feelings consolidated into one interactive display be considered artwork?
Enjoy the Madness!!