Fall Flavors Highlighted

Yesterday was a wonderful day focused on me!  I didn't do any chores, grade any assignments, or rake any leaves (although they do need raking).  If I didn't do any of that necessary stuff, how could I possibly have passed the time you ask?  There was a good workout, a great hour of yoga, a wonderful hour massage, a couple hours putzing in the kitchen, and lovely visiting time with friends.  Can a woman really take a day that is relaxing and allows her to recover from the week without guilt?  Yes!  Do it my friends!

I have a lot of perfect fall vegetables in the house right now, and when I was planning yesterday's dinner, I was focused on using a lovely Kambucha squash, I'd picked up.  Now, I view almost all winter squash as interchangeable as long as you keep in mind some are sweeter or have more water than others.  The Kambucha has the most wonderful deep orange flavor; it's wonderfully sweet, without any added sweetness; and it has a low water content.  I found the perfect recipe, and then of course, changed it a bit!

Last nights dinner really highlighted many perfect fall flavors for me.  It started with a wonderful salad.  I had pears, toasted walnuts, and blue cheese over spinach.  I made a quick Dijon vinaigrette.  And then, I moved on to this Butternut Squash & Roasted Garlic Crostata with Parmesan-Herb Cornmeal Crust.

I found this recipe on the Hungry Cravings blog.  I mostly followed the recipe, but I added a couple cups of sliced Swiss Chard to the roasted butternut squash, before piling it onto the dough.  I do believe almost anything can be improved with added Swiss Chard or Kale!

Do you have kitchen tools that seem unused?  The below scraper has been one of those tools for me.  I usually scoop up the chopped vegetables with my hand or slide them off the cutting board, forgetting to get out these scrapers to scoop them up.  But, as I make more Crostata type things I find this is the perfect tool for slipping under rolled dough to flip the dough over the edges of filling.  Phew, I knew I'd find a use for the scraper that has been in my drawer for 4 years now!

Now ... you guessed it.... I'm off to grade assignments and rake leaves.