Spicy Kale Pizza Dough with Mushrooms and Cheese

Sautéed mushrooms and kale with cottage cheese on a spicy kale pizza crust

Food takes time.

Food requires relationships.

Food requires connections.

When Sherry Chen of the BW Greenway said the above words at a recent local foods summit those words struck me.

Food takes time.

Feeding my family from our CSA farm share [yeah, I was part of the choir at that local foods summit. I don't have the raw data, but I know we're eating more than the 10% locally sourced food we were to pledge to eat.  100% of the beets, turnips, fresh figs and radishes for sure] means, for the most part, I am the one taking the time to make the food.  And when that food is not necessarily enjoyed by the entire household it can be hard to justify taking the time for just me.

But--I'm worth it.  And you are, too.

This is a convoluted way of saying that the pizza I'm sharing is more of a personal-sized pizza.  I did not consume the whole pie in one sitting, but if I'd been hungry enough I would have.  I made it knowing I'd be the only one to eat it, and that's fine by me.  It gave me a satisfactory answer to Sherry's question:

Who is fixing your dinner?  Someone has to grow, harvest, and prepare each meal.  

Even if it's not you.

Multigrain Cereal Buns, for Thanksgiving Leftover Sandwiches

A chewy, nutty-tasting bun perfectly sturdy to hold your Thanksgiving leftovers sandwich creation

The craft of baking bread--of scalding the milk, mixing in the right amount of flour, kneading and shaping the dough--is like riding a bike.  It is a memory in your muscles.  It's tricky to learn at first, but once you get the hang of it by baking regularly, even if you haven't done it for a while, the memory comes back to your muscles.  With the muscle memory of how to knead dough comes the mental memories of what else was going on in your life when you regularly made bread.

Last year my mom visited and shared how she makes Red River Buns--what our family likes to eat leftover turkey sandwiches on.  [Or is it in?]  It was a rare treat to see the memories of her life as a county extension agent in Minnesota come flowing out as her octogenarian hands kneaded the dough.  Hesitantly at first, then with more surety and detail.  Then mom reminded me where I get my frugal nature--she cut out the shapes for the buns using an empty tuna can [though since tuna can sizes have shrunk lately, along with most packaging, a larger tuna can would work better].

If you have an opportunity to bake with a loved one, especially something like bread which has spurts of activity followed by periods of inactivity to tea and conversation, please take the time to do so this holiday season.

Roasted Winter Squash Tacos

Strips of winter squash, roasted with peppers and onions, for a seasonal, vegetarian twist on the classic Taco Night

I wish I could be more precise about the kind of winter squash I used for these tacos.  It looked like a cross between a pie pumpkin and an acorn squash, so I am positive both of these types of squash will work.  Ditto butternut or delicata squash, as they'd roast up the same way (and you wouldn't need to peel the delicata). I just got a buttercup squash in the farm share but haven't taken time to play with it yet, so the jury is still out on that one.  If you have a spaghetti squash, I recommend you try Julie's Spaghetti Squash and Black Bean Tacos, as that recipe inspired me to look at the Strategic Winter Squash Reserve with an eye to making a vegetarian/vegan and bean free taco night dinner.

This is a Play With Your Benriner meal.  After laboriously halving, deseeding (more fun in next year's compost!), and peeling the squash, I thinly sliced it with my Benriner (link to Alanna's tutorial, or use a mandoline, or a sharp knife).  I gave the ends to the worms in the worm bin in my son's closet, as the composting guinea pig is not a fan.  Nor do pigs like the onion I thinly sliced next.  However, guinea pigs do like peppers and cilantro, so this meal wasn't an entire waste in a composting pig's eye as those were used in abundance.  Putting your seasonal abundance to work, that's what I'm all about.

I chose to roast the squash slices because I wanted a fajita strip shape (since I was using a bag of fajita size tortillas) and it was fun to layer the jalapeño, onion, sage and peppers on top of the squash to finish the whole thing under the broiler.  Only one pan to clean up, which I appreciate!

NOTE:  I created this recipe to be gluten free through my choice of ingredients. Check labels to confirm that your products are also gluten free. Good sources for determining that your products are gluten free can be found here:

http://knowgluten.me/2012/03/31/other-names-for-gluten/

http://glutenfreedoctor.com/gluten-free/

http://www.celiac.com/categories/Safe-Gluten%252dFree-Food-List-%7B47%7D-Unsafe-Foods-%26amp%3B-Ingredients/

Roasted Winter Squash Tacos

3 small winter squash, peeled, gutted, and sliced ~ 1/8 inch thick (about 7 to 8 cups loosely packed)

1/2 to 1 teaspoon ground cumin (depending on how spicy you like things)

1/2 to 1teaspoon ground coriander (ditto)

1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon chili powder (as above)

1 onion, peeled (skins to the soup pack!)

1 Tablespoon finely chopped jalapeño

1 teaspoon fresh sage leaves, sliced into ribbons

2 cups sliced bell pepper, colors of your choice

Arizona Dreaming or other taco seasoning, a few shakes worth (probably 1/2 to 3/4 teaspoon)

tortillas

Optional

1/2 cup packed cilantro leaves

guacamole

shredded Mexican blend cheese

sour cream

salsa verde

Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Toss squash slices with seasonings, then spread out on a piece of parchment paper on a rimmed baking sheet.  Roast for 30 to 45 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes, until soft and tender.  Add onion, jalapeño, sage and pepper strips on top of squash.  Shake a bit of seasoning (Arizona dreaming, or a taco seasoning) on top of the onion and peppers.  Turn on broiler, and broil for 5 to 8 minutes, about 4 inches from the heat, until the vegetables get some color.  Gently combine all vegetables in bowl to distribute the seasonings evenly.

One of the things I like about Taco Night is how everyone can customize their meal.  I liked to spread the tortilla with guacamole, then layer the roasted vegetables, cilantro, cheese and sour cream.  My spouse preferred to add salsa verde on his roasted vegetables for more spicy flavor.  The kids had some squash with their cheese and sour cream.  How would you top your taco?

This post is shared on the Clever Chicks Blog Hop, Tasty Tuesdays, What's Cookin' Wednesday, the Wednesday Fresh Foods Link Up, From the Farm Blog Hop

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