Butternut Squash Soup

Okay, it’s offical. I am addicted to squash. It started with a question on facebook, “What should I make this week?” Being the beginning of fall, everyone seemed to be in the mood for squash. Acorn squash and pumpkin and butternut squash. So many suggestions, all involving those weird looking vegetables! Or are they fruits? Anyways… I have to break it to you, before last week I had never eaten a squash. I was so concerned about cooking with these wacky ingredients.

I mean come on, acorn squash looks totally strange! It was the first bit of produce that I took on, making acorn squash ravioli. I’m looking over a dozen recipes for squash ravioli and thinking “Nutmeg? Who puts nutmeg in pasta?” Apparently I do, because this ravioli was amazing. Although perhaps it was the browned butter.

Next up was pumpkin. I have never been a pumpkin pie fan. Maybe this is because I’ve never had a good pumpkin pie? Since I have a problem with pancakes, in that I eat way too many of them, I decided to start there. Do you know if there is such a thing as Pancakeaholics anonymous? I think that I need to join that group. Thankfully the pancakes turned out heavenly, and so did the cookies, and so did the cupcakes (stay tuned!).

My final hurdle was this odd looking butternut squash. I kept putting it off, which was okay, because squash is hearty. It sat on my counter, staring at me, mocking me. Can squashes laugh? Because I think this one was laughing at me too. No more laughing at me squash! I’m going to take a vegetable peeler to you! Ha! Who’s laughing now squash? You’re naked! Okay, time to make soup.

Daring Bakers: Let’s go nuts for Donuts!

Can you believe that I have never deep fried anything? Deep-frying, along with lighting the gas grill, seemed like dangerous cooking feats. Why would I want to heat up a gallon of oil to 365 °F? That seems like a bad idea for home cook, right? There is just one problem, I love fried food! Give me a pile of chicken wings, some French fries and fry me up a Snickers bar and I’m a happy camper. Although on the other hand, it might be good that I don’t fry at home, I’d be 400 lbs…

Luckily I joined the Daring Bakers. My first challenge was more of an aesthetic challenge than a baking one. Decorating sugar cookies was super fun and now I’m ready for the holidays! This month’s challenge is what I have been hoping for, something to really push my boundaries, test my baking skills and make me a little uncomfortable. This month we would be making donuts (doughnuts?)

I love donuts, so this Daring Bakers challenge is a win-win. I get to play with hot oil and I get to eat lots of donuts! NOM! Neither of these things is an unusual happening. I use hot oil on an almost daily basis in the lab. I’m also lucky enough to walk by not one, but three Dunkin’ Donuts on my way to work. Making my own donuts would save me so much money! But don’t worry, I didn’t fry them in silicon oil, that would be disgusting.

Pumpkin Cookies

Halloween is definitely one of my favorite holidays. I loved to carve pumpkins, decorate the house and throw Halloween parties. I went trick-or-treating until I was a freshman in high school. I love the haunted houses, spooky corn mazes and Halloween hay rides. But most of all, I love those tiny candies. I suppose that these days I love the day after Halloween.

This is the day when all the ‘fun size’ candies go on sale! I head to the super market and stock up. It will be several months before ‘fun-size’ chocolate bars are available again (I can’t wait until Easter for more!). Bags and bags of candy will make their way to my freezer, where I will enjoy them for months to come.

Now, those of you in the know are probably asking “Well, did you riot in the Madison State Street Halloween party?” The answer is no. In my five years in Madison, I never actually went to Freakfest. This might mean that I’ve grown boring over the years. I like to think that it means that I’ve gotten smarter. I decided that I would be better off at my house, than avoiding the riots and teargas that always accompanied Freakfest.

I realize that over the past few years the Madison police department has taken control of the festivities, but when I was in grad school, Freakfest meant riots. I’m talking window-smashing, alcohol-fueled, tear-gas dispersed, riots. Not my cup of tea. What I like to do these days is stay home, and make some tasty treats, while grazing on my miniature chocolate bars. Boring? Maybe. Delicious? Definitely.