Potlucks!

We were fortunate once again to attend a potluck with other folks who have food restrictions and allergies. This was another wonderful event to attend where we tried many new dishes and got to share our own creations. This first dish that we made is a combination of winter squashes (Hubbard and Chinese I think) baked in a margarine and maple syrup glaze topped with toasted almond pieces. It's almost sweet enough to be a desert, but it balances nicely with other bold flavors that were beside it at the dinner, such as garlic and paprika potatoes and very garlicky green beans!

Our next dish was a spaghetti squash that was baked whole and then scooped out into a frying pan. We added butter (or margarine) while lightly sauteing and then added Herbs d'Provence. These herbs are probably my favorite blend of flavors for a quick dish, fried potatoes with Herbs d'Provence being #1 in my book.

Anyway, as we sauteed the squash in herbs and butter, I added about a tablespoon of hemp seeds. Just another quick heating through and it was done! A delicious, hearty and healthy savory squash dish in about 10 minutes (without baking time). I guess that's been a challenge of mine this winter. I have had a hard time finding savory squash dishes... besides soups, it can be difficult to downplay the overpowering sweetness of many squash. And as I am not a huge fun of overly sweet foods, I am especially wary. But it seems that my other half has very different ideas.

He has been making variations of squash custards for a couple of months now. Don't get me wrong, I have a sweet tooth, I just don't eat a lot of sweets at once. So all these squash custards he happily eats himself. Even though they are really tasty.

So, another potluck we greatly enjoyed and were able to share more unique recipes with friends who are adventurous eaters due to their diet needs. It's so enjoyable to sit around and toss ideas back and forth about food.

Another tip about squash, we often will bake two or three squash in one fell swoop  if we already have the oven on. So its an easy way to cook ahead. Cook the squash whole with several fork pokes in the skin. Place a dish or cookie sheet under the squash if you want to catch any drips. Bake for about an hour or until you can poke it and it feels tender under the skin. We then let them cool completely on the counter, and it we have time we'll split and seed them, if not, we just let them hang out until we're ready to use them. We're fortunate to have a back porch that stays very cold during this weather, so we use that as a makeshift fridge. We'll store these cooked squash there for no more than a few days before we use them up. It makes life a little more efficient.

That's all for now!

A Thanksgiving Success!!

Whew, the holiday that had been looming, the one that surrounds the most comforting food of the year. It was sure to be a battle of good vs. allergies. Well, the allergies won and the food was amazing! Of course it took some forethought, baking the wheat free/dairy free bread the day before. We used a new recipe from Gluten-Free Girl which called for club soda. It made it a bit less dense, but it still seemed as though we may have guzzle water along side it. But after it's requisite toasting in the oven, adding sausage, onions, celery and healthy dose of sage, it soaked up the chicken stock beautifully. It stayed looking beautiful too, the breading holding it's cubed shape so you knew what you were eating. Yummy. I completely forgot to take pictures of the meal itself, forgive me. I'll do better next time.

Making the cranberry sauce was a first for me. I wasn't quite sure if I was doing it right. I did hold off on all the sugar it asked for, liking the sweet tartness of cranberries myself. It sure looked beautiful in the glass bowls under the glow of the candle light.

The pumpkin pie was the main event though. There was a lot of fussing over the crust and which wheat free mix was best. They were all pretty good, but Bob's Red Mill makes the flakiest, MaryJane's held together the best. I guess it depends on your preference. The filling was easy for my better half, as he's been making pumpkin custard without milk for weeks now. It's so creamy, you'd never know there was no milk or cream in it. We've been using a lot of hemp milk lately since coconut milk doesn't sit well with said custard maker.

So I'll cut this one short today since there are no pictures to entice the appetite. I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving and were able to share it with the ones you love and if you couldn't be with them, you kept them close to your heart.