recipes for..food. fancy that. ORANGE food.

i am absolutely NOT planning to turn this into a food blog, but something that has been lighting up my life a LOT lately, as i am learning to do it with more and more ease and creativity, is cooking. so i just wanted to share a few of the lovely outcomes.

http://homemusings.blogspot.com/2009/12/best-ever-pumpkin-bread-no-eggs.html 

(i made this with no dairy, either, since i'm slightly lactose intolerant and don't buy cow-milk - so i used soymilk instead. oh, and i added a generous assortment of spices - extra cinnamon and nutmeg, plus some ginger and cloves. it was delicious! all two loaves of it! one with chocolate chips and one without.  soooo moist and perfect. :) watch out for the annoying music on the website though.)

 i finally cut open this turban squash that had been sitting in my windowsill ever since a fall apple orchard/pumpkin patch/bluegrass festival/farmer's market adventure with my roommate.

 and was so surprised by its delightful orange color!!!

 washing its seeds felt a bit holy, like helping them gently pop out of their orange wombs...

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/caramelized-spicy-pumpkin-seeds/detail.aspx 

(sooooo addictive. use butter all the way. and garlic salt for the initial toasting. and brown sugar for caramelizing. and a pinch of nutmeg and cloves in the sugar mixture. YUM. perfect studying snack for the next week and a half!)

other uses for the squash...

http://yummyodds.blogspot.com/2011/02/spicy-sweet-potato-scrambled-egg.html?utm_source=blog&utm_medium=gadget&utm_campaign=bp_random 

(this recipe triggered a whole series of curry-fry experiments. i always start with onion, then add potato or sweet potato or squash, then other veggies - broccoli, snap peas, red peppers, kale, carrots, whatever. you can add tofu or tempeh, too. most often, i dump lots of curry powder, ginger, cumin, coriander, and turmeric for a spicy Indian comfort shawl of a meal. or, start with some soy sauce, vinegar, hot pepper, drizzle of honey, basil, plenty of salt and pepper and garlic and ginger for more of an east or southeast Asian vibe. sometimes i whisk a few eggs together, pour and scramble it all together. as long as i don't put too much (or too little) salt, it is always, always good. and it spices up my whole life! every time i leave and later step back into the apartment i can smell the heavenly deliciousness, which motivates me to make another curry fry!)

 and i still had more squash, so...

this. this. THIS. was a TOTAL improv, and totally turned into my favorite meal i've made in a long time. possibly including the curry fry experiments.  so, i had half an onion. and a red pepper. and a tomato. and a few garlic cloves, which i tossed into the pan whole once the above were chopped and caramelizing nicely in a bit of olive oil, with a few sprinkles of basil mixed in.  in the meantime, while that all simmered and soupified a bit, i grated some chunks of the squash.  then the pan mixture went into the blender to make a gorgeous orange sauce, and the squash went into the pan to saute/soften up a bit with some garlic salt.  i wanted to lick every surface that was touched by the sauce. oh, YES. yes. why would i ever buy pasta sauce again?

that's all.  <3