Squash, Apple and Onion Medley

We needed a vegetable side dish. We did not have copious amounts of time or energy. Courtesy of our veggie share we had some small apples, a winter squash (acorn, I think) and lovely onions. I recalled a stuffed squash recipe that used those ingredients, but as I remembered it, it required more time and effort than I was willing to put it into it. Besides, the cookbook had been loaned out.

The internet produced a recipe that I modified and it was lovely.

Since it served 8 and we were serving 2, I completely ignored the quantities. Use whatever amount you think will do you the most good. (For reference, I'll put the original quantities in parentheses.) My guess is that you can be fairly flexible with the dressing - something sweet, something acid, something salt and umami and a little fat for richness and mouth feel.

Ingredients

1/2 small squash, peeled, seeded and cut into 1 inch cubes, more or less (3lbs)

1 small apple, peeled cored and cut into 1 inch cubes, more or less (2 medium apples)

1 medium onion, cut lengthwise, 1/3 inch julienne (2 medium red onions)

olive oil

salt

pepper

Dressing:

1 Tablespoon brown sugar (1/3 cup)

1 Tablespoon sherry wine vinegar (I used a mix of sherry and wine vinegar) (1/4 cup)

1 Tablespoon light soy sauce (1/4 cup)

1 T butter, chilled, ins small chunks (12 ounces - really)

fresh herbs, parsley and tarragon (1/4 cup each tarragon and parsley)

Preheat oven to 425 F.

Toss the squash, apples and onions with some olive oil to coat. Season with salt and pepper.

Roast the vegetables in a shallow baking or roasting pan until tender, about 15-20 minutes.

While the vegetables are in the oven, prepare the dressing:

In a small saucepan mix sugar, sherry wine vinegar and soy sauce. Reduce by about 1/3. Add butter a bit at a time, whisking it in. Season with salt pepper and herbs.

When the vegetables are done, toss with the dressing and serve. (Check quantities, you may not need all of the dressing - a little goes a long way.)

Cherry Cake

For his most recent birthday, Ron requested a Cherry Cake. I'm not usually a huge fan of most things cherry, but how could I say no? I modified a recipe that came from Food.com, and it was fabulous. Even I loved it.

You could tinker with the flavourings (2 t. almond + 1 t. vanilla, for example). You could also soak the cherries in a little liquid first; Kirsch rather comes to mind...

Ingredients:

1.5 cups butter

1.5 cups sugar

4 eggs

4 cups flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

16 ounces of dried cherries (baking cherries)

1 teaspoon almond extract

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 teaspoon lemon extract

1 cup warm milk

Cream together butter and sugar in a large bowl.

Add 1 egg and 1 cup of flour and beat. Continue to add the flour and eggs in this manner, beating briefly after each addition. Add the baking powder with the last cup of flour.

Add the flavourings and the milk and beat gently.

Add the cherries and mix.

Pour batter into a greased and floured tube pan. Bake at 325 for 1 hour or until done.