Acorn Squash - Super Easy, and Almost Dessert!

An acorn squash and a grapefruit spoon
- see the serrations along the spoon's edge?

At the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, when the grocery store produce departments weren't well stocked (actually they were nearly EMPTY), I couldn't find potatoes or onions or apples or bananas or much of anything, but there were quite a few acorn squashes. 

Because it's spring here, and the acorn is a winter squash, it seemed a little odd to find so many of them.  I like them, though, and who cares what time of year it is, as long as they're in good shape, which these were.  No soft spots!  They should be firm and dark green.  There can also be a yellow or orange area where the squash sat on the ground.

I bought a couple and held on to them until Easter, when we had a big ol' spiral-sliced ham, acorn squash, and rolls, and they were yummy!

Oh, all that melted butter
and brown sugar
and maple goodness - YUM!

Easy Acorn Squash

1 acorn squash
2 T butter
4 T brown sugar
4 t maple syrup

Cut the squash in half lengthwise with a heavy chef's knife, scoop out the seeds and fibrous material, and score the flesh in a hatch pattern with a paring knife.  Pierce the skin all over with the point of a knife. 

Place the squash in a microwave-safe dish, cut side down, and add an inch of water to the dish.  Cover with plastic wrap and vent one corner.  Microwave on high power for 20 minutes.

Preheat the broiler for 5 minutes.  Place the squash cut side up in a broiler-safe pan.  In each half, place half of each of the remaining ingredients.  Broil on high for 5 minutes until the butter is melted.

TIPS:  1.  Acorn squash is rock hard and difficult to cut.  To make it easier, microwave the squash for one minute, then cut the squash from tip to stem - just TO the stem.

       2.  Don't try to cut through the stem.  Cut to the stem, then grasp the halves and break it open the rest of the way.

       3.  Make sure to use a large heavy chef's knife.  If you still have trouble getting the squash cut, you can use a rubber mallet to help the knife along.

       4.  A grapefruit spoon makes scooping out the innards really easy (see the photo above right).

       5.  Overcooked is better than undercooked.

       6.  For each additional squash, add 20 minutes to the microwave time.  OR you can bake several squashes in the oven, cut side down, in a baking dish or pan with 1 inch of water in the bottom, at 400 degrees for 1 hour and 15 minutes.  Then broil in a pan with no water.

       7.  For a savory, rather than a sweet, dish, use butter, garlic, and salt instead of the butter, brown sugar, and maple syrup.

My Big Feet - Again!

The stay home orders have given a lot of us extra time to do things we'd normally put off.  Some people are writing.  Some people are decluttering.  Some people are painting walls.  Some people are painting paintings.  Some people are sewing.  Some people are crocheting.  Some people are knitting.

I have a not-so-secret vice - buying sock yarn.  I LOVE knitting socks.  Socks are interesting to knit and super portable, plus, when you're finished, you get to wear them!  I don't know that I'll ever have the time to knit up all the sock yarn in my stash, though.

Crazy stripes and interesting colors are my favorites.  I used to wear my hand-knit socks to work - meetings and all - sort of my little bit of nonconformist belligerence.  Nobody could see them under my slacks, but I knew they were there, and that's what counts!

Anyway, I've worn through the toes and heels of a few pairs, but lately, it gradually dawned on me that when I wore my socks, the ends of my big toes ached at the end of the day.

I knitted all my socks exactly per the pattern's directions.  But...

I HAVE BIG FEET.

So why the heck did I make my hand-knitted socks the standard women's size?

Maybe they were too short?

Well duh!

I tell you - NO BRAIN.

So I started knitting my socks longer in the foot, and that fixed my problem - no more sore toes!

EXCEPT...

There were still four pairs of older socks that I absolutely REFUSED to get rid of.  I liked their colors and designs, and I still wore them, but at the end of the day, my poor toes ached.  I kept avoiding wearing them, but I couldn't get rid of them, either.

After ruminating on the problem for several weeks, a plan emerged - I'd make the socks longer!  Because they are knitted from the cuff down, I cut off the last couple of rows of knitting at the toe of each sock, found the end of the yarn, tugged at it, then unraveled the entire toe to the place where you start shaping the toe.  I rolled the loose yarn into a ball, picked up the stitches, and started knitting.

See the black toes!!!

When the raveled yarn ran out, about two rows into the new toes' shaping, I attached black sock yarn and continued to the end, adding about an inch to the length of each sock.

So here's the result!  Four additional pairs of COMFORTABLE socks, with a minimum of time and effort.

Now, to the yarn stash!  Gotta start making more socks!!!

Confetti Bean Soup (A Pantry Recipe)

This is the same recipe as for Seven-Bean Soup that I found on a bag of dried mixed beans eons ago.  I'm too lazy to soak dry beans, so I use canned.  I call it confetti bean soup because I use every kind of canned bean I can find in the stores, and so with all the different shapes and colors of the beans, the soup looks kind of like confetti.

We had ham for Easter, and I always freeze some of the leftovers in one-pound portions specifically to use in this soup or Senate Bean Soup.  Most of the other ingredients come straight out of the pantry, so I always have the ingredients on hand.


Confetti Bean Soup

2 T canola oil or butter
1 large or 2 medium onions, chopped
12 or 13 15-oz cans beans* (all different kinds), drained and rinsed
2 c water
3 15-oz cans diced tomatoes
2 15-oz cans diced tomatoes with green chilis
2 15-oz cans diced tomatoes with garlic and onion
1 10-oz cans Ro-Tel (Hot)
2 T red pepper flakes
3 T lemon juice
1 or 1 1/2 lb cooked ham, cubed or shredded

In a large (12-quart) stockpot, brown the onion in the oil or butter.  Add the remaining ingredients; bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer 20-30 minutes. 

*These are the beans I use:  black, dark red kidney, light red kidney, red, pink, pinto, cannellini, garbanzo (chickpeas), black-eyed peas, baby butter, navy, great northern, and lentils.  If you can't find this many kinds of beans, or you don't want to make this much (it's like an ocean of soup!), the proportion of canned tomatoes to beans is 1 to 2, and if there is an odd number of beans, then add another can of tomatoes.  So, in this recipe, there are 13 cans of beans and 7 cans of tomatoes (don't count the Ro-Tel).  If you only have 10 cans of beans, you'll need 5 cans of tomatoes. You choose the varieties.

Sloppy Joes (From Mom's Recipe Card File)

Like everyone else staying home because of the coronavirus pandemic, we've been eating at home, which means I've been cooking and cooking and cooking.

When I want to make something I can count on to please everyone, I often fix Mom's "Barbecue," or Sloppy Joes!  It's a simple, all-pantry-ingredient recipe (except for the buns) that we never tire of eating.  Great comfort food.  I make it about every other week.

I make a large-ish batch so I'll have leftovers.  It freezes well, but we usually end up eating it all in a couple of days.  Something else I like to do is to mix all the sauce ingredients up and freeze that.  Then all I have to do is grab a container of sauce out of the freezer and add it to 2 pounds of lean ground beef and 1 cup of chopped onions, browned.  I usually make two to four containers of sauce at a time.  So convenient!


Sloppy Joes

2 lb lean ground beef
1 c chopped onions
1 1/2 c ketchup (I like Heinz)
3/4 c sugar
3 T mustard
1 T prepared horseradish (or to taste)
1 T vinegar
1 1/2 t celery seed
1 1/2 t Worchestershire sauce

Brown the ground beef and onion.  If not using lean ground beef, drain; if using lean ground beef, cook until nearly all the juices have evaporated.

Add the remaining ingredients, simmer about 20 minutes.  Serve on sandwich buns.