• Get about 1/2 a slab of sliced bacon, throw it in a pan to brown, then dump out the grease
• Put a little butter in the pan and saute some chopped (peeled) turnips (4-6 medium sized)and a chopped onion
• After about 5-7 minutes, sprinkle about 2 tbs of flour over the whole thing, brown the flour
• Add a a big handful of chopped fresh sage.  It has to be fresh, not dried. This is the key to the whole dish.
• Now add a big splash of chicken soup (1/2 a can or so), and some salt and pepper
• Toss the whole pan in the oven at 350 for 20-30 minutes

This is a heavy, slightly sweet bread that is just perfect toasted with butter. It’s also hearty enough to handle any leftovers you’d like to cram in for a sandwich. The flavor of molasses has fallen out of popularity over the years, but is just perfect in this bread. Here are pics of the dough rising, and my nephews (2 and 4) sneaking a taste before everyone sat down for Thanksgiving dinner.

Molasses Bread

1 c rolled oats

1 tsp salt

2 c boiling water

1 c dark molasses

1 pkg dry yeast

1 tsp sugar

7 c flour

• Boil water, salt, and oats for 1 minute.  Add molasses. Cool to lukewarm on the patio.  My mom always used to put the pot of this mixture out on the patio to cool. This “put on the patio” step is definitely critical to the recipe’s success.
• Meanwhile, add 3/4c (more) lukewarm water to dissolve the yeast and sugar. When the oat mixture is cooled, mix these 2 together
• Add 4 cups of flour and stir with a wooden spoon 300 strokes.  This develops the gluten just right.
• Add the remaining 3 cups of flour and stir 100 times.
• Knead on a floured surface 5 minutes.
• Separate the dough into 2 pieces and put into greased and floured bread pans to rise.
• When doubled in size, bake 45 min-1 hour at 325 degrees.

1 fresh fennel bulb: quartered, core removed, sliced into thin strips, save a few of the green fennel fronds to sprinkle on top

1-2 young onions, sliced thin, or about 1/2 of a large white onion

1 big hunk of salmon

olive oil

salt

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees
• Soften the onion and fennel in olive oil over medium heat for about 5 minutes
• Wash and dry the fish, place in a baking dish, then on dab a bit of olive oil and salt
• Cover the fish with the fennel and onion
• Sprinkle a few sprigs of fresh fennel over the top, chop roughly if you’d like
• Bake uncovered until the fish is flaky and cooked through, about 20 min
• Serve with a fresh green salad

A generous pile of spring greens completes this Sunday breakfast with a refreshing crisp. Pictured here are rosemary potatoes sliced thin and browned in a pan with onion, garlic, and a few bites of spicy sausage.

Toppings

• Olive oil
• Italian her blend
• Mozzarella
• Sliced green garlic
• Spring onion
• Asparagus (lightly steamed)
• Roast chicken chunks
• Chunky tomato sauce

Green Chili, Pear, and Pork Tacos

2 TBS olive oil

1 small can diced green chili, drained

1/4 white onion, diced

1 green pear, diced (I like this more chunky)

2 or 3 thin pork chops, sliced into strips

1 carrot, chopped

• Saute the carrots and onion in olive oil until onions are translucent
• Add the pork and pears and let them brown on one side
• Add chilies and simmer on low until bubbly and nicely incorporated
• Serve on corn tortillas with melted cheese and rice
• Serve with more green chili sauce if you want even more chili!

Radish Slaw

Chop, mix, chill until needed:

1 bunch small radishes, sliced thin

1 carrot, sliced thin

1/4 cup plain yogurt

1 TBS mayo

1/4  lemon, squeezed

dash or two of salt

1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Chewy-Crisp Pizza Crust

1 pkg dry yeast

1 cup warm water

2 cups flour (plus more for kneading)

1 t salt

• Mix the yeast into the water and let it sit for 5 minutes to get bubbly.
• Stir with a fork into the flour and salt.When you can’t stir any more, gather the dough up with your hands and knead on a floured surface until smooth, about 10 minutes.  Don’t worry if it’s a more wet dough than you’re used to, but also don’t be shy to knead in flour as you go.
• Divide into 2 balls, coat with a little olive oil and let rise for approx 1 hour.

The usual:

Roll thin, top with sauce, cheese, and other toppings.

Bake on a hot pizza stone in a very hot oven until brown and bubbly, approx 15 minutes.

Cornmeal sprinkled generously onto the pizza stone helps the dough to slide on and off more easily.

Toppings tonight:

- bbq chicken, red onion, tomato, cheddar, and mozzarella (image here)

- pepperoni, mushroom, fontina, and mozzarella

Here are 2 recipes to leverage this perfect combination of winter ingredients: squash and pears.

Roasted pear and squash nest

Trim and quarter a whole kabocha squash * Save the seeds to roast

Peel, halve, and core 2 juicy pears.

Nest them together with a small pat of butter between and a dash of cinnamon on top. Bake at 350 degrees for about 90 minutes.

After your dinner for two, take the remaining roasted squash pieces and turn it into this soup:

Roasted squash and pear soup

1/2 roasted kabocha, skin discarded

1-2 pears – roasted or fresh, rough chopped – I like to use 2 pears to make it sweeter, but it still works if you only have 1 on hand

1 1/2 cups stock (chicken, pork, or veggi)

Simmer all ingredients for about 10-15 minutes, blend

Add pepper as you like, but go easy on the salt, it shouldn’t need it.

Sprinkle with crispy roasted kabocha seeds just before serving

I used a wild Alaskan salmon and just put the whole pan into the oven to bake.

Pour the winter pesto over salmon and bake for about 20 min at 375 degrees.

Citrus-Mint Winter Pesto

In a blender:

Juice of 2 small clementines (cuties)

1/2 cup mint leaves

1/4 cup onion

1/2 t red chili paste (adjust up or down for spiciness)

1/2 t sugar

dash of salt