Hiding the veggies

Sure we had a gorgeous couple of months there while we "welcomed the world", but Mother Nature appears to have exhausted herself and Vancouver has descended once again into a cold, rainy spell. Time for comfort food! Just before you look at the longish list of ingredients I'll point out that you can also really simplify this recipe by omitting the spices (except s&p) and the garlic. And I'm sure you can get away with only using cheddar instead of also using parmesan.

Butternut Squash Mac N' Cheese

Ingredients
1 small butternut squash (about 1 pound), peeled, seeded, and grated (about 3 cups)
1 cup broth
1 1/2 cups milk
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp smoke paprika
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
3/4 teaspoon coarse salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 pound whole wheat spirals or elbow macaroni (this was the whole package for me)
4 ounces extra-sharp cheddar cheese, finely grated (about 1 cup)
4 tablespoons parmesan cheese, finely grated (1 ounce)
1 egg
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons fine breadcrumbs
1 teaspoon olive oil
Olive-oil cooking spray, to grease baking pan

Directions
Bring a large pot of water to a boil and cook pasta according to directions on the package but minus two minutes so it's a little underdone. Drain and set aside after rinsing with cold water.

Combine squash, stock, and milk in a medium saucepan; bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium; simmer until squash is tender when pierced with a fork, about 10-15 minutes. Remove from heat and blend until smooth. I used a hand blender and it got very velvety. Stir in nutmeg, paprika, cayenne, pepper and salt. Beat egg in a small bowl, add to hot liquid and quickly blend again to incorporate egg.

Preheat oven to 375F.

Combine pasta, squash mixture, garlic, grated cheddar and 2 Tbsp of grated parmesan and mix well.

Lightly coat a 9x13 inch baking dish with cooking spray. Transfer noodle mixture to dish.

In a small bowl, combine breadcrumbs, remaining 2 tablespoons Parmesan, and oil; sprinkle evenly over noodles.

Cover with foil and bake 20 minutes. Remove foil, and continue baking until lightly browned and crisp on top, 20 to 40 minutes more. Serve immediately. Makes 8 medium servings or 6 big servings.

Ok, yes, you can taste the squash, but it loses a strong veggie taste and the dish is just velvety, creamy deliciousness. Because you replace most of the traditional cheese in homemade macaroni with squash, this is also really light in fat and has truck loads of healthy fiber. Go Go Gadget colon!

I've got one word for ya

Alright alright alright! Enough harassment! I'll blog already! But you're only getting one word out of me.
This list has been doing the rounds and it's a bit of a challenge* to answer all the questions in a single word, so I'm giving it a shot. Nothing like a challenge to get me into action!

Where is your cell phone?
jacket

Spouse?
reading

Your hair?
bedhead

Your mother?
complicated

Your father?
intelligentsia

Your favorite thing?
cats

Your dream last night?
nonexistent?

Favorite drink?
G&T (that counts as one word, doesn't it? Can't have one without the other, anyway)

What room are you in?
study

Your hobby?
running

Your fear?
ABD

Where do you want to be in 6 years?
graduated!

Where were you last night?
bar

Something that you aren't?
carnivore

Muffins?
homemade

Wish list item?
iPhone

Last thing you did?
surf

What are you wearing?
casual

Your pets?
favourites!

Friends?
awesome

Your life?
treadmill

Your mood?
meh

Missing someone?
Sheldon

Drinking?
please!

Your car?
balding

Something you're not wearing?
nylons

Your favorite store?
Mavi

Your favorite color?
294PC (http://www.pantone.com/pages/pantone/colorfinder.aspx?c_id=6046)

When is the last time you cried?
3rd

Where do you go over and over?
campus

Five people who email me regularly?
friends

Favorite place to eat?
out!

Favorite place I'd like to be right now?
Yukon

*Yes, I'm fully aware that my "challenge" is also a great way to wuss out of writing an actual blog. Consider me reprimanded and keep your mockery to yourself! :-)

Comic Genius

This here be my nephew. At only 8 months (or so), he's got comedic timing down pat. He'll go far! My mom also wants you to note the look of sadness and resignation that fills his eyes ever so briefly when he realizes he's the Road Runner, recently departed from firm ground and about to plummet like an anvil to terra firma. I love this kid! 10 hour countdown to seeing him in person the first time since July begins now!

Deck the halls with saturated fats and processed sugar!

There's just nothing to compare to seasonal baking, is there? Here I present for your approval and enjoyment, the easiest and most impressive seasonal dessert you'll make this year. I promise! Stolen from someone famous who shall remain nameless but who is now free from leg shackles that kept her home for months on end. Please try this recipe! I made it once at Thanksgiving and a dish of it is baking as I type, in order to impress and delight the taste buds of Rocco's work mates tonight. Trust me, the squares will do the job!

Chocolate Pumpkin  Cheesecake Bars Prep: 25 minutes Total: 5 hours To create swirls, drag the blade of a paring knife through the chocolate and pumpkin mixtures several times to make a marbled pattern.

Ingredients FOR THE CRUST 20 chocolate wafer cookies, (half a 9-ounce package) 2 tablespoons sugar 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted FOR THE FILLING 2 packages bar cream cheese, (8 ounces each) 1 cup sugar 1 cup canned solid-pack pumpkin puree 3 large eggs 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon pumpkin-pie spice 1/2 teaspoon salt 4 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped

Directions Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line bottom and sides of an 8-inch square baking pan with parchment paper or aluminum foil, leaving an overhang on all sides. Set aside. In a food processor, blend cookies with sugar until finely ground (you should have about 1 cup crumbs); add butter, and pulse until moistened. Transfer crumb mixture to prepared pan, and press gently into bottom. Bake until fragrant and slightly firm, 12 to 15 minutes. Set aside to cool. Place cream cheese in food processor; blend until smooth. Add sugar, pumpkin puree, eggs, flour, pumpkin-pie spice, and salt; process until combined. Set aside. Place chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl; microwave in 30-second increments, stirring between each, until melted. Add 1 cup pumpkin mixture; stir to combine. Set aside. Pour remaining pumpkin mixture into prepared pan. Drop dollops of chocolate mixture onto pumpkin mixture; swirl. Bake until cheesecake is set but jiggles slightly when gently shaken, 40 to 50 minutes. Cool in pan. Cover; chill until firm, at least 2 hours (and up to 2 days). Using overhang, transfer cake to work surface. With a knife dipped in water, cut into 16 squares. Serve.

Cop15: Copenhagen international climate change conference

A student colleague and friend of mine is attending the Copenhagen climate conference as an observer. She'll have the responsibility of writing about it to fulfill the terms of the grant that got her there, and as practice she's blogging about it here while she's there on the ground. Already very fascinating and moving, her writing is evocative, well informed, and thoughtful. I encourage you to check it out!

Chewed up and spit out by craft fairs!

I've been craftin' like a maniac. Some crafting of my own (I love you Dresssew!), but also major proxy crafting by way of others. This town is awash in craft fairs! A few of the fairs have been smaller, community-run kind of deals, but a couple larger fairs have been showcasing local and national craft talent, with lots and lots of opportunity for buying! The best to date have been:

Make It Vancouver! K, you should definitely go to the Edmonton Make It this coming weekend!
Got Craft?  This one was great and I picked up a number of gifts (thank goodness! Too much shopping for me under the guise of holiday shopping!)

And a few of the fabulous finds at the various sales:

• Amazing matted fabric scarves or neck warmers that are worn as necklaces, made by Giulia Fatica. Gorgeous pieces, each one unique. My friends and I huddled around her table for almost a half hour picking out pieces for each other. 

• Cutest ever felt creatures by Him Creations including thumb-size owlets and mohawked brown fuzzy guys. 

• Beautiful head pieces by A Farmer's Daughter that may be over the top, but are also totally fabulous and look striking.
  

I'm gearing up for one last round this weekend with my sister, at Portobello West. I have a few more things to pick up for gifts, and then I'm totally tapped out by the craft fair bonanza for the season. This is nothing like heading down to the SAAG with my mom one cozy afternoon in December as we did when we were young. Definitely my love of craft was inspired by the gift shop there and the beautiful creations made by local artists, but the craft fair season of a larger city like Vancouver is... overwhelming to say the least. But fun! And ephemeral! It passes. So you've got to get it while it's hot. On to Portobello!

Best. Night. EVER.

LOMAH has apparently satisfied his urge to up his post rate for November and is going to retreat to semi-retirement again this month (allegedly!). But I had a couple more posts up my sleeve that I didn't get to air before yesterday - oops - so I'll post them this week. Including this one!

Best Night EVER!
Karaoke with the crew! Friends from my school program have been organizing random karaoke nights over the past couple years, and while I initially was repulsed at the idea, it turns out it's the most fun thing you've ever done in your whole entire life of fun things done with amazing people all over the world and in your hometown and in the mountains and in your bedroom. Seriously. Want some evidence? Oh I'll give you evidence!

Yes, that's a tamborine, and that's a beer; two things that make the world a better place to be. Yes, I'm singing.

You almost don't need a caption on this one, right? You already know that's yours truly giving her guts to Alannah Myles' Black Velvet - and rawking it, I must say!

Would the night be complete without a little Paula Abdul? Hells no!

 
And there was dancing on the tables, oh yes there was!

Rocco channeling Curt Cobain, to great acclaim. Nasty, nasty wig provided by own of the more forward thinking karaoke conspirators.

The picture that captures the entire evening in a glimpse. Divine.

I drank so much beer and normally would have been under the table early in the night, but instead after karaoke we retreated again to F&H's place for our own private dance party. It's true, one of the group tells tales of waking up mid-morning to puke violently, but otherwise I think we all survived. Survived to live another day, to sing another song. To karaoke.