Yikes I looked at the date of my last blog post and all I
can say is I've been busy. I decided to take the NaNoWriMo challenge this year
and I'm excited to say I finished around 6 am this morning. I woke up at about
4 am and knew exactly how my novel needed to end and I couldn't go back to
sleep because my mind kept running through the end of my story so I decided to
get up and finish! This is the 4th time I've finished a novel – one
day I'd like to go back and edit one and end up with a "real book"
that I could send to a publisher.
I've also been editing a novel for one of my friends who is a "real writer" – you know the kind who gets royalty checks on a regular basis for writing books. She's a romance author and her books have a paranormal twist which I really like. Her characters are interesting and her style is elegant I'm looking forward to seeing the final version.
And then there was Thanksgiving – we had a whirlwind weekend. On Thanksgiving Day we had dinner with Dan's family (I was in charge of appetizers) and then we headed to Fargo, to have a Friday Thanksgiving with my family. It had been a few years since we all were able to get together – there was lots of food, fun and laughter. I got to spend time with 2 of my nephews and 4 of my great nieces and nephews - something I throughly enjoyed.
Amid all of that driving and eating and laughing I did do some cooking. For those of you who have been following for a while you know we were "those kind of people" – we had a bumper crop of acorn squash so I offered to bring a baked squash dish to my family celebration.
I started by roasting 1 ½ acorn squash and about 1 ½ lbs of butternut squash with just a brush of olive oil and a few grinds of sea salt. While the squash was roasting, I diced a large onion and sautéed it in 1 T of olive oil until it was soft. To the onion I added 2 grated apples, cinnamon, 1 clove of garlic minced, coriander and cumin, covered the mixture and cooked it until the onions were slightly caramelized. I removed the pan from the heat and let the onion mixture cool.
When the squash was cool I put it into a blender added the onion mixture and then blended until it was pureed. I poured the pureed squash and onion mixture into a baking dish added 2 T of agave and sprinkled cinnamon on top.
When I got to my family celebration I heated it in a 350-degree oven until hot. We had so many good dishes that I came home with a lot of leftovers but we're eating it and I'm pondering either vegan lasagna or vegan mac n cheese with the squash as the sauce for dinner on Tuesday night.
For me the holiday season is a time of reflection – I'm grateful for the many things in my life; good health, a loving family, amazing friends, a job I enjoy and the freedom to make choices about how I live my life and what I believe in. I know I'm lucky and I try not to take these things for granted because I know it could all change in an instant.
I've also been editing a novel for one of my friends who is a "real writer" – you know the kind who gets royalty checks on a regular basis for writing books. She's a romance author and her books have a paranormal twist which I really like. Her characters are interesting and her style is elegant I'm looking forward to seeing the final version.
And then there was Thanksgiving – we had a whirlwind weekend. On Thanksgiving Day we had dinner with Dan's family (I was in charge of appetizers) and then we headed to Fargo, to have a Friday Thanksgiving with my family. It had been a few years since we all were able to get together – there was lots of food, fun and laughter. I got to spend time with 2 of my nephews and 4 of my great nieces and nephews - something I throughly enjoyed.
Amid all of that driving and eating and laughing I did do some cooking. For those of you who have been following for a while you know we were "those kind of people" – we had a bumper crop of acorn squash so I offered to bring a baked squash dish to my family celebration.
I started by roasting 1 ½ acorn squash and about 1 ½ lbs of butternut squash with just a brush of olive oil and a few grinds of sea salt. While the squash was roasting, I diced a large onion and sautéed it in 1 T of olive oil until it was soft. To the onion I added 2 grated apples, cinnamon, 1 clove of garlic minced, coriander and cumin, covered the mixture and cooked it until the onions were slightly caramelized. I removed the pan from the heat and let the onion mixture cool.
When the squash was cool I put it into a blender added the onion mixture and then blended until it was pureed. I poured the pureed squash and onion mixture into a baking dish added 2 T of agave and sprinkled cinnamon on top.
When I got to my family celebration I heated it in a 350-degree oven until hot. We had so many good dishes that I came home with a lot of leftovers but we're eating it and I'm pondering either vegan lasagna or vegan mac n cheese with the squash as the sauce for dinner on Tuesday night.
For me the holiday season is a time of reflection – I'm grateful for the many things in my life; good health, a loving family, amazing friends, a job I enjoy and the freedom to make choices about how I live my life and what I believe in. I know I'm lucky and I try not to take these things for granted because I know it could all change in an instant.
Ciao
Love squash. I'll have to try it.
ReplyDeleteBeautifully written! Can't wait to support you when you pick a story you want to publish. I'm grateful for many things, one is friends who enjoy cooking and are so good at it! Another is friends with sharp eyes and a deft editing hand :>).
ReplyDelete