Roasted Butternut Squash and Cauliflower Risotto

Squashes and root vegetables take on an entirely new kind of importance during cooler temperatures. Their hearty texture makes them perfect for roasting, slow-cooking and turning into delicious soups. Their sweet and savory qualities really shine and fill my comfort food needs. Though Butternut is grown in the summer, it matures at the inception of fall which is when we tend to eat them more. Most varieties of squash are available all year long in grocery stores but you will find the best tasting ones offered at local farm markets or by growing your own. I have found that cool weather makes these nutrient dense superfoods taste better. Crops grown late summer into fall are almost entirely free of squash bugs which are a big problem in the summer when they are actively reproducing. 

Did you know that squash blossoms are tender and edible? If you do not mind the raw, green flavor, they can be tossed into salads. However, they are usually battered and flash fried in a pan which is DELICIOUS. These flowers only open in the morning, so if you are going to eat them, it should be for breakfast or lunch.

I love this stage of ripening when they are changing from young to mature. The shape is filling out and the streaks of the green fruit will soon be less visible as the skin begins to turn. 

The spots are slightly visible but are quickly turning a pretty peachy color. When the flesh inside is mature, it's bright orange like a sweet potato or a carrot and contains a lot of natural dye which means that it is high in beta carotene and vitamin A.

Harvesting is one of the most fulfilling parts of growing your own food, other than lovingly preparing it for your friends and family. All of the effort is worth the return. For me, it's the ultimate measure of pride. Eating healthy and responsibly is one thing but to grow it from the ground up, including the soil is a totally different ball game.

Slightly sweet and ready to eat. You can keep them on your table at room temperature or in a cool, dry pantry for months. They do not need to be refrigerated. Root cellars or basements are great for this.

Tiny micro-greens such as radish and kale, are the perfect addition to any cooked dish. These are the seedlings that have started to emerge from my fall | winter beds. When the rows are fully germinated and ready to thin, you can pull up the ones that are growing too close together and give them about an inch or so on all sides to spread out as they mature. The greens can also be pinched from the middle of the plant as it grows. They will constantly make new ones which allows you to keep the plant neat and compact.

INGREDIENTS
1 head of cauliflower, broken into florets
2 small or 1 medium to large butternut squash, peeled and cubed
yellow onion, chopped
garlic, sliced
1 1|2 cups homemade vegetable stock or low sodium store bought
olive oil + butter or ghee
1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
1 tablespoon fresh or dried sage
salt + pepper
cayenne to taste
parmesan cheese (optional)

DIRECTIONS
Preheat your oven to 400. Put your stock into a small pan and begin to warm it on the stove. Toss the butternut squash in a bowl with a drizzle of olive oil and season with salt + pepper. Bake on a sheet pan for 15 minutes, then stir it around and bake for another 10. Set it aside and let it cool. While you're baking, put the cauliflower into the bowl of a food processor and pulse until it resembles small grains like rice. Warm some olive oil in a saute pan. Add the onion and garlic and cook until they begin to caramelize. Add a tablespoon of butter or ghee and the cauli-rice. Stir everything together and begin adding stock 1|4 cup at a time, using a ladle. Stir until the liquid is absorbed and then add another. Repeat this until most of the stock is gone and the cauli-rice is tender. Add the nutritional yeast, sage and season with salt + pepper. The squash should be cool now. Add it to the food processor but reserve a handful of the cubes for the top. Add 1|4 cup of the warm stock and puree. Pour this into the saute pan with the 'risotto'. Bring all of the flavors together.

Serve this with wilted kale, chard, spinach or your favorite salad green for a perfect pairing. Garnish with the reserved squash and parmesan cheese if you aren't vegan. Chopped nuts on top of the greens will boost the protein and this is nothing short of sensational. It could be your new Thanksgiving side dish. Your guests will never know that this isn't grits or some kind of grain. It's deceptively delicious!

ENJOY!

Kombucha Home Brewing Workshop | 2

I'm really excited about teaching my second workshop over the simple, sustainable practice of home brewing your own Kombucha. I did my first one about a year ago. I've had a crazy love affair with this curious, effervescent beverage for many years. A friend of mine gave me a raw chunk of culture one summer and showed me how to brew and I was immediately hooked. I loved watching it grow and change into something incredible. I loved watching it become a powerful medicine in my tool box. I love things with a super status. Like other super foods, Kombucha is a raw, fermented probiotic drink that supplies tons of antioxidants, organic acids, living bacteria, minerals and detoxifying compounds to our bodies. It heals the gut and the digestive tract while balancing ph. It creates a pristine environment inside the body and out. Human skin radiates. 

The origins of this ritual are ancient and rooted in longevity. It has been part of Asian, Russian and German culture for centuries. I'm a firm believer in taking control of my health and creating a lifestyle brand that is uniquely written just for me. I think that when we own our wellness and our recovery efforts, we harness the power of the will, channeling it into our core as it materializes into the chi. This is the true path of a seeker. Knowledge is never wrong or wasted. As we learn to take possession of our practices, we learn that the gift is increased tenfold by sharing it with others. 

These photos show the process of bottling which was captured beautifully by Greer Inez of Mama Hussy. She's the bad ass behind all of the best photography on my blog where I make it into the shots. She spent the day with me documenting, step by step, the monthly ritual of flavoring, juicing and secondary fermentation.

The first step is to uncover my finished homebrew to sample and bottle for a second fermentation. I'm also peeling the ginger root with a paring knife and getting it ready to be juiced into liquid gold.

This is a nicely brewed, fizzy batch that was mature and ready to bottle. The layer on top is the baby which formed during the brew process. I like to let mine go about three weeks. The bubbles are the co2 that has developed from the fermentation and the combination of tea, sugar, yeast and culture.

I always use freshly juiced ginger in mine, which is totally a personal preference. Raw ginger is really spicy and very intense when juiced compared to infusing with the whole root.

Removing the culture from the brew before you strain it requires clean hands and a piece of clean cotton. I use old t-shirts and cut them up for my filters and jar covers.

Straining is not necessary as you can drink the brew straight away as soon as the culture is removed. There will be some chains of yeast that float around which is normal and occasionally little bits of culture that have started to form. They're actually good for you but it's really just a textural issue. Straining makes a smooth, refreshing drink that is delicious alone, flavored or even as a cocktail mixer.

I have a lot of different juices that I like but I usually stick to my favorites which are cherry, bluberry and pineapple. You can use any of your favorites, just make sure it's something high quality and not from concentrate. Organic is always best. I re - use my store bought Kombucha bottles because they're glass and have a lid that screws on air tight. Allow your capped bottles to sit on the counter at room temperature for 2-3 days and this will trap the co2, creating a carbonated drink. Then refrigerate them and enjoy.

This is how they look when they're ready to start all over. You brew new tea and sugar, add some starter tea retained from the previous batch, and drop the culture in. Two weeks later, you've got a delicious Kombucha that is awesome to have around at all times, especially to offer your guests!

Other than my children, my garden is my greatest accomplishment. It's really my sanctuary where I am totally at ease, confident, relaxed, meditative, happy and content. I have made horticulture my life's work for nearly 20 years. Growing things is truly second nature to me. I've used my blackberries to sweeten my Kombucha. It's tart! Garden to table philosophy is certainly the epicenter of a sustainable practice around here. Our waste is our compost and our compost makes food for us. The cycle has no end or beginning, just a continual dance of symbiosis. I have no formal teaching or experience. I am guided by my instinct and my own power doubled.

My youngest is my little shadow outside, always right behind me with a shovel or an intelligent question. He loves being in the natural elements just as much as I do. We love to pick berries, pull weeds, turn compost and plant seeds together. I can't imagine a greater feeling of pride. My oldest however, is entirely on the opposite end of the spectrum and is creative and conceptual beyond measure. He lives in his ethereal mind which one day, will make it's way outside. I'm hoping he will design me a state of the art greenhouse. That would be just about perfect.

XOXO