SAME OLD, SAME OLD

This has been a week of cooking and baking for me. Not that I mind, it is a deep love of mine. Despite that, I have had time to put new warp on one of my looms, and to actually start a rug. It seems way too long since I've been at the loom.

Still, this post will be devoted, however briefly, to the cooking/baking creations of the past week. Below is the Chocolate Truffle Cheesecake I made for auction (among other things) for the Kickapoo Valley Reserve's annual Winter Festival. It is sometimes difficult to 'give' up this cheesecake, it is one of those sinfully decadent chocolate experiences. It did bring in good money, though.

On another note, I received for Christmas a cookbook, that my daughter had requested for her birthday. It looked like one that I truly wanted in my collection.

After sitting and reading it night after night, I selected Butternut Squash Gratin with Sage and Onions as the first recipe I'd cook. I still have a tub full of butternut squash along with a small basket of onions from the garden in my basement, so this was a fitting choice.

Butternut squash dusted in flour sauteing in olive oil.
They get spread out over a deep layer of caramelized onions, to be topped with cheese, sage and thyme and milk, then with fresh breadcrumbs.

It was a dish with a deep and complex flavor, and despite the addition of no sweetener, the sweetness of the squash and the onions were piqued to their utmost. It's sweetness was never over the top cloying but rather a burst of wonder in the mouth.


I have also been experimenting with making a cranberry, wild rice bread. I made three batches, the first simply OK, the second really good, and by the third, I think I nailed it.

...cranberry, wild rice bread...

...sliced...

the old stand-by...Naan...

and an Italian Peasant loaf.

We ate well this week. I must say I stopped a couple of times during the cooking/baking, looked down at my simple white apron, and thought, how does it get better then this, standing here in my sunny kitchen, stirring and sauteing, kneading and baking. Sometimes I am filled with the wonder of it all.