Like its winter cousins, acorn squash and pumpkins, butternut squash are naturally sweet. They’re the dessert of the dinner table. Since discovering butternut squash a few years ago, I’ve enjoyed them, because they’re easier to prep with their subtle ridges and smaller cavities. (Make sure to use a sharp knife.) Read more
autumn
Butternut Squash Pie with Nairn’s Oatcake Cracker Crust
There are plenty of reasons to be thankful. For starters, I live in a non-flood zone in Brooklyn, and our lights only flickered three times during Hurricane Sandy. I woke up the next day with fresh running water and electricity. Other blocks, people lost their cars to fallen trees. In neighborhoods at least 20 minutes away, floods and 100 mph winds destroyed houses and businesses. Although, the hurricane was two weeks ago, the stories continue to increase about the elderly living in high-rise apartment buildings on floors 13, 15 or 18 without running water, heat or electricity. I overhead a conversation about a family’s agony of a finding new home—when everyone in the same, next or other community are looking for a new home to live, too. And, those same families who lost their homes are looking for new schools for their kids. Let’s not forget the holidays are upon us. So, here I am in one of the world’s richest cities, and families are still walking around with just the shirt on their back. Brooklyn is indeed a city of the have and the have nots…. Read more
Granny’s Sweet Potato Pie
There are many Sweet Potato Pie recipes using corn syrup. I don’t remember my grandmother and father using that super sweetener. However, I remember plenty of brown sugar. I made this for our Christmas dessert this year, and I understood I had big shoes to fill. Apparently, the boyfriend’s mother makes the best Sweet Potato Pie. I called on my dream team, the Dad and the Granny, to help me with this recipe. Even when I forgot a couple ingredients after I placed the pies in the oven, I called my Granny for reinforcements. Thank goodness she saved the day, and it was great talking with her as the pies were baking in the oven. Of course, I would never ask the boyfriend who does it better. I tell myself, I must stay humble. Oh, humble pie, I sweet you.
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