Monthly Archives: December 2018

Tis’ the season…all year round.

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window of a book store with a snowman made of newspaper sitting at an old typwriter

To say I’m a simple person would be the furthest thing from the truth.  I’m far from simple.  I do however love and embrace the beautiful simple everyday things that transform my life into a blessing.

I write this now as I return from a run.  A run I desperately needed because running outside allows me to step away from my brain and just breathe.  It allows me to connect with something much greater than myself and re-fire my circuitry. It also gives me a quiet space to gather my thoughts and make sense of them. And today has been a struggle bus as my daughter would say.

I really needed this run.

As I was coming into the home stretch of said much needed run I realized that I was also coming into the home stretch of the holiday season (that part leading up the grand finale of it all). I looked around at all the beauty I soak up during my runs; the beautiful blue sky, the sun, the tall grasses in the marsh, the babbling brook to the left, the horses on the right, the sound of the geese flying south, the slightly chilly wind on my face and the abundant wild life that lingers on the winding trail, I asked myself, “why does there need to be a short holiday season once a year.  A small window of time in which we celebrate the holidays?  Shouldn’t we be celebrating peace, love and joy all year round?”

It’s the same every year; the holiday season kicks off with our giving thanks, then gifts and from there onto bracing ourselves for a new year.  One we typically hope will be more than the one we are currently closing out. And then, it’s back to business as usual for most of us until November rolls around again.

Now, I’m certainly not trying to down play the magic of the season and all things celebrated.  I love the spiritual rituals from around the world, especially those celebrating peace and love.  I also dig the symbolic warmth and comfort things we enjoy and associate with the holidays during the official season.  But sometimes it feels canned.  A one-size-fits all approach to compartmentalize the holiday season.

It just feels like a whole lot of jam-packing life’s beautiful gifts to be treasured into a very small window of time.  I get the “holiday season” and the “holidays” refer to the time from November until the first of January (in which many holidays around the world are celebrated). But a holiday can also be a special day to celebrate…outside of said season.  So why have a designated holiday season?

I believe that every day we wake up is truly a day to celebrate therefor every single day should be a holiday.  For each and every day holds so many gifts for us to celebrate. They may not always be the same from day-to-day but each and every day has something for us to celebrate; the love of our child, the sun shining bright, the sound of the first winter snow when the city is asleep and you are the only outside letting the flakes land on your tongue, a day you are healthy, a day your love wakes up next to you, a delicious cappuccino that you get to drink while everyone else is asleep, a glass of wine, someone to share a glass of wine with, a friend you can count on, a beautiful flower just blooming in spring, the smell of rain traveling on the winds of a summer day, the sights and sounds of a rushing river on an endless journey, a reliable car, the songs of crickets outside the city limits, a roof over your head, a day on the beach, a night in the mountains, the stars above, the beckoning call of a loon,  a wonderful new book to read, the eyesight to read said book with, a warm sweater when it’s cold, food on the table, a means to purchase food, The sound of a baby crying…when odds were against it ever doing so, a new pair of shoes, an old pair of shoes – companions you could never part with, music, the sound of crunchy autumn leaves crackling under foot while on a hike, a humming bird outside your window, a handwritten note received in the mail, watching a child chase a frog, making hobo pies with your friends, feeling the wind tickle your face, falling in the snow, falling in love, a blanket to snuggle up in, a printer that works when you really need it to, the sounds of birds singing in the woods, a day on a trail, two feet for walking, the strength to run, a slice of cake, a handmade scarf, something that made you laugh, tears of joy, learning something new, the ability to remember the things you learned, the taste of ice cream, making ice cream, seeing a snowman in the window with an antique typewriter, beautiful soft linen, a phone conversation with a best friend, a phone to call with, a grandparent to play cards with, a parent to talk to, the best ever soft socks sans any holes, needle and thread in case there are, a song to be heard, a song you can sing,  a voice,  someone in your life that loves you to no end, hands that can write, hands that can hold…and hands that hold yours, a mind that still works and a heart that keeps beating…Just to name a few.

So this is my holiday greeting to you, 365 days of it; the peace, the joy, the good will to all, the giving thanks, the glitter, the lights, the magic, the special meals that allow us to pause together, the time off or travel to spend with those we love.  May you not only have these things but may you also see these things every single day of the year, every single day of your life and may you have the awareness and wherewithal to celebrate them as the beautiful gifts they are and treat each and every day as a holiday.

I am,
The Urban Mountaineer

I am not a blogger per se much less a writer.  No, not even close.  I just post things here now and then on this platform I call my space, The Urban Mountaineer.  It’s my way to share fractal bits and pieces of me with anyone who cares to read about them.

Roasted Squash Cheese Cake

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squash cheese cake with whip cream, top down view on dark grey background with a tan linen napkin a silver serving spoon and two green leaves on the side

I hate to admit this but my daughter and I both can sometimes act like Grinches during the holidays.  It’s not that we are against them per se, sometimes we just get overwhelmed by all the hub-bub that goes along with the season.  That being said, we DO celebrate the holidays, however a little lower key than some.

One thing we completely indulge ourselves in though is baking together.  It’s our way to specifically carve out time to spend together and make up for the rest of the busy year when we’re typically running around at a hundred miles per hour.  Okay, we’re busy during the holidays too but we just like to bake. 

In particular, we love making this roasted squash cheesecake.  I don’t know why we only make this during the holidays because my daughter and I love, love, love this cake and we feel it’s certainly worth the effort. It’s a bit of a spin on a layered pumpkin cheese cake we found years ago and were inspired to create our own.  We wanted to add some depth of flavor and the roasted spicy winter squash we typically make adds plenty of that.  Along with the roasted squash we changed the crust on ours to a chocolate one with light floral notes from freshly ground nutmeg.

Full disclosure on prep time, I typically make the spice rubneeded to make the roasted squash well in advance mostly because I use it forso many other recipes and then I roast the squash the day before I make thecake otherwise this recipe would take too long to make in my opinion.  It would certainly crush my daughter’sattention span if we did it all at once. I honestly feel that if you cheat on this one and use can pumpkin pureeyou’ll be missing out so please take the time to roast the squash and make yourown puree.  I promise you, you’ll thankme.

*Happy Baking*
I am,
The Urban Mountaineer

Before you get started, here are links to the spice rub aswell as the roasted squash.  Recipes forthose will also be included at the end of this one in case you have a snow-dayand want to do it all at one time.

Roasted Squash Cheesecake

Preheat oven to 325

First: Make the pie crust
9-inch chocolate pie crust
1/3 cup sugar
1 ½ cup fine crumbled chocolate graham cracker
1 tsp freshly ground nutmeg
6 TBL melted butter

The magic of this crust is the freshly ground nutmeg as itadds a wonderful floral aroma and flavor so please, please, please do noteliminate this ingredient and please, please, please freshly grind the nutmegright before you use it. I promise theextra effort is worth it.

So to make this easy breezy pie crust simply melt the butter.  While you are waiting for the butter to melt grind up your nutmeg and then mix all of the dry ingredients together.  Add in the butter once it’s melted, mix and then press it into a pie tin. 

Now make the filling.

Roasted Squash Cheese Cake Filling
2- 8 oz packages of cream cheese
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
½ cup sugar
½ cup roasted squash puree

Beat cream cheese, vanilla and sugar until smooth, add eggs one at a time.  Remove 1 cup of batter and pour into bottom of pie crust and smooth out, then set aside.   Then gently mix in the roasted squash puree with the remainder of batter.

Fill chocolate graham cracker crust and bake for 35-40 minutes or until middle is set.  Let cool then refrigerate for 3 hrs. before serving.

To Serve: I like to mix some additional crumbled chocolate crackers with crushed glazed pecans and sprinkle them on top and then of course dollop with a little bit of freshly made whip cream.

  • close up shot of a slice of squash cheese cake half eaten on a grey plate with soft background showing pie in tin on a wooden table top
  • top down view of squash cheese cake with whip cream, top down view on dark grey background with a tan linen napkin a silver serving spoon, two plates with slices, brown linen napkins, a bowel of pecans and a bowl of fresh whipped cream

Roasted Spice Blend
¼ cup fennel seeds
1 TBL coriander seeds
1 TBL grains of paradise
1 tsp red pepper flakes
2 TBL chili powder
1 TBL chipotle powder
1 ½ TBL salt
1 tsp of smoked sea salt
1 TBL ground cinnamon
2 tsp freshly ground nutmeg

The first thing you need to do is lightly toast some of these spices.  A light toasting (be careful not to burn as this can happen very quickly) releases the beautiful flavors and adds depth of flavor to the blend.   So toast the whole seeds; fennel, coriander, whole pepper and grains of paradise in a pan on the stove top.  Then add in the red pepper flakes (be careful not to get in your eyes or inhale).  Toss quickly for a minute then set aside to cool in another pan.  Once everything has cooled you can grind this up in a spice blender then add to a bowl and mix in the remaining ingredients. 

Store in a cool dry place and you’ll have a wonderful versatile blend to use for soups, roasted squash, pumpkin and other autumn/winter recipes.

  • spices arranged on a worn wooden table next to a window

Roasted Squash
About 2-3lbs butternut squash (I use 1-2 medium size squash)
1 Stick unsalted butter
2 TBL Granulated Sugar
2 tsp. Raw Sugar
3 TBL chopped Sage Leaves
¼ cup Balsamic Vinegar
¼ cup Dark Molasses
2 ½ tsp. Toasted Spice Blend
Salt and pepper

  • Preheat oven to 400 degrees
  • Peel the squash (I use a vegetable peeler). And discard the seeds, then cut into small squares. Place in a large bowl and season with salt and pepper
  • Heat the butter in a medium skillet over medium-high heat.  When the butter ceases to foam and has turned a light brown, pull the pan off the heat and immediately add the sage, sugar, vinegar (stand back so as not to get splattered), molasses and toasted spice mix.  Mix well and let simmer over medium-low heat for 1 to 2 minutes to meld the flavors.
  • Pour the vinegar mixture over the squash and toss well, then transfer to a heavy rimmed backing dish large enough to hold the squash in a single layer.  Place in the oven and roast, tossing at least once, until very tender and caramelized, about 45 minutes to 1 hour.  Set aside until cool enough to handle but still warm, so the liquids are runny.
  • Working in batches, if necessary, transfer the warm squash and all the cooking liquids to a food processor and process until smooth.  Use immediately, refrigerate for up to 5 days, or freeze for up to 2 months.
  • Yield: About 2 Cups of puree

Servingsuggestions: serve the puree on its own, in soups, polenta, ravioli oras a side dish for roasted turkey or chicken. When I use this in ravioli I reduce the puree even more in a pan withbalsamic vinegar and sage.

  • jar of roasted squash puree in front, slightly top down view with soft focus and trays slightly off behind stacked diagonally with pieces of roasted squash. A small jar or roasted seeds in the front, slightly cut off in image on a dark wooden surface
  • top down view of cubed roasted winter squash in an oval antique silver platter, slightly tarnished with sage wrapped around the left side and a serving spoon on top. Set portrait orientation and on top of a dark wooden table top

Roasted Winter Squash

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20181125-5372-(1)Of all the trauma I feel I’ve endured as a child, having to eat overcooked and bitter spinach, broccoli and slimy squash was pretty darn bad and the pinnacle of my vegetable resistance.  Thank goodness the spinach rarely made a dinner table appearance and the broccoli our dog was agreeable to help me out with.  But the squash…. oh how I hated the squash and so did our dog.  So I was always stuck with the squash.  Stuck to forge the strength to eat it sans any mercy from a mother who was serious with the stink-eye if she thought you were even remotely protesting anything she cooked.  And back then we had to ask permission to be excused from the table. An agreeable “yes” only came with proof of a cleared plate.

That’s why I find it so ironic that now I absolutely love squash…. yep, I said it and I do.  I also love spinach and broccoli but that’s because I prepare it completely different than how it was served to me as a child.

One of my favorite ways to prepare squash is to simply roast it.  From there I can just eat it straight out of the baking dish (sometimes I can’t resist to hit it as soon as it comes out of the oven) or make a puree to use for soup, ravioli, a side dish to roasted chicken or even use in cheesecake!

So here is how I make roasted winter squash.  You can use any type of squash you want but pay attention to roasting times as that may vary. Sometimes I like to mix up different roasted varieties to use when making roasted squash soup.

In a previous post I shared a roasted spice mix.  You’ll want to be sure to make a batch before you roast your squash because you’ll need some for this recipe.  Here is a link to that.  My next post will be a recipe for roasted squash cheesecake in which you will use the puree you make in this recipe.

Roasted Squash

  • About 2-3lbs butternut squash (I use 1-2 medium size squash)
  • 1 Stick unsalted butter
  • 2 TBL Granulated Sugar
  • 2 tsp. Raw Sugar
  • 3 TBL chopped Sage Leaves
  • ¼ cup Balsamic Vinegar
  • ¼ cup Dark Molasses
  • 2 ½ tsp. Toasted Spice Blend
  • Salt and pepper

Steps

  • Preheat oven to 400 degrees
  • Peel the squash (I use a vegetable peeler). And discard the seeds, then cut into small squares. Place in a large bowl and season with salt and pepper.
  • Heat the butter in a medium skillet over medium-high heat. When the butter ceases to foam and has turned a light brown, pull the pan off the heat and immediately add the sage, sugar, vinegar (stand back so as not to get splattered), molasses and toasted spice mix.  Mix well and let simmer over medium-low heat for 1 to 2 minutes to meld the flavors.
  • Pour the vinegar mixture over the squash and toss well, then transfer to a heavy rimmed backing dish large enough to hold the squash in a single layer. Place in the oven and roast, tossing at least once, until very tender and caramelized, about 45 minutes to 1 hour.  Set aside until cool enough to handle but still warm, so the liquids are runny.
  • Working in batches, if necessary, transfer the warm squash and all the cooking liquids to a food processor and process until smooth. Use immediately, refrigerate for up to 5 days, or freeze for up to 2 months.
  • Yield: About 2 Cups of puree

Serving suggestions: serve the puree on its own, in soups, polenta, ravioli or as a side dish for roasted turkey or chicken.  When I use this in ravioli I reduce the puree even more in a pan with balsamic vinegar and sage.

I hope you love this as much as I do and can’t wait to hear from you after you do!

I am,
The Urban Mountaineer

Give kitchen ho-hum a swift kick in the a**!

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20181125-5345-Edit

Never underestimate the fundamental power great seasoning brings to any dish.

Whether it be a kick, jab, smoke, zest, subtle touch or slow-moving roller coaster ride through a culinary theme park…the right spices can transform ho-hum into extraordinary.

I found this amazing recipe a few years back for a beautiful roasted autumn spice blend that has become an indispensable staple in my kitchen now during my autumn and winter cooking months (especially during the holidays!).

I’ve tweaked it a little bit …because that’s what we do when we play in the kitchen and I haven’t stopped using it since.  I use this blend in so many dishes, to say it’s versatile would be an understatement.  From a savory granola mix to simple roasted squash (yes then to soup) to a fabulous cheesecake this blend has no end!

Like delicious food, the most flavorful spices are those that are fresh, therefore I try to use the freshest spices I have access to and grind them myself.  Okay, I know that’s not always practical but since I’m making a special blend I’ll be using over time I want to start off with the best flavors possible.

So here’s the easy-breezy recipe, now, go make yourself a batch!

spices arranged on a worn wooden table next to a window
Toasted Roasted Autumn Spice Blend
¼ cup fennel seeds
1 TBL coriander seeds
1 TBL grains of paradise
1 tsp red pepper flakes
2 TBL chili powder
1 TBL chipotle powder
1 ½ TBL salt
1 tsp of smoked sea salt
1 TBL ground cinnamon
2 tsp freshly ground nutmeg

The first thing you need to do is lightly toast some of these spices.  A light toasting (be careful not to burn as this can happen very quickly) releases the beautiful flavors and therefor adds depth to the overall flavor to the blend.   So toast the whole seeds; fennel, coriander, whole pepper and grains of paradise in a pan on the stove top.  Then add in the red pepper flakes. Be careful not to get in your eyes or inhale, especially if you’re crushing your own dried peppers for the flakes…this always happens to me and you think I’d know by now.  Toss quickly for a minute then set aside to cool in another pan.  Once everything has cooled you can grind this up in a spice blender then add to a bowl and mix in the remaining ingredients.

Store in a cool dry place and you will have a wonderful versatile blend to use for soups, roasted squash, pumpkin, potatoes, bacon and other autumn/wintery recipes.

I have a few recipes to follow this post and I’d love for you to try them.  My daughter and I created a beautiful roasted squash cheesecake in which we use this spice blend to roast our squash with.  I’ll be posting those shortly so keep a look out for them.  In the meantime, I’d love to hear how you use this blend!

I am,
The Urban Mountaineer