For a long time, butternut squashes intimidated me. The size, the shape, the armor of seemingly impenetrable skin. Inspired by lovely Lucinda’s suggestion in one of the comments, however, I tentatively bought a medium-sized butternut, hacked it in quarters, scooped out the seeds, sprinkled salt and pepper, and stuck it in the oven for about an hour. I admit I was a little spent after cutting the thing. It’s time to get our knives sharpened, it seems.

Fifty-some minutes later, gourd-shaped hulls filled with golden, steaming, sumptuously sweetened, anti-inflammatory pulp emerged (did you know that winter squashes have all sorts of health benefits?).

My aim was to make soup, and I did. Tossed in with vegetable stock, an array of hearty cruciferous and root veggies and white beans, the pureed butternut squash soup was delicious. I had a lot left over that I didn’t use in the soup, though, and wasn’t sure what to do with gobs of roasted butternut.

Enter Brown Butter Butternut Squash Bread – an unwieldy dish to say, but oh-so-melt-in-your-mouth-good when consumed. I paced myself and had only one small slice, but this loaf disappeared in a matter of minutes. To reduce the sugar high, I skipped the glaze, and I for one felt no loss. It’s one of those comforting sweet baked goods in the banana and pumpkin bread family, but even better. I think it’s the browned butter that makes the difference, adding depth to the taste.

I’ve had requests to make the loaf again, and now that I’ve conquered my winter squash fears, I’m ready. Bring it, butternut.

On Saturday, we had a mini early birthday celebration for one of our sweet little friends. She is turning five, and treats were in order, but she’s lactose-intolerant so I searched for some dessert options that wouldn’t involve any dairy. I could have gone for vegan cupcakes, but how could I pass up a chance to make healthier rice crispy treats? And how cute are they stacked high with candles on top? I love that she’s trying to blow out the candles from as far away as possible.

I used this recipe, and it came together in a jiffy. It requires only rice crispy cereal, brown rice syrup, cashew butter and maple syrup. I already had the syrups, so all I needed were the cereal and cashew butter. I bought this brand of “veganic sprouted brown rice crisps”, and the treats came out a million times better than expected.

They got a seal of approval from the kiddos, and just like the recipe states, the flavor has a caramel undertone. The cashew butter lends a milder nutty flavor, and I was pleased that they’re less sweet than your average rice crispy treat, but still very satisfying as a dessert.

K was initially disappointed that no marshmallows were used, but she loves them so much that she’s been begging to eat one at every opportunity. Here, she’s enjoying one during our impromptu picnic in the backyard when there was a brief window of sunniness on Sunday (the sky ballooned with ominous-looking storm clouds shortly after).

Some words of caution: unless stored in an airtight container, these get gushy. I left them in the muffin tin with the plastic lid that it comes with, but it’s not completely airtight. I took a little bite this morning, and they’re not so yummy anymore….still, this recipe’s a keeper and I’ll be making this again for sure!

Now that I’ve gotten the whole criticism thing out of my system, let’s talk faux burgers. “Yay, I love black bean burgers!” That’s what K actually says when I make these black bean patties. She doesn’t realize that under the ooey gooey cheese, there’s a chockfull of healthiness.

As you can see, I’m continuing my theme of unattractive foodstuffs from last week, and I’ve gained a whole new level of respect for food bloggers and photographers wrestling with these homely dishes.

I’ve made these bean patties a few times in the last couple of months, and though I started off with a recipe that I can no longer find, I’ve been messing around with the ingredients and they are very much my own creation now.  I don’t have the exact measurements for anything, but I wanted to jot down the combo I used this week because it was especially tasty and easy. I always have left over brown rice, and this is a great way to use it up.

Ingredients

1 small onion, diced
1 carrot, diced
1 celery, diced
1 clove of garlic, minced
6-8 mushrooms, sliced (I used mini portobellos)
1/2 cup of roasted sweet potatoes (left over from dinner the night before)
1 can black beans
About 1 cup of brown rice
1/2 to 1 cup of panko bread crumbs, enough to keep the mixture from getting too soggy
1 egg
Salt and pepper to taste

1. Saute onions until translucent in olive oil. I like to caramelize them, which takes about fifteen minutes. Add garlic, cook for a minute, then add carrot, celery and mushrooms. Season with salt and pepper. Cook 5 to 10 minutes until softened. Let cool slightly.

2. Rinse and drain black beans and place in large bowl with roasted sweet potatoes. Mash. It doesn’t have to be totally smooth.

3. Add rice, then the cooked vegetables. Mix in the egg and then sprinkle in panko bread crumbs until the mixture is sticky enough to form patties but not too goopy. Technical terms, these.

4. Form patties – my mixture yielded 12 patties. I froze half.

5. Heat about a tablespoon of olive oil in a frying pan, place patties at least an inch apart and cook each side about 5 minutes. Melt cheese on top if desired. In this case, I had only shredded cheese.

6. Heap on lettuce, tomato, avocado slices, slide between burger buns and enjoy!

Those blue corn chips were stale and gross, so make sure you have fresh chips. Anyway. Yay, black bean burgers!

My health is still a little touch and go these days, though positively on the mend. Combined with K’s orthodontic situation, soups have been my go-to meals. I used to be so intimidated by soups back in my singleton days of living in a tiny studio apartment. I rarely cooked at home, and I remember being in awe when my neighbor told me about all the soups she liked to make. Despite her claims otherwise, I imagined having to slave over the stove for hours, endlessly tweaking and adding ingredients.

Now that I’m a more seasoned cook (albeit far from gourmet or expert), I scoff at my younger self’s fear of soups. Lately I don’t even follow recipes and dump in whatever seems compatible from the fridge or pantry.

Take this — unphotogenic, but truly delicious — veggie soup. I sauteed some onions in butter and olive oil, then added diced up celery, carrots, potatoes, mushroom, and then doused the whole mixture with chicken stock and water. Sprinkle in some salt, pepper and cumin and 35 minutes later, soup! It tastes even better the next day. With some french bread for dipping and leftover roasted broccoli and cauliflower, it’s hard not to feel good.

And last week, I made a kabocha-kale-potato soup, an equally un-camera-friendly concoction that is wonderfully hearty and satisfying.  I also love making asian-style soups with soy or miso-based broths and tofu.

I’m still trying to cut down on sugar, and as such, I’m often turning to my Pinterest board for “healthier” desserts. Baked bananas with cinnamon and honey seemed quick and possibly super yummy, so I gave it a go. I seem determined to share unappetizing food photos today, and they aren’t lookers, these baked bananas.

The taste didn’t wow me either, but they were very easy to make. With a huge scoop of ice cream, these would be mighty fine, but I don’t have to state the obvious. Maybe if I bake them a little less (15 minutes is what I did for more caramelization), they would be less…goopy.

Next up for healthy dessert experimentation: chocolate avocado cookies!

It seems ironic. Here I am, trying my hardest to eat better than I ever have before and (sob) to reduce my sugar intake, but I am constantly catching one cold after another. I must be doing something wrong – is there such a thing as too much kale? I appear to have turned a corner, though, and I am crediting my near full-recovery from what has to be the longest bout of sniffles/coughing fits to this powerful soup. I was browsing my backlogged blog reader a few days ago, and via DesignSponge, I came across this recipe. It was meant to be.

I’ve long been an admirer of 101 Cookbooks, but I don’t check it very often for some reason. With my new non-resolutions, however, that will change. There are so many soups and vegetarian dishes! Plus, the beautiful photography, the comforting narratives and the incontestably delectable-sounding recipes…Heidi Swanson’s site is a winner through and through.

Anyway, I was going to talk about this particular soup, the one she calls the “Immunity Soup”. Other than the snow pea shoots, which was a new ingredient to me, watermelon radishes and fresh ginger, I had pretty much everything else in my kitchen so I made a quick trip to the nearest fancy health food store and rounded up the missing pieces. I was out of luck with the watermelon radishes but scored the other two.

It’s a fast dish to assemble, and though you don’t want to stand close to anyone after consuming it — there are eight cloves of garlic in it — the soup makes short order of clearing your sinuses and lifting that ever-present sickness fog. It’s important to drink/eat it piping hot as she recommends. Slurping up the scalding concoction enveloped by the fragrant steam seems to add to the restorative properties of the soup. As for the taste, it has a distinct Asian flair with the peppery broth combined with the kick of ginger and garlic. The sweetness of the onions, carrots and snow pea shoots balances out the heat and I always love tofu and mushroom in my broths. It’s the kind of soup I imagine my friend’s ancient Chinese grandma would serve me with a strict admonition about not using my chopsticks properly.

I couldn’t get M or K to get on board with my immunity soup as they both claimed to be hale and indestructible, but that means more for me, and I’m betting that by tomorrow I’ll be indestructible too. Highly, highly recommended!