A Salad and A Butternut Squash

The problem I was having with uploading my photos to my 12/10/12 post was a WordPress glitch. Happy to say it is now resolved.

Thanks to all for the help and suggestions. You are a wonderful bunch.

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Harvested quite a bit of lettuce from the 3 windowboxes (will post about the experience on Monday, 12/17/12) and made the salad below. The fuyu persimmons (to learn more click here and here) complimented the chicory (from my garden) very well. The avocado did nothing to enhance the salad, will skip next time. Loved the crunch the toasted walnuts brought to the dish. Because the lettuces were so fresh, I decided to go simple, S&P to taste, balsamic vinegar and oil, that’s it. Of course you can use your favorite dressing instead.

Add some precooked (leftover) meat, poultry or seafood and its a meal. Oh, don’t forget some crusty bread slathered with butter.

Windowbox Lettuces, Chicory & Persimmons Salad
(no measurement needed for this recipe, whatever quantity you use is fine)

Ingredients
• Lettuce, break into bite-sized pieces
• Chicory, cut into thin strips
• Fuyu persimmons, peel, cut into about 1-inch cubes or thin slices
• Avocado, cut into bout 1-inch cubes
• Toasted walnuts or nuts of choice
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Balsamic vinegar
• Olive oil

Preparations
Toss all the above together and enjoy.

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The following recipe was written and made in November but I forgot to post. Thought you may enjoy a different way to prepare butternut squash so am posting now.

Some may recall my butternut squash from my 11/9/12 post. The squash weighed 4+ pounds and I used only 1½ pounds. What to do with the remainder? Had many ideas. Decided to settle on butternut squash with Chinese fermented black beans. It is easy and quick, the most difficult and time consuming part was peeling the squash.

This dish freezes well.

To learn about Chinese fermented black beans, photo above, click here and scroll down.

Butternut Squash with Chinese Fermented Black Beans

Ingredients
• 1½ – 2 pounds peeled (about 2½ pounds unpeeled) butternut squash cut into about 1 inch cubes
• 1 – 2 tablespoons minced shallots (scallion, leeks and onion will work well too)
• 1 – 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 – 2 tablespoons Chinese fermented black beans, rinsed or 2 – 3 tablespoons black bean garlic sauce (I do not mince my black beans, they will breakup during cooking)
• 1 – 2 teaspoons grated/minced ginger (I used slices from my ginger wine and removed the slices before serving, my kids preferred it this way when they were younger)
• 2 tablespoons ginger wine or pale dry sherry
• 2 tablespoon soy sauce, regular or gluten free
• 1 teaspoon honey or maple syrup, optional
• 1 – 2 tablespoons oil
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• 2 – 3 teaspoons toasted black and white sesame seeds
• sliced scallion and cilantro for garnish

Preparations
1. Add 1 tablespoon oil to wok or frying pan, add shallots, garlic, fermented black beans and ginger. Stir-fry over medium heat until fragrant.
2. Add squash, stir-fry to coat well with mixture in wok/frying pan. Add ginger wine, stir-fry until wine is absorbed. Add soy sauce and honey/maple syrup (if using). Mix well.
3. Cover and simmer until squash is soft, 10 – 15 minutes, adding 1 -2 tablespoons liquid (broth, water, wine) if needed to prevent burning. Stir in sesame oil
4. Remove to serving dish. Garnish with sesame seeds and scallion/cilantro. (I ran out of sesame seeds, and forgot to replenish, could not garnish, horrors!!!!! But I found a mum under the shrubs and that brightened the dish and made me smile.)

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