The Recipe: Acorn squash stuffed with protein-rich nutty-tasting quinoa [pronounced KEEN-wah], slightly sweet with dried cherries or cranberries, maple syrup and fall spices. A great choice for Meatless Monday during the fall. Not just vegan, Vegan Done Real . The Conversation: What, exactly, is "tepid water"? And what in heavens does it have in common with quinoa?! COMPLIMENTS! "... to die for ... my family's first experience with quinoa, and they raved ..." ~ Anonymous True Story. Late on a Friday, shoppers trolled the aisles in a nearby grocery whose shelves are lined with hard-to-find international ingredients as coveted by gourmet cooks as appreciated by immigrants longing for familiar tastes of home. One shopper studied his list, peered at labels, checked the list again. An observant grocery manager asked to help, thought for a moment but shook his head. “Naw, we don’t carry that.” Then his face brightened. “Whole Foods!” he said, n

A hearty summer sausage stew, a great way to use up the summer sausage that so often shows up in gift baskets. The stew is packed with late-summer and early-fall vegetables so even though the sausage itself is calorie-dense, a serving adds up to about 200 calories. So good, this! I especially love it with a dollop of sour cream on top with some good bread for dunking into the juices. Real Food, Fresh & Comforting. Another Quick Supper , a Kitchen Parade Specialty. Hearty & Filling. Budget Friendly.

Long before the leaves turn, the hunter’s moon appears and the blackbirds gather, you know fall has truly arrived when you can finally turn on the oven without first turning on the air. Before then, the days remain summer-warm with windows-open temperatures day and night. It feels reckless, wasteful even, to simultaneously cool and heat the house, even when ever so tempted by autumn’s fat knobs of roast squash and smooth ridges of baked pumpkin. So now that it’s cooled down a bit, cook squash for supper’s vegetable, then turn the oven down for an unusual variation of Indian pudding. Its history harkens to 17th-century American colonies. Traditional versions are made with cornmeal, milk and molasses but since first trying this delicious apple-cider combination a year ago, I can’t fathom anything but! ALANNA's TIPS Yellow cornmeal works well but I prefer the texture from half yellow cornmeal, half stone-ground cornmeal. Currants are slightly lower in calories and