Three Things

A whole lotta squash, Halloween food lightning round, the importance of everyday rituals

Greetings eaters and readers! What’s for dinner tonight? I am thinking Beans & Cheese with chopped tomatoes, or pretzel chicken with mustard sauce, or, since I snagged some hyper-sweet honeynut squash at the market this past weekend, the rigatoni with chard, honeynut squash, and hazelnuts on page 84 of The Weekday Vegetarians. Man, it’s been too long, I love that recipe! Speaking of squash, apologies for getting the butternut-apple soup link wrong last week, here it is again, double checked and triple checked — the 2010 post is even updated for you with a new photo and more clear recipe instructions, that is how much I love you all. Yesterday, I made my first of what will likely be dozens of batches over the next few months and I can tell you with confidence that the soup is a fall cliché for a reason: it never gets old, especially as a simple dinner with green salad and crusty bread. (Please note: Trader Joe’s Sweet & Spicy Pecans, shown above, make for an excellent garnish upgrade.) Here are Three Things, I’d like you to know about this week…

1. All Your Halloween Food Questions: Answered

How do you win the Halloween bake sale? Bring Jodi Levine’s Cotton Candy Monster Cupcakes.** What easy, healthy dinner can you line the kids’ bellies with before they inhale all those Butterfingers? Teriyaki Brussels bowls. What make-ahead meal can you chef up if a bunch of families are coming over before trick-or-treating? Chili (Beef & Black Bean or Veg) and maybe even Jodi’s eyeball martinis. How do I make baked goods look creatively creepy if I don’t have a piping bag and/or an M.F.A? Try any one of Clare Crespo’s Six Easy Halloween Cupcakes. What do you do with leftover candy? Save them for Extreme Birthday Milkshakes. Any other questions???

***Halloween is Jodi’s Super Bowl, her Supermakeit is a must-follow this time of year…and actually the rest of the year, too.

2. This Salad, on Repeat

Last year, I wrote about a half dozen fall vegetable love stories: Beets Love Dill, Chinese Greens Love Ginger, Apples Love Cabbage, etc, and I’d like to add a new one to the list: Squash Loves Tahini. Specifically delicata squash; I’ve been making this salad above for lunch almost every day: Greens, roasted delicata, tahini dressing, and store bought dukkah, the Middle Eastern sesame-nut-spice blend that lends an addictive crunch to every dish it graces. (West-bourne is currently my preferred brand.) The salad is filling and comes together fast, especially when I roast the squash ahead of time. Here’s the recipe.

3. Driving: A Love Story

My 16-year-old nephew, Owen, passed his driver’s test last week which, to me, meant one thing: He was required to drive across the county to visit his uncle and aunt (me) to redeem his congratulatory dinner. (I’m guessing it meant a lot of other things to him.) The drive-over-for-dinner ritual started with his oldest sister, my niece Alison, five years ago — though at that point we didn’t think of it as a ritual yet — and his night felt a little less raucous than the others because he wasn’t sharing it with his sisters and cousins who are all away in college. Still, it was really nice to cook for him in the middle of the week and get some one-on-one time (or, I guess two-on-one time). The whole thing reminded me of the Like Magic project and also a passage in my 2016 book How to Celebrate Everything, all about how these kinds of unremarkable, everyday rituals help to infuse our days, months, years with meaning.

Whether they are big or small, simple or elaborate, daily or yearly, all our rituals serve the same purpose: They bring comfort, connection, and meaning to our days, days that might otherwise just wind up blurring together. On a daily basis, rituals answer the questions that are central to my life as a parent: How do we help our children recognize things that matter? How do we teach them to be grateful for everything they have — not the latest Nike Free Runs, but friends and family and community? How do we make days feel special? How do we hold on to moments that are so easily lost in the jam-packed calendar, that disappear behind us like a jet trail?

I laughed re-reading it, because back then I was so focused on imparting this, ahem, “wisdom” to my kids that I don't think I recognized how desperately I was trying to hold on to something myself. I am 100% sure I enjoy this ritual more than any of the kids do. (My daughter after telling her about Owen’s dinner: “Why did I not know that was a tradition?”)

MORE importantly, the menu! Roast Chicken, a Sesame-Miso Slaw (coming soon), and Mac & Cheese (or page 88, The Weekday Vegetarians). For dessert I made a cheater’s version of my mom’s Chocolate Pudding Pie — a dessert Owen loves more than anyone I’ve ever met — topping Kozy Shack chocolate pudding with whipped cream and butter-fried graham cracker crispy crumbles. Come on over anytime, Owen!

Have a great week!

Jenny