We’re at the peak of fall here in New York City and it hardly seems to be showing. While the trees are brilliant golds, mums are popping open, and bulbs are heading into the ground, the sun is blasting down and the days are mild in the upper 50’s and 60’s. I thought I lived on the east coast, not west.

I await a steady stream of cool, crisp fall days– Fall is my favorite season and there is nothing like cuddling up to a bowl of hot soup on a cold night, or a nice hot toddy. And as we sit practically beach side in the City, northern New York and the surrounds have already seen snow. These truly cold temps around the City bring fall produce into farmer markets and my CSA drops, even if it’s the last thing on our mind.
So now I have a pileup of butternut and acorn squashes awaiting temperatures to dip low enough to justify turning the oven on for extended lengths. And as I thought about those squash the other day, I thought about potatoes and home fries and hash, and how sweetly seductive a butternut hash might be with a morning egg.

Peeled, seeded and chopped into 1/2-inch cubes, squash will cook up in less time than the same sized potatoes on the stove top. Left alone, those sauteed squash can top salads, get mashed for sides, or, turned into cookies or pies– Or, as above, mixed into a sweet and savory hash to accompany an egg.

Squash Hash
Serving size= 4 persons. Prep time= 15 minutes. Cook time= 15 minutes
1 butternut squash (acorn, sunshine, delicata, or other winter squash will work), Peeled, halved, seeds removed, slice into 1/2-inch cubes
1 cup crimini mushrooms, quartered
2 red peppers, sliced into long 1/2-inch strips
2 tablespoons fresh chives (or 1 scallion), minced
salt/ pepper to taste
2 tablespoons lard, olive oil or butter to cook

Method: Heat preferred fat in skillet over medium-high heat. Add squash and mushrooms, toss to coat in fat, then let cook for 5 minutes to brown. Add red peppers and a pinch of salt. Stir and cook about 8 minutes, stirring occasionally, until squash is soft and mushrooms are browned. Remove from heat, add pepper to taste and chives. Toss to coat and serve.

I was going to post another post-summer wrap up when D told me I had to get these babies online– our Election Doughnuts.

We had a quart of raw milk go sour on us the other week so I’ve been attempting to use it up in baking applications. (Whereas raw milk will go sour and is still safe to consume (you can even consume it as a beverage), pasteurized milk goes rancid when it goes bad and should be discarded immediately when an off smell is noticed.)

I scanned baking books for quick recipes that required a lot of buttermilk (replacing it with my sour milk) and no matter how many cups I thought I’d be using up, I could swear this is a bottomless quart. Last week I made a loaf each of jalapeno cornbread and gingerbread, with milk to spare. But, it was a doughnut recipe I had been eyeing since the beginning of my search I was dying to try, but set aside because I didn’t think it used enough of the milk (only 3/4 a cup). This time, I hoped to finish off the milk.

We made this batter last night and fried up a few circular poppers before hitting the pillow, refrigerating the remaining dough (still unable to finish off the sour milk!). When a late afternoon snack was in order, and I rummaged for some cookie cutters that would work on the doughnuts, I pulled out a large square and a small star.

“This is weird,” D commented.

“No, cool.”

“Oh, wait, Election Doughnuts.”

A little more pre-thought and we could have made these rectangular (more flag shaped) with powdered sugar stripes (stencil some stripes)– maybe tomorrow with the last of the dough. As D transfered these out of the lard (that’s right, fried the good ol’ fashion way), I dusted them with powdered sugar and lamented, too bad we’re not having an election party tonight. But that just means more treats for us.

This batter was a bit of an experimentation. I prefer cake doughnuts, over yeasted (cake have a denser consistency), my favorite being the chocolate cake with sugar glaze. D is fond of the apple cider doughnut in fall months– also cake, so obviously a cake doughnut was in order. Step 1, doughnut style, over and easy.

Step 2 was to assemble a chocolate-cider doughnut without using D’s precious apple cider (he has found his new favorite beverage that combines apple cider, rum, brandy, lemon juice and maple syrup– or “all things perfect in fall” so I am not allowed to touch his cider). Instead, we went with semi-sweet chocolate and extra nutmeg for that fall flavor. Chocolate and nutmeg works, and the final doughnut had a hint of chocolate with a lingering nutmeg note. Nice.

Overall, I would have liked a little more rise in these doughnuts, but they were a good first time try. The finished consistency was good, but the chocolate flavoring isn’t there yet. Because I used semi-sweet chocolate, I reduced the sugar by 2 tablespoons. The end result was a doughnut that would make a good plain cake doughnut, but was not sweet enough to reach the chocolate cake or cider doughnut results desired, more sugar needed.

So if there is still time in your state, get out and vote– and eat your doughnut!

Chocolate-Cider Buttermilk Doughnut
Recipe TK

My local organics food store carries goat milk. For weeks I toyed with the idea of buying some, but ended with a pause, wondering what I would do with it. When I grew up, it was always a glass of milk at dinner, but these days I reach for water (or wine)– all essential to mind and body health and vitality. I use (cow) milk to silken an occasional omelette, in coffee, or to make ice cream or a milk shake. I always think, what would I do with goat milk? (Although I admit a goat milk, lavender and honey ice cream has been on my mind.)

A few weeks ago I was at a friend’s home and was offered goat milk. Really? So I tried it and all I could think of was that I was drinking liquid goat cheese, or chevre. Interesting. D suggested mixing in some honey and cinnamon. It became a deliciously sweet spiced concoction with that slight, but unmistakable goat cheese “barnyard” undertone of sweet hay and Earth.

When an opportunity arose to acquire some raw goat milk I thought I would give it a try. Not necessarily to drink, but perhaps make that ice cream, some chevre, or yogurt. I bought the cultures and when the coin toss came to pass, yogurt won out.

Though of course like anything homemade, I thoroughly enjoyed my goat yogurt over any yogurts I have had in the past, though the recipe needs some experiment.

Why?

Yogurt most of us are accustomed to on the market has added thickeners (tapioca, citrus pulp, cornstarch, or other synthetic agents) added to make them a thick and even consistency– not to mention sugars. If you have bought yogurt that does not use thickeners, you’ll notice it is much thinner, and sometimes even lumpy. To make the consistency weightier, without thickeners, producers will often drain the product, losing a lot of whey in the process.

I have heard if you heat the milk to a higher temperature before adding culture it gets thicker, but when using raw milk products, you run the risk of killing heat sensitive bacteria that makes milk digestible.

It is something that is by no means perfect. I would love a thick yogurt, without the use of heat– a more Greek style yogurt. Perhaps I need to grab a flight to Greece and learn from a grandmother.

Until then, I enjoy my yogurt with granola, a scoop of my own grandmother’s preserves, or simply as a yogurt beverage, full of all those great probiotics.

If you are interested in making your own yogurt, it is fairly simple. All you need are some cultures to get you started (recipe is dependent on the culture you use). Raw milk or a high quality organic milk is recommended.