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.

For months D and I have been eating our way through beets. About eight pounds every three weeks for four months. As D proclaimed time and again, “there are only so many beets a person can take.” That person is obviously not me. Still, it is true there are only so many pounds of beets a single person can consume when her partner in eating has sworn them off. After a recent Passover dinner I managed to squeeze a variation of this salad on the menu. D sleeps content knowing the beets are exorcised from the refrigerator.

While I know these storage babies would keep another few months in the fridge, I also know once Community Supported Agriculture season hits us June 5, we’ll be finding a home for more blushing beauties. (Note to D: Prepare yourself.)

Over the months, to hide the offensive vegetable from D, I was able to work them into pizza, gnocchi, ravioli (beet-blue cheese filling tucked into whole wheat orange zested pasta), chocolate cake, soups (of course a borscht as well) and even pickled them for holiday gifts handed off to D’s father, who shares my love of beets. I contemplated ice cream most recently, but bowed out of that thought when all the fresh mint began hitting my senses.

Over months of experimentation, the above salad was one application where I managed to get D to enjoy his beets without sausage, pesto or chocolate poured on top. It is a favorite dish of mine because it doesn’t involve a multi-step process with the beets, just roast, slice and chill.

This salad is a colorful reminder that Spring is here, a bounty of vegetables await us, but we can make do with our storage supplies until Mother Nature decides to kick in. I think it is best with a little crumbled cheese, feta or goat, tossed into it. For Passover I made due without the cheese, substituting a tahini-citrus dressing for creaminess, also good. A number of herbs work equally well depending on taste, what is around or what you are serving this with: cilantro, purslane, parsely, celery tops or basil.

Beet and Orange Herb Salad
Serving Size= 4 persons. Cook time= 1.5 hours. Active time= 15 minutes.
4 good sized beets (a little smaller than a fist), golden or red
2-3 navel oranges (grapefruit, clementines or tangerines would work too)
1/4 cup crumbled feta or goat cheese
1/2 cup packed mint, chopped
2 teaspoons fresh ground cardamom
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
juice of 1 lemon
2 tablespoons olive oil

1) Preheat oven to 350 F. Scrub beets under running water, remove greens, reserve for another use. Place beets on a pan over a large sheet of tinfoil. Sprinkle beets with olive oil, salt and pepper. Wrap the beets in foil, bake 45 minutes, turn, bake another 45 minutes or until a fork punctures both sides easily. Remove from oven, unwrap and let cool 5 minutes. Using two paper towels, work the the skins off the beets by pushing and sliding the paper towels around, starting at the tops and working around the beets. Slice beets into bite size pieces, about 1 inch long by 1/2 inch thick. Refrigerate while prepping the remaining ingredients.
2) Slice top and bottoms off oranges. Lay oranges flat then work around the orange slicing off the skin. Slice into bite size pieces, about the same size as the beets. Place in serving dish.
3) Add cheese, mint, cardamom, salt, pepper, lemon juice and olive oil to oranges. Toss to incorporate. Add beets and toss briefly to just incorporate trying not to let too much of the beets bleed into the oranges or cheese. Serve at room temperature or slightly chilled.
NOTE: Try a variety of other herbs. Instead of cheese, add 2 tablespoons tahini. Add croutons to make the dish a light dinner or lunch.

There are few things that remind me of the marvelous gifts of winter. Simply that a little bivalve can bring so much happiness. Or best yet, something that can make me believe I am sitting in front of my very own fireplace, in a cozy cabin, on a precipice overlooking a spraying bay. A bowl of chowder accomplishes all these things and more.

Clam chowder. Not that poor excuse of a chowder– the thin Manhattan tomato-based variety. Thick and creamy New England style, loaded with clams and root vegetables. The bounty of winter in a single bowl.

Clam chowder is a soup that makes me feel like a fisherman. Each time I finish a bowl it’s with an affirmative “arrrr, maty, t’was mighty fine gruel.” I smack the lingering ocean brine from my lips as I sadly realize no parrot sits on my shoulder, and I am simply in my New York City apartment (perhaps I believe I am a pirate?).

Oh you wicked tease clam chowder.

The best chowder I ever ate was along the New Jersey coast. I’m sure the late fall frigid temperatures played a part in its greatness. Or maybe because it was the only eating destination open. Possibly it was the giant yellow whale engraved against the blue hut that sold it. But there were four of us in total, taking a cold road trip to the shore for some R&R on the abandoned coast. That was good chowder.

The above chowder might be just as good. It smells of warm cream and ocean water and sticks to the bones just right on these wintry afternoons. It is not as heavy as other clam chowders you find. To thicken the broth and add some extra flavor, I added a puree of roasted root vegetables along with a scant 2 pints of heavy cream (2 pints is scant when you make a 20-quart pot of chowder). I also used a combination of smaller littleneck clams and larger cherrystones that were removed from their shells and chopped into the soup. I’ve adapted the recipe below to a simpler cherrystone-only version. Additionally, I had leftover lobster stock (frozen from mine and D’s Valentine’s lobster feast) that I used as stock. Any fish stock or a bottle of clam juice will work equally well.

New England Clam Chowder
Serving size= 6-8. Active time= 20 minutes. Inactive time= 30 minutes.
1 dozen cherrystone clams
2 strips bacon, chopped
1 onion, chopped
6 cloves garlic, minced
1 lb assorted root vegetables (potatoes, rutabaga, parsnips, carrots, turnips all work well), cut into 1 inch pieces
1 sprig thyme
2 8-ounce bottles clam juice (or a fish stock, 8 cups total)
2 cups water
1 pint heavy cream

1) Soak clams in lightly salted water for 30-60 minutes. This helps them spit out trapped sand from their shells.
2) In a 6-quart pot, bring 2 cups of lightly salted water to a boil. Add clams and cover, cook 2 minutes. Stir, cover and cook 2-3 minutes more, until all clams have opened up. Set clams aside and toss any clams that do not open. Strain the cooking liquid and set aside.
3) In the same pot (now without liquid), fry chopped bacon on medium-high heat until crisp. Remove from pot and set aside. Do not drain fat. Add chopped onion, saute 3 minutes. Add garlic, saute 1 minute more. Add chopped root vegetables, thyme sprig, bottled clam juice, retained clam juice cooking liquid and water. Cover, bring to a boil then reduce heat to a simmer and cook for 30 minutes, until root vegetables are soft.
4) While warming, remove clams from shells and chop roughly.
5) Once vegetables are soft, add heavy cream and stir to incorporate. Just before serving, stir in clams and bacon, season with salt and pepper and serve.