Roasted Delicata Squash, Wild Rice Mix, and Chanterelle Gravy

We made this a few times last fall, but never posted the recipe here, so making it last night, I felt like we should do that :) It's a great recipe, really delicious, but it does take a little time, so make sure you start a little bit early. Cheers!

Ingredients

• 2 average sized delicata squash
• 1 lb (455 grams) chanterelle mushrooms, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 5-6 small shallots, minced
• 2 cups wild rice mix
• Handful of dried cranberries
• 1 quart (about 1 liter) chicken or vegetable stock + 1/2 cup (120 ml)
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup (180 ml) cream
• Salt and pepper

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 F (175 C).
2. Slice squash in half length-wise, and scoop out the seeds with a spoon.
3. Lightly rub the flesh of the squash with olive oil, then salt and pepper.
4. Place squash on middle rack in oven for about 1 hour (until flesh is quite soft.
5. In a small pot, melt 1 tbsp butter.
6. When butter is hot, add half the shallots and garlic, and saute until they begin to soften.
7. Add the wild rice mixture, and toast for a minute or two.
8. Add the 1 quart/liter of stock, the handful of dried cranberries, and some salt and pepper.
9. Bring to a simmer, then cover the pot tightly and let simmer until stock is absorbed by rice. Stir occasionally.
10. Now is a good time to chop your chanterelles.
11. When that is finished, melt about 3 tbsp of butter in a skillet over medium heat.
12. Once the butter is hot, throw in the rest of the shallots and garlic and sautee until they begin to soften.
13. Sautee mushrooms until they release all their liquid, and most of it evaporates.
14. Add the flour to the mushrooms, mix together well, and cook for a minute or two, to remove the raw flour taste.
15. Add the 1/2 cup (120 ml) stock, and the 3/4 cup (180 ml) of cream to the skillet, and cook down until gravy becomes thickened.
16. When the squash is finished, remove from the oven, and when the rice is finished, fill each half of squash with the wild rice mixture.
17. Top the squash with the chanterelle gravy, and eat with a spoon, simply scooping out all the insides together.
18. Enjoy!

Yogurt

Finally after having made a few successful batches of yogurt, I figured it was time to write a post about it. It turns out it really isn't that difficult, just a bit time-consuming, and the most important thing is just that you get your culture mixed in very well, so that the milk cultures evenly. The nice thing about this, is once you get a batch you like, you can then use the end of it as a starter for the next batch, and on and on. Here we go.

Ingredients

• 1/2 gallon (about 2 liters) non-ultra-pasteurized milk (preferably not pasteurized or homogenized at all)
• 2-3 tablespoons yogurt
• 1 tablespoon powdered milk

Directions

1. Take a medium-sized enameled or tinned pot (as heavy-bottomed as possible) and scald it with boiling water to more-or-less sterilize it. Do the same with a half-gallon (or 2 liter) canning jar.
2. Pour your milk into the pot and, over medium to medium-high heat, bring the milk to 180 F (82 C), stirring often to keep the milk from burning on the bottom.
3. Remove the pot from the heat, and let the milk cool to 120 F (49 C), stirring often.
4. While you are waiting for the milk to cool, mix the yogurt and the milk powder together so the mixture is smooth.
5. Once the milk reaches 120 F (49 C), stir in the yogurt/milk powder mixture, and then whisk thoroughly to make sure it is mixed in well.
6. Ladle the milk into your canning jar, and close the lid.
7. If you have an insulated container that the jar will fit in, place the jar in the container somewhere fairly warm, and let sit for about 12 hours. We use a heating pad wrapped around the jar on low for an hour or two to give it a good start, and then let it sit at room temperature still wrapped in the heating pad in a fairly warm room for the rest of the approximately 12 hours.
8. Place the jar in the refrigerator, and let sit another day or two before eating to let the flavor develop a bit.