Rapscallion Beer: The local beer for the local people.

Sunday and the regular ritual of PJs, Dexter and that sinking feeling of knowing another great weekend has ended and a full work week is before me.  We all get this way, right?  Normally, I relax on a Sunday afternoon by preparing local foods and then write about it here. To change things up,  this afternoon was not about the local food but the local beer.   The way to pry me from my brand new oven is with the promise of good beer, fun people and free/discounted stuff..the nonprofit pay check likes that part too!  The guys at Rapscallion promised and delivered!  In fact, if I did not have to ride by my office to get home tonight, the thought of sitting in the chilly office tomorrow may not have even came to mind until the morning...

This afternoon I went with a great friend to Stoddard's on Temple Pl in downtown Boston.  If you have yet to make your way to this fine place, please do so soon.  They are new and could use support!  The  selection of beer on tap is huge..including the wonderful Rapscallion.  Today was the Rapscallion Halloween Party with a special treat of Honey Ale in a cask.  Combine that with a large screen to watch the Pats trample the Vikings and not having to dress up..fun times had by all.   

Now I am the furthest thing from a beer expert, but I know what I like and I like this beer.  You may recall I have blogged about it in the past..and I will happily write about it again.  It is tasty, it is local and now I can confirm that the guys that own it are friendly and fantastic..which only makes me want to support them more and demand that you do they same!  Brothers (and twins!) Cedric and Pete purchased Concord Brewery a few years back and have been getting the new ownership and name out there as much as possible.  They stand by the local model and are currently only distributing (via keg) to bars in MA and RI.  It is rather special to be able to have our own beer in the area...imagine your out of town friends come and you tell them of this elusive beer that can only be found in a few select areas on the North East..they love it and come back to "visit you" but really just for the beer.  It is that good.  I am partial to the Honey Ale, but had a sneak sip of the Premier tonight and found it to be delightful.  They also have a lager, which I will just say it great because I am sure it is... 

Much like the local  fruits and vegetables, why buy the items that are shipped from other states or countries when you can have a fresh and amazing item made in your own back yard?  I have not steered you wrong yet...so next time you are out give Rapscallion a try!  Some places you can fine them..  My favorite local restaurant Pizzeria Posto in Davis Sq., Asgard in Central Sq (where I suggest you eat truffle tater tots with the beer), The Squealing Pig, Mission Hill (one of my old haunts!), Atwoods Tavern in Inman Sq....and many many more places.  

Just check out their website: http://www.drinkrapscallion.com/home.shtml, click on the Taste tab and use the beer finder!  I also suggest Liking them on facebook so that you are up on where they are and any events that are going on.   Their postings will definitely help you find a place to go after work or on the weekends...

OK, by writing this I actually missed Dexter so I am going to watch that while you plan your next outing around supporting Rapscallion..

Think Local, Eat Local, and Drink Local!

~L

Low Fat Vegan Pumpkin Cupcakes

It is rare, but today dessert will make an appearance on Local Lisa's page.  There are a few reasons why you will hardly see desserts on here.  1. The are usually not very healthy and should be reserved for special occasions  2. I will always try to make them healthy and the experiment does not always go as planned  3. I strongly dislike following directions exactly.."don't over mix";  "don't under mix"; "level the flour"..who has time for that nonsense.  I say leave it to the pros.  I rather not know how much sugar and butter go into red velvet cake anyway...

I had today off and with sugar pumpkins starting at me every week at the Farmers Market I figured I would dive into the baking world for local foods' sake.  As stated in reason 2, I did make these healthy and it almost went as planned.  The cupcake very tasty, but my attempt at a vegan frosting went straight into the trash.  I searched far and wide on the web to find a vegan frosting that did not call for toffuti cream cheese or margarin, but it is almost unheard of to not use these ingredients.  Why not use these?  Well, have you read the labels of either of these items?  The second ingredient in toffuti is partially hydrogenated palm oil.  Really?  I think it would be healthier to top the cupcake with a piece of steak.
It is always shocking to see vegetarians or vegans eating these items or things like chik'n or soy cheeze.  You would think by making this life-style one would avoid processed nonfoods that taste like they item they choose to avoid.  Even the recipe which I adapted these cupcakes from called for canned pumpkin.  It did not even say, if it is your only option..nope just use the can.  Clearly not written by someone living in New England in the Fall!

The frosting consisted of tofu (the real stuff), sugar (which I had to buy because I never use it!), maple syrup and cinnamon.  No matter how hard I tried, I could not get rid of the tofu after taste.  Adding more flavoring would overpower the cupcake.  The cupcakes are vegan, the frosting does not have to be.  If you are a great baker and can whip up a wonderful frosting, add it  and enjoy.  If I had some Taza chocolate on hand, I may have melted it and put that on top...note for next time!

The cupcake itself is absolutely wonderful.  Surprisingly moist and full of flavor.  There is no way anyone can taste these and know right off they are 100% vegan.   No butter, eggs, milk or honey...it is amazing how much you don't need these items!   There is brown sugar, but not white.  The pumpkin not only adds flavor but also fiber, vitamins A and C and potassium.  Low fat, healthy and great tasting.

Enjoy!

Cupcake Ingredients: Adapted from npr.org
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup while all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground all spice
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 medium sugar pumpkin (steamed, pureed to equal 1 cup) (Kimball's Farm)
1/2 cup unsweetened apple sauce (4 oz snack size is perfect) (Vermont Organic Village)
1 tsp maple syrup (Whately, MA)
1 cup unsweetened original Almond milk

Preheat oven to 325 degrees

Combine flours, baking power and soda,, sugar, salt and spices in bowl.  In separate bowl, combine pumpkin, applesauce, syrup, and almond milk.  Slowly add liquids to dry ingredients, folding until combined.  Add holders to cupcake trays and fill 3/4 with batter.  Place in over for 20-25 minutes..depending on your oven!

Butternut Squash and Coconut Curry

I woke up at 6 AM this morning knowing exactly what I was going to make for dinner tonight and then had to wait 12 hours to get cooking...but it was so worth the wait.  For the second time this week butternut squash was the center of the meal and it did not disappoint.  Although it is not that cold outside, my work office is about -30 degrees and my apartment (with my refusal to use heat in Oct) is no warmer..but at least my sweats are more comfortable than work attire.  Anyway,  as I shivered in my little office, I thought about how warm and scrumptious a bowl of spicy curry would be in my belly..it was a nice distraction.

The recipe was from a fun little blog called Love and Olive Oil.  Instead of Farmers Market, she cooks from her CSA..which is equally wonderful.  She got the recipe from Epicurious.  I did not change much other than adding less cilantro as I felt it would over power the dish and omitting lime juice because I forgot to buy a lime.  

The best thing about this dish was that I had almost all the ingredients in my kitchen, so it was cost effective to boot.  The few Asian items I did need were easy to find at our favorite local store Reliable Market..which is indeed reliable.  Friendly and  filled with aisles and aisle of every Asian product needed..plus SPAM.  I don't understand the SPAM, but if you need it you can get it here.  What I needed was some red curry paste, soba noodles and cilantro.  When I had trouble finding the the curry paste, the workers were more than happy to point me in the right direction..who would have guessed it would be near the SPAM?  Reliable Market is also reliably inexpensive.  Red Curry paste is easily $4-$5 in regular stores, here only $1.19.   I should have known only spending a total of $5 and trying to use a debit card would not fare well here, but the cashier told me "just this once" and slid my card.  How can you not love this place?  

Rumor has it that some people want to destroy this lovely landmark of Union Sq.  Yes, we are all happy that sometime in the next 50 years the Green line will set up shop straight through Somerville right on into Medford, but a cost.  There is talk of using the space on the Reliable Market block as a parking lot for commuters.  Hopefully these are just awful rumors.  My recipe book and the neighborhood needs Reliable Market...so if a good old chaining to the door is needed..count me in.  

Enough talking and more cooking.  Here is the amazing dish that I made tonight.  I highly recommend you try it too.  Union Sq. market is open Saturday for all your squash needs and Reliable Market right there too..to provide the missing ingredients.

Butternut Squash and Coconut Curry

I modified the recipe some to be for 1 person.  Seek out the original for a larger quantity or just guesstimate...the beauty of cooking..

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/4 cups chopped onions

1/2 butternut squash, peeled, seeded, cut into 1/2- to 3/4-inch pieces  (Kimball Farm)

1 cup low sodium vegetable broth

1 teaspoon minced seeded jalapeño chili

1 minced garlic clove

1 cup light unsweetened coconut milk

1 teaspoon Thai red curry paste (Reliable Market) (read the label to make sure it is vegetarian if you are!)

Soba noodles (I used buck wheat version) (Reliable Market)

small hand full chopped fresh cilantro (Reliable Market)

Directions:

Heat oil in large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add onions; sauté until golden, about 3 minutes. Add squash; sauté 4 minutes. Add broth, jalapeño and garlic; bring to boil. Cover; cook until squash is almost tender, about 5 minutes. Stir in coconut milk and curry paste. Simmer uncovered until squash is tender and liquid is slightly reduced, about 4 minutes. Season to taste with salt.

Meanwhile, cook noodles in large pot of boiling water until just tender but still firm to bite. Drain noodles. Return to pot. Add squash mixture and cilantro to noodles; toss to blend. Serve.

Pizza done two ways..

Tonight I may have proved being a little lazy may lead to a great idea.  I have been staring at the butternut squash I bought from Kimball farm over a week ago and thinking I really need to make squash pizza, but did not get around to it until tonight.  The problem:  I did not think ahead and buy the pizza dough from Iggy's at the Market..already rolled out, makes life way easier.  So I had to make a stop at Trader Joes and pick up their whole wheat dough.  It is a great and cheap product, but a pain to roll out!  As I attempted the rollout tonight I decided to cut it in half and make two pizzas.  Easy to maneuver and gives you the option of a possible different topping.  Dare I try and recreate the amazing potato pizza that I had in Italy?  I do have Market potatoes just sitting there...I went for it.  Why not?  I had a salad for lunch, so a treat of a greenless dinner was in order..

The end result..the squash pizza was amazing, the potato pizza was ehh.  I think it was the dough which was just not right for this type of creation.  I also believe that in Italy they are not light on the oil and salt, which makes for an awesome potato pizza!
I have also made the squash pizza many times and have perfected the recipe.  If you had to choose, go with with squash.

Squash Pizza:
Pizza dough (use your favorite or go nuts and make your own)
1/2 butternut squash (Kimball Farm)
goat cheese (Vermont)
leek or scallion sliced (as much as you like) (Drumlin Farm)
sage (dried or fresh)

This is not an original idea, but one I adapted from a pizza place I use to frequent when I lived on the Fenway.   The squash replaces tomato sauce, so cut it in half, peel it and dice into cubes.  Steam the squash until tender and then mash until creamy puree.   Smooth over dough  covering the whole surface. Add sliced leeks, dollops of goat cheese and sage.   Add as much of the toppings as you like.  I have never in my life said a meal would be better with less goat cheese...so have fun and add what you will..

Potato Pizza
pizza dough
1 potato (Kimball Farm)
oil
rosemary

Slice the potato very thin (use a mandolin if you have it) and layer onto dough.  Drill oil, salt and rosemary on top.  This will take longer to cook than the squash pizza..

BEFORE

AFTER

Local and more local

What a week this has been!  Including Saturday, it has been non-stop local going ons.

Saturday:  Union Market to start the day..of course.

Next,  Harvest Fest 2010.  This was one kickass event!  The place had tons of people, but the cap on attendance made it easy to maneuver from station to station picking on the bites of food provided by the 10 local restaurants.   The selection was mostly vegetarian friendly so I was able to taste many of the offerings.  First: Traina's Starlight Lounge's squash tart topped with apple slaw and toasted pecans..amazing!  Probably my favorite of the bunch and far from a bite (it was rather large!)..plus the guy did not even check my card and told me to come back for more..that is good business sense because it makes me want to go and eat a full on meal..good food, nice people.  Next Pizzeria Posto who was offering not 1 but 2 bites!  One was a crostini with fresh local goat cheese and local golden beets topped with balsamic the other a cannoli..both left your mouth watering and you wanting more (see where we went for dinner later!).  My non-veg friend hit up Red Bones and was loving the tenderness and flavor of the ribs they had..the smell was delectable!  She also liked the rice and chicken dish provided by Ronnarong Thai Tapas.  Our final stop for food was The Independent...acorn squash topped with mushroom risotto.  This was by far the least favorite.  Acorn squash was dry and the mushroom risotto was nothing more than cream of mushroom over rice.  You can do better than that guys!  

The food was along the perimeter while the beer was in the center (as was the crowd).  One of my favorite brewers Rapscallion was there so I hit them up twice..the Rapscallion Honey (Extra Pale Ale) was on tap and fantastic.  They are super local by the way, based in Holyoke MA and one of the owners was there filling the cups..really down to earth and friendly guy!

I went to another brewer but my memory is not as good with beer as it is with food so I do not remember the name...I should have hit up more places, but I rather eat than drink my calories!

OK, time to move down to Davis and check out some HONK!  The streets were lined with peeps listening and dancing..perfect Fall weather and a promise of a good time really helped!  We wandered Davis and some my favorite local shops such as Magpie and Davis Squared..Got a hot cocoa from Diesel and a Vegan Pumpkin Cinnamon cupcake from Kickass Cupcakes (which was eaten much later as my second dessert of the day!)  We wandered for a long while and built our appetites back up...luckily Pizzeria Posto was right there!  Pumpkin Arrancini, Fresh Mushroom and cheese pizza and  Pumpkin Risotto...all of which we split and loved.  Everything came to us piping hot..the arrancini was crispy on the outside but gooey and filled with ricey/pumpkin goodness on the inside all topped with their delicious tomato sauce.  The mozzarella on the pizza is made in house (can't get more local!) with fresh wild mushrooms...yum!  Finally the pumpkin risotto...seasoned wonderfully and perfectly cooked.  Risotto was not mushy or too hard...perfect creamy bite to it with chucks of pumpkin.  I have yet to have a bad meal here..if you have not tried it..go soon.

Once I got home I enjoyed the cupcake..which was crazy good.  Moist, cinnamon-y and the perfect pumpkin ending to a fun day!

Sunday:  Harvard Square for more HONK! and Oktoberfest...and a lot of walking around to work off the two desserts.  Here is am going to plug my cousin's local artist company Organic Imagination.  They are young and extremely talented.    I bought 2 pieces and got a 3rd free (family discounts are great).  I was really impressed with the sophistication and meaning behind some the works.  Other pieces were just down right beautiful and fun..like the surprised money print I bought..looking at it now and it totally make me smile.  Check them out on facebook and click LIKE to get information on where they will be selling next!

Monday: Went to see the Town..even my movie choices are local!  I loved this film, but for sure there is one scene in the North End that made the whole movie for me..if you just watch this part, it is worth the price of the film.  Affleck's Boston accent has improved greatly since  Good Will Hunting..that was a bonus!

Tuesday: The Foundry on Elm..finally!  Tuesday night and this place was packed at 8 when we showed up.  No wait though, so that was a plus!  The host was unbelievably welcoming..he may have been the owner, but not sure.  Either way he most definitely made me feel like I made the right choice for dinner.. The menu is small but there is something for everyone.  I believe small menu tells one that there is a focus on quality over quantity...with all the fresh local ingredients listed and the yumminess of our pasta I think I am right.

We both got the penne with eggplant, tomato and goat cheese.  The pasta was el dante, which is how I prefer pasta and the flavoring was spot on.  The service was prompt and the waitress knswledgable.  She forgot my friends hush puppies and when asked she quickly returned to tell us that they stayed in the fryer for too long and were burned.  A new dish would be right out and they would be on the house...exactly how it should be.   Sadly, she did not like the spice in the puppies..I was not to crazy about them either, but that had more too do with them being a fried ball of corn than the flavor (which I liked).

Wednesday: Local Lisa took a break from stuffing her face to attend her first meeting with a fantastic group of local community workers.  We are starting a large project that will hopefully benefit many people in Somerville.  More about that as it develops, but good things are happening and I am so happy and proud to be included!  

Curried Cous Cous with acorn squash

If you have not noticed, measuring ingredients is not something I do often.  I will either eye or literally use measurements such as "handful" and "a little bit".  Most times this works out perfectly fine but there is one exception...that is turmeric.  A smidgen too much and the meal is destroyed and I am completely guilty of ruining perfectly good dishes with the measurement of "that seems right".  Well lesson learned.  Tonight I dusted off the measuring spoon and scooped out 1/2 tsp of the delightful yellow powder.
As a note, turmeric has crazy amount of health benefits including being a potential cancer fighting agent, aid in fat metabolism (weight loss agent), antiseptic/antibacterial agent and even a depression treater!

Tonight I went light, easy and vegan.  The result a healthy Israeli cous cous with acorn squash (Drumlin Farm), golden raisins, onion and walnuts.  Quick, flavorful, textured and filling...overall a wonderful Sunday evening meal.  I added a side of broccolini (Kimball Farm) for some greens..

I steamed the broccolini..simple.

Put the acorn squash in the oven at 350 and let it cook until tender.  I took the skin off first this time..once done, cube into bit size pieces.

The lightly coated the bottom of a pan with sesame oil (just enough to barely cover the pan).  Add 1/2 cup of cous cous and cooked over medium heat until the cous cous was lightly browned.  Add some warm water..just enough to cover the cous cous...it will evaporate very fast.  After the water is gone, add about 1 cup of water and let it cook on a low-med heat.
Just before the cous cous is done add onion (not much..1/3 cup) and let it cook together for a few minutes.  Add  more water (less than 1/3 cup), handful of golden raisins (or cranberries!), squash, 1/2 tsp of turmeric and a pinch of salt. Blend together and cook until the water is gone.  Mix in walnuts and serve..

Here you go..

Vegetable Stew or "Clean the fridge" stew

I will admit that sometimes when I go to the Farmers Market I become over excited by the wide variety
of fresh veggies that hit me from all sides. I tend to buy more than needed for a week..after all I am just little me..how much cauliflower can I possible eat a day? This is when veggie stew comes in to save the day. Not only is it tasty, but it cleans out the fridge to make room for the following Saturdays over buying excursion. Since I am often lax in fulfilling my iron needs daily, throwing in beans only makes this dish more healthy.
There a secret ingredient for this stew..it is a berbere spice mix. I found the mixture one of my favorite blogs: blog.fatfreevegan.com. It adds tons of flavor with healthy spices, which means you need less salt to give the dish taste..always a plus. I mistakenly added too much cayenne so my mixture has more of a punch, but it still worked...
Here is what I made, but really you do not have to follow it exactly..any veggies that you have will work well in this dish...

Ingredients for berbere spice mix: (this will make enough to last a very long time!)

1 Tbs. ground cardamom

1 Tbs. ground coriander

1 Tbs. fenugreek

1 Tbs. ground nutmeg

1 Tbs. ground cloves

1 Tbs. ground allspice

1 Tbs. cinnamon

1 Tbs. paprika

1 Tbs. turmeric

1 tsp. cayenne (use more to taste)

1 Tbs. ground black pepper

1 Tbs. ground sea salt (optional)

Stew Ingredients:

Cauliflower (Kimball Farm)

Green Beans (Kimball Farm)

Eggplant ((Kimball Farm)

Red potato (Kimball Farm)

Yellow Dal (Yellow split peas, a handful)

Lentils (a handful)

Mung beans (a handful)

Tomato (I used the freshly jarred ones shown in the previous blog!  If you have not jarred yours yet, use one can of crushed tomatoes.)

2 Garlic cloves (Kimball Farm)

Ginger (about 1 inch in size, chopped)

1/2 tsp oil

1tbs of Berbere mix

Super easy and not to much time needed to put this together.   

If you think ahead, put the beans in a container of water and let them soak over night.   I cooked them separate from the vegetables...I think it helped them to cook up faster..

Dice up veggies and place in a bowl.  Add the spice mix and toss together to coat the vegetables.  In a large stock pot, saute garlic and ginger in oil (few minutes).  Throw in all the veggies, tomato and about roughly 8-10 cups of water.  Let it cook down while the beans are cooking separately (~20 minutes).  Once the beans were soft, I mixed them into the vegetable mix and let them simmer for a few minutes..really simple. 

Look at the steam! Wonderful on a chilly night!

 This was dinner last night...for lunch I heated it up and added fat free plain greek yogurt.  It was a perfect addition and really cut some of the over heat from my cayenne pepper mistake! 

Somerville Local First and Harvest Fest 2010

OK Bostonians the rumor is that today is the last day of rain and Randy Moss.  It is also the end of Wednesday which means the start of making weekend plans...a long weekend for some of us!  

Saturday afternoon will be spent hanging at the Art @ Armory on Highland Ave., Somerville.  Why?  Well as I mentioned in the last blog, festivals are awesome and this is a local festival that is looking to be well worth the wait and donation...it is called Harvest Fest and you should be buying your tickets now.

The fest is an all day event that is broken down into two sessions.  Both promise to be jam packed with food, beer, entertainment and merriment for all.   The first session runs from 1 to 5PM and the second from 6 to 9PM.  The cost of admission gets you in for the local entertainment, 1 bite of food from 10 fantastic Somerville restaurants such as Pizzeria Posto (yum!), Foundry on Elm, Redbones, Eat at Jumbos, Chocolate Tart, Shermans cafe, Highland Kitchen (and more!) and a chance to try local beer (Pretty Things and Rapscallion to name a couple!).   Each session only cost $20 or $35 for both...I believe the second session is sold out for a solo buy, but you can still get in if you buy both together..there will also be tickets at the door but be advised it is not guaranteed. 

If the promise of good times and food is not enough (is that possible?) well know that buying your ticket will be helping out the fabulous organization known as Somerville Local First.  They are part of a large movement that is growing to help build a strong communities by supporting local businesses.  Supporting local helps in job creation, economic growth and giving a large city a sense of small town community.  I have been following them for a while now and they do an amazing job of promoting local businesses and events.  SLF is also a non-profit and grass-roots, which I would imagine means low funds...helping out AND getting to join in on a fantabulous day of fun..seems like the decision has already been made for you!

So log on to facebook, LIKE Somerville Local First and navigate to the Harvest Fest 2010 page...more information about the days plans and how to get tickets can be found there...

See you Saturday!

Squash Risotto with walnuts

It has been one week since I have returned from Italy and I am finally feeling like myself again.  Spent Saturday hitting the local scene at my favorite Farmers Market and then off to the Boston Local Food Festival.  I was astonished at the amount of people that were at the festival!  So many it was hard to move around and make sure you hit all the stands, but I think we did a good job.  At least I hit the most important two..Prana for a small plate of raw vegan food and Batch for salted caramel ice cream.  Both were fantastic!  I also had a bottle of pumpkin soda from Maine Root.  I am not a soda drinker, but it is October and pumpkin soda seemed like a must try.  It was a little too sweet for my taste, but I still enjoyed it!  

I think the massive crowd showed that people in this area love being outside on nice days, festivals and supporting the local scene.   Hopefully there will be many more of this type of event in the future!

Not to let the day over take the night...I was out with a great group in Central Sq. at the Asgard for extremely local brew...Rapscallion and truffle tater tots are a wonderful combination!  Needless to say all the activity lead to a lazy Sunday..which allowed me a lot of time to think about what to do with the carnival squash I bought at the market.

I was going to make soup, but did not think that would be filling enough.  Instead I went the road of a nice warm risotto.  I had some ideas but searched the web for some recipes anyway but nothing screamed "try me!".  I actually found it disturbing that all the recipes called for tons of cheese and butter...why even put the squash in?  All you will taste is fat and butter...not at all appealing.  That squash was just picked and is packed with flavor (and nutrients!).  That is what I wanted to taste, so I went a far healthier route and made up my own recipe.  I omitted butter and used minimal amounts oil and cheese.

From start to finish was about 1 hour and 15 minutes.   Now this seems long but good food sometimes takes time.  I find it relaxing to be in the kitchen after a long day to prepare a nice meal.  This is not always the case, but tonight was one of those nights that I just wanted to create and see what comes from it...what came about was a creamy, hearty and rather delicious meal.  

Ingredients:

1 carnival squash

1 1/2 cups of arborio rice 

4 cups of low sodium vegetable broth (water or chicken broth can sub easily)

fresh sage

2 teaspoons of oil

1/2 cup of walnuts

1/3 cup of parmigiana cheese (optional)

dash of nutmeg

To start, cut and deseed the squash.  The skin was extremely tough so once I cut it in half and took the seeds on, I popped it in the steamer as is.  It was far easier to remove the skin after it had softened.  It took about 15 minutes to steam.  

Once steamed, remove from skin, put in a food processor with a dash of nutmeg and puree.  Set aside until rice is almost done cooking.

While the squash steams, chopped the walnuts, minced sage and grated the cheese..I roasted the walnuts in the oven to bring out a nice flavor.

In a small pot, bring the broth to a simmer.

In a large pot add oil and sage and sauté for a a minute or two.  Add rice and mix to coat with oil and sage.  Let the rice cook for a few minutes until a bit toasted.  

Begin ladling in broth 1 or 2 at a time.   Stir the rice frequently and add more broth as the rice absorbs it. This will take the most time. Once the rice is a nice texture, not hard but not mushy either, add the squash puree, walnuts and cheese.  Stir together and let stand for a few minutes.  I roasted some brussels sprouts as a side dish!

Here is the end result...I really liked it and it was far healthier than any of the recipes I found.  

Stay happy and healthy! 

~L