My first Honest To Gods Recipe

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So this isn’t the first time I came up with something new….the first time that happened was Mowgyver’s Chicken Alfredo, and that was YEARS ago….but the circumstances of that happened because I started cooking a recipe I didn’t have the ingredients for, so I had to switch up in the middle. (so I switched it to a 2nd recipe, that I also didn’t have the ingredients for….so both times I was adding ingredients and had to do something with what I had already started.)

Although that was, for me, monumental (and it still is a little, because the panic around that was engulfing, so I respect that moment as a learning tool and an indicator that I was going to be okay) it wasn’t done without guidance. I started with one recipe and followed the instructions, realized I didn’t have everything and switched to a second, following the instructions until I realized I was missing something else. Craig’s brother Thomas said, “Look at you! You’re like Magyver in the kitchen!” and the name stuck. Ever since then when we make it, it’s been Mowgyver’s Alfredo, and that’s all well and good.

But this thing….it doesn’t have a name yet. And the reason it is momentous is that I PLANNED THIS. I had made something in the Instant pot with Spinach, and discovered I liked fresh wilted spinach. I wanted to expand to Kale, and I followed a recipe that gave me Kale sauteed with garlic. I was amazed at how different it was, how the texture was actually velvety, and I wanted to do more with it. So I did some research.

I was sure, for some reason, that I could mix it with butternut squash, and craisins, and sausage, and garlic…and maybe cinnamon and nutmeg. I went to The Flavor Bible, and the flavor profiles matched up….I was sure I could do it. And I made it up.

I didn’t want to tell it to anyone until I made it again and could actually have a recipe to post. I still don’t know what to call it. I needed to know that this nomminess wasn’t a fluke, that I could duplicate it.

I can and I have. So now I’m sharing it with you, because Erica said she liked my recipe adventures, and because Tracy deserves the credit for every kitchen success I have, as does Laurel (and a little bit of Joy, because she let me help her cook sausage and peppers in her kitchen, even if I got weepy about it.) And for Heather, because if I can do it, you can do it, and Tee, because if I didn’t tell you it just wouldn’t be right. And my niece and nephew, Liz and Michael because they’ll be proud of me.

1 giant bag of kale
1 lb of sausage meat (no casing)
LOTS of garlic. I used, like, 14 cloves, no joke, sliced.
2 pkgs of cubed butternut squash
1/2 or 1/3 a bag of craisins
1 handful of pistachios (but pine nuts would probably be better)
16 oz of sliced mushrooms
Nutmeg
Apple Pie Spice (I only used this because I couldn’t find the cinnamon, but it was perfect. I’ll put a link in the comments.)

– start sauteeing the garlic with the mushrooms
– add the sausage
– when the sausage is half cooked, add the squash
– Keep going until the sausage is cooked.
– throw in some craisins
– Add the kale on top, as much as you can fit in the pan, even if it’s a big mound that could fall over. Pour in some chicken broth…enough to cover the bottom of your pan for about a quarter inch or so. cover the whole thing tightly and come back in about 7-10 minutes.
– stir and flip things. The kale should be shrinking down and that makes it easier to flip.
– cover the whole thing with a tilted lid. Add more broth if you need it, but you probably won’t. The tilted lid lets the liquid evaporate a little.
– Sprinkle with nutmeg and cinnamon to taste. Or if you have it, use Penzey’s Apple Pie spice.

Oh…and a dash of Rose’s Lime Juice, but only if you need it to brighten it up. Chances are, you won’t.

The whole thing has a bit of a Thanksgiving vibe to it, honestly. Really nommy.

And I made it up all by myself.

If you come up with a name for it, let me know.  (edit – The name a thing gets is the name  that sticks.  My husband has given the unfortunate name that stuck for this recipe…he calls it “Kitty’s Butt Squash.”  …I’m in pain from it, I swear.)

Spring Equinox – 2020

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I’ve been thinking about the Spring Equinox…and what that means in the face of the Corona Virus and Quarantines. I mean, the equinox is a place of balance…it’s in the name, (Equi-nox, equal night) and things feel so out of whack right now. I mean…empty shelves in the supermarket? An inability to buy toilet paper? Who’da thunk it?

But panic is what happens when you don’t trust the people in charge of your well being.

I mean, ask any child who grew up in an abusive household. This is where we’re at, all the disenfranchised folks, whether that’s women, people of color, (any color), the less able-bodied, the elderly, the non-binary, the non-neuro-typicals, the homeless, the poor, the non-christian…all of us have been heading for this point for a long time. This is a dark place this place that we’ve come to. This is a tipping point.

In February, for Imbolc, (and I’m not sure how much of this is actual history and how much of it is my personal philosophy after watching the Wheel turn year after year and observing the cycles) there is a quickening that happens. Imbolc is symbolically the “home stretch,” meaning that, if you survived winter through Imbolc, you were likely going to survive the winter. But it’s also a time period for the planet….if the planet begins to give birth in the spring, when does she get pregnant? At Imbolc. That time period when there is mostly dark, and one spark of hope…which can take the form of a candle in the darkness, the light at the end of the tunnel, or the sperm heading for the womb as the spark of life. Life brings hope. It’s the way of things.

So here we are, heading for Spring, and there is all this darkness. Here comes the equalness of night and day, the balance of the two…and yet everything feels so dark still. Interesting how we have to withdraw, go into our homes, spend time alone with ourselves. How did we get here?

I have my opinions on that, mostly about poor leadership…but I’m not sure at this point in time that it matters. What matters is, what are we going to DO about it?

People make all this fuss about the EQUALITY of day and night at this time, and I find that really ironic. Because that equality, which is absolutely valid, only lasts for a SPLIT SECOND of time. Light is increasing, its sine wave is traveling uphill, and Dark is decreasing, it’s sine wave is traveling downhill, and the equinox is that moment when they cross. That’s it. It’s just a moment. (I mean, I think it was Mr. Miyagi that said, “…it’s not so old if you are a tree….” and in that perspective, the historical perspective, even if night and day were equal for a full 24 hours….that’s one 365th of the year. .0027 of the year…and you get to double that for the second equinox if you like. It’s still a tiny tiny fraction.)

The important thing to me, at the equinox, is “who is rising right now? Who is getting stronger?” and right now, that’s the light. The light is getting stronger.

Stronger light means stronger shadows. It means things can be seen clearly. It means it becomes easier to tell what is what by just looking, without having to work so hard to figure it out.

So take a look at yourself right now, in your panic and anxiety. In your annoyance with those who panic. In your frustration at being cooped up at home. In your disgust at how we treat each other, or what we’ve allowed to come to pass. Take a look at the actions that have been done to defend you or protect you. A look at the actions that hurt you. Politically there have been many promises made…but actions speak louder than words…are you really protected? Are you really cared for? Has this pandemic demonstrated that anything like your situation is being considered? Who is providing for your bills? Your health? Your food? Is your job helping you? Or is your leadership? Is your family? Are your friends?

In this crisis, who has been fighting for you to make sure you are okay? And who seems to just not give a fuck?

The light is coming. It’s dark right now….but one could easily say that this pandemic has showed us the true colors of the people around us. That in itself is enlightening. It is sad, but it is truth. Don’t shut your eyes to the truth.

For the Spring Equinox, I ask that you use the light to truly see what is happening. To see who is taking advantage of you. To see who really cares about your well-being. I pray that you use this light and shine it into the dark corners people sometimes use to hide from the truth.

I hope that what you find doesn’t make you too sad. It is a time of darkness right now, after all. But the light is coming. Like the seeds in springtime, reach for the light.

I pray that you use it to truly see, see all the beauty and all the ugliness….and act accordingly.

…And by “act accordingly,” I mean, “make decisions,” about who and what you keep, who and what you let go…and who (and what) you vote for in the future.