Woes, Weather, Tourtières, Movie.

Today I go to the doctor – basically for my diabetes check up but I will be asking about this God awful pain I have been suffering for the last few days. Sorry to go on about it, but it does tend to concentrate one’s attention. Not only that, they have been drilling in the building for two days which is nice and restful. Officially they said these repairs would take 3-4 weeks, this is the 4th week so we are all hoping and praying that this will be the end of it. Anyway, enough of my miseries.

Everyone is staggered by the kind of weather we are having, certainly lots of sunshine despite a forecast of clouds today. On Thursday they are talking 10°F which for December is like having a heat wave. There are a few white patches around from when it snowed last week, but not enough to make any difference to anything. Of course we will now all start moaning about not having a white Christmas. You can’t please us at all. This is not a local pic but it could be.

Something I didn’t realise before, I was aware Québecois made and ate tourtières at Christmas time, but I didn’t realise they traditionally ate them on Christmas Eve after returning from church. We don’t go to Christmas Eve services which is a pity as many of them were so beautiful. I often reminisce about going to the church where I used to live in the UK and then walking home around midnight across moonlit and frosty fields. It was very lovely. Of course that may have only been once, can’t have been like that every year. But its the one memory my mind hangs on to.

Not been much in the way of Christmas movies on TV yet athough the radio is pumping out lots of Christmas music. Some of it new stuff, to me anyway, some of it new to the DJ as well. I watched my copy of Miracle on 34th Street the other day. Me being the biggest kid of the lot.

I did manage to find one Christmas movie called Prancer Returns, delightful little story about a young boy who believes he has found Prancer’s son – guess what, he has. I thoroughly enjoyed it, didn’t know anyone in it mind you but it was good.

As you know, I love risotto, so I couldn’t resist this one. I guess I would probably use chicken stock as I always have that handy.

Roasted Acorn Squash Risotto

By The Gluten Free Goddess
WebMD Recipe from Foodily.com

This autumn-into-winter flavoured rice dish is an elegant vegetarian offering that is gluten-free and dairy-free. Score some points.

Ingredients

1 medium acorn squash, halved, seeded
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
4 cups low sodium vegetable broth (dilute with water if it's too strong)
1 small onion, diced
3-4 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 teaspoon gluten-free mild curry powder
Freshly grated nutmeg, to taste
1 1/2 cups Arborio rice, uncooked
1 cup white wine (optional; replace with broth if alcohol-free)
Sea salt and ground pepper, to taste
Options for garnish:
Chopped toasted pecans, slivered almonds or pine nuts
Chopped fresh parsley, if desired
Chopped fresh cranberries (shown)

Instructions

First- roast the acorn squash. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F. Roast the acorn squash by placing the two halves cut side up in a baking dish; add about two inches of hot water into the bottom of the dish. Bake for about 30 minutes, or until the squash is fork tender. Meanwhile- start your risotto.
Heat the broth in a separate sauce pan, and keep it warm. In a heavy medium saucepan, heat the olive oil on medium heat, and sauté the onion and garlic for 3 minutes. Add the curry, nutmeg, and uncooked Arborio rice and stir well, until the rice is coated. Stir and cook for about 3-5 minutes. Add the wine and stir for a minute or two.

Pour in 1 cup of the hot broth, and bring to a simmer. Reduce heat and simmer uncovered, stirring frequently for 7-8 minutes. When most of the liquid is absorbed, add the remaining cups of broth 1 cup at a time, stirring and simmering until each cup of liquid is absorbed before adding the next one. (The whole process should take about 20-25 minutes; 22 minutes is my goal for al dente; if you cook risotto too long it may get gummy.

When the squash is done, remove it from the oven and using a spoon scoop out pieces and add them into the risotto- I like to do this along with the last cup of broth. Stir to combine. When the final cup of liquid is absorbed cover and set aside for a few moments before serving. Risotto likes to rest a bit. Warm up four serving bowls. Spoon the risotto into the bowls, and garnish with some chopped toasted pecans, pine nuts or chopped fresh cranberries.

Total Servings: 4

Have a great day