Did you know that there�s
more than one person behind those mouth-watering photos you see in food
magazines and cookbooks? There�s a whole team of professionals behind those
wonderful pictures � a photographer, of course, and maybe someone who rounds up
all the props that help make the picture talk, and then there is the food
stylist and the food stylist�s assistants. The food stylist and assistants are
responsible for buying, preparing and enhancing all the food for photography.
Until I began shooting my own photos for my newspaper column, I hadn�t paid
much attention to style in food pictures. Now, I constantly study my way
through food magazines for inspiration to create my own photos.

I�m taking a food styling
course right now that�s being taught on-line by Lisa Golden Schroeder, a Twin
Cities-based, nationally recognized food stylist. My first photo assignment is
to make a salad, set it up and shoot it from three different angles, trying to
make it look appetizing. It sounds like a much easier task than it really is.
Lighting can make a huge difference, the colors in the photo, fruit can turn
dark and lettuce can wilt.

I made a salad that is one
of my favorites this time of year. It�s my own re-creation of a salad I enjoyed
several years ago at a contemporary little corner restaurant in downtown Oak Park, Illinois.
And until today, I never realized that cozy little place called Cosi, is
actually a chain. I made that discovery as I looked it up on the internet to
see if it was still there in the quaint little shopping area of Oak Park. It�s there, all
right, but since it�s so far to go to get my favorite salad, I had to try to
recreate it.

Dried cranberries, red
grapes and juicy pears are all delicious right now. Mixed with a special
vinaigrette and sprinkled with pistachios and crumbles of gorgonzola, it�s a
meal on a plate. Enjoy � the salad and the photo.

My Cosi Salad

Sherry Vinaigrette:

• 3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/8 (2 tablespoons) cup sherry wine vinegar
• 2 tablespoons minced
  shallots
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh
  Italian (flat-leaf) parsley
• 1 pinch of dried basil
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• Salt and pepper to taste

Whisk all ingredients
together. Refrigerate overnight for best flavor. Remove from refrigerator and
serve at room temperature.

Salad:

In large salad bowl, toss together:

• Red grapes, cut in half
• Chopped pears
• Pistachio nuts
• Dried cranberries
• Gorgonzola cheese, crumbled
• Fresh baby greens
  

Drizzle with enough Sherry
Vinaigrette to lightly coat the greens.  Toss and serve.

Last spring I paid a visit
to the Happy Gnome, a cozy little neighborhood pub on Selby Avenue in St. Paul. Offering more than 150 brews, it’s
a beer-lovers haven. What surprised me, though, was the creative menu. There were at least a few entrees I would have loved to try, but I was there for just a little bite to eat. I chose an item from the list of appetizers on the menu — chunks of caramelized
ciopillini onions served with baguette slices.

The tender, sweet and tangy
onions with a bit of cheese melted over the top made a wonderful afternoon
snack. Spread over the chewy baguette slices, the marmalade-like onion mixture
melted in my mouth. I thought how good those same onions would be spread on a
hamburger, served alongside a grilled steak or used as a spread on a roast-beef
sandwich.

The other day I made some
caramelized onions to stir into cooked pasta for dinner. Slow-cooking the
onions to get them nice and tender and brown with caramelization takes about
half an hour. But while the onions are cooking, you can be shredding the
spinach and toasting some walnuts. Toss together a salad of fresh greens.
Before you know it, dinner will be ready.

The onions become so tender, they melt into the pasta like a smooth paste.

If you decide you want to
serve the onions as an appetizer with baguette slices, serve them warm. At room
temperature, they are great on a sandwich.

Linguini with Caramelized
Onions and Spinach

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 4 cups thinly sliced yellow
  onions
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• ½ cup white wine, divided
• 9 ounces linguini
• 1 cup fresh baby spinach
  leaves, shredded
• ¼ cup broken walnut pieces, toasted
• Freshly ground pepper to
  taste
  
• Parmesan cheese, freshly grated, to taste
  

Heat olive oil in large
skillet over medium heat. When hot, stir in onions and salt. Cook, covered, for
15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in garlic.

Add ¼ cup white wine. Cook,
uncovered, for 15 minutes or until golden brown, stirring frequently. Add
remaining wine and mix well. Simmer, uncovered, for 3 minutes. Remove from
heat. Cover to keep warm.

Cook pasta using package
directions. Drain, reserving ½ cup pasta liquid. Combine ¼ cup of the reserved
pasta liquid, pasta, spinach, walnuts and freshly ground pepper with
caramelized onions in a large bowl and toss well. Add more of the reserved
pasta liquid if you would like more moisture in the pasta dish. Serve
immediately. Offer grated Parmesan at the table. Makes 4 servings.

• Caramelized onions can be kept in a jar in the refrigerator for a week. Gently reheat before tossing with pasta.
• To toast walnuts, place on a small baking sheet. Bake in a 350-degree oven for about 8 minutes, until fragrant and lightly toasted.
  
• Click here to watch video demonstration of how to shred spinach.
  

I had just one small chunk
of Spiced Pumpkin Bars left, sealed up tight in a zip-top sandwich bag. It
would be just enough to make a dessert for two. Individual cheesecakes. Spiced
Pumpkin Bar for crust. Pumpkin Spice Creme Anglaise on the plate with each
little creamy cake.

The cheesecakes can be baked
in 6- to 8-ounce custard cups or ramekins. Cut rounds of Spiced Pumpkin Bars to
just fit into the bottom of each cup. A few little extra chunks of the bars are
gently folded into the batter before baking. Use of a hot water bath during the
baking process results in a creamier texture as the cheesecakes bake gently and
evenly.

Creme Anglaise is a classic light
custard sauce and is often the base for homemade ice cream. With the addition
of pumpkin and some seasonal spices, it really kicks these little cheesecakes
up a notch.

I’ve fallen in love with the intense pungent and sweet flavor of
cardamom. I steeped crushed whole cardamom pods in the hot liquid just long
enough to release the flavor into the sauce without overpowering the other
flavors. I also used a vanilla bean, scraping the seeds for wonderful aroma and
flavor. To scrape the seeds from vanilla beans, use the tip of a sharp paring
knife to split the bean down its length. Then use the blade of the knife to
scrape the seeds from the bean. You will have what looks like a thick, dark
paste on your knife. Those are the seeds.

This sauce would be
delicious served over a thick slice of pumpkin bread or gingerbread.

The cheesecakes come
together very quickly. The sauce will take just a little more effort, but the
results make it all worthwhile.

Say good-bye to the Spiced
Pumpkin Bars. I won’t mention them again.

Enjoy this dessert for two
with someone special.

Creamy Apple-Spiked
Cheesecake For Two with Spiced Pumpkin Crust

• 6 ounces cream cheese,
  softened
• 3 tablespoons sweetened
  condensed milk
• 2 tablespoons apple cider or
  1 tablespoon apple brandy, such as Calvados
• 1 large egg, at room
  temperature
• ½ teaspoon vanilla
• !/2 cup small cubes of
  Spiced Pumpkin Bars (click here for recipe)
• 2 rounds of Spiced Pumpkin
  Bars to fit bottom of baking dishes

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
Coat 2 (6- to 8-ounce) glass custard cups or ramekins with butter. Beat cream
cheese with electric beater until smooth. Add sweetened condensed milk and
blend until smooth. Add apple cider or apple brandy, egg and vanilla. Beat
until mixture is smooth. Gently fold in chunks of Spiced Pumpkin Bars.

Place 1 round of Spiced
Pumpkin Bar in the bottom of each prepared baking dish. Divide cream cheese
mixture evenly between the two dishes. Place filled baking dishes in 9-inch
square ovenproof dish. Add hot water to come halfway up sides of custard cups.
Carefully place baking dish in preheated oven. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or
until cheesecake is just set.

Remove custard cups from
water bath and set on cooling rack. When cheesecakes are thoroughly cooled,
cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight or up to 2 days.

Pumpkin Spice Creme Anglaise

• 1 tablespoon whole cardamom pods, smashed with the side of a knife blade
• 1 (2-inch) piece of vanilla
  bean or ¾ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• ¾ cup heavy whipping cream
• ½ cup half-and-half
• ¼ cup granulated sugar,
  divided
• 2 large egg yolks
• ¾ teaspoon cornstarch
• ¼ cup solid-packed pure
  pumpkin
• Pinch of ground cinnamon
• Pinch of ground nutmeg

Split vanilla bean with the
tip of a sharp knife. Scrape out the seeds with the knife. Set aside.

Place smashed cardamom pods
with seeds in medium-sized, heavy saucepan over medium-high heat. Stir until
pods are fragrant, 3 to 5 minutes. Off the heat, add heavy whipping cream,
half-and-half and 2 tablespoons of the sugar. Whisk together and return to
heat. Add vanilla bean. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring to dissolve
the sugar. Remove from heat. Cover saucepan and allow liquid to steep for 15
minutes.

Place the egg yolks, the
remaining 2 tablespoons sugar and the cornstarch in a 4-cup glass measure.
Whisk until thoroughly combined.

Strain the hot liquid to
remove vanilla bean and cardamom pods and seeds. Add ¼ cup hot strained liquid to
yolk mixture and whisk vigorously. Gradually add remaining liquid to the yolk
mixture, continuing to whisk to combine. Pour mixture back into saucepan. Cook
over medium heat until mixture register 185 degrees with an instant-read digital
thermometer. The mixture should not boil.

Remove from heat. Whisk in
pumpkin, seeds from vanilla beans, cinnamon and nutmeg. Pour creme anglaise
into a glass storage bowl. Gently push plastic wrap down on surface of sauce, covering
it completely. Refrigerate. Makes about 1½ cups of creme anglaise.

To serve, dip bottom of custard
cups in warm water. Run a grapefruit knife or other sharp knife around the inside
edges of the custard cups, getting down as far as you can go. It helps to run the knife blade under some hot water before doing this procedure. Turn the custard
cup over onto a dessert dish. If the cheesecake does not release from the cup,
dip it into some warm water again.

Serve the cheesecake with Pumpkin
Spice Creme Anglaise.

• Find cardamom pods in the spice area of the natural foods section in the grocery store, at gourmet spice shops or natural food co-ops.

• I like to allow time for the
  cheesecakes to come to room temperature and serve it with the chilled creme anglaise.

• If you make a double batch
  of this sauce, you can put it into your ice cream maker for a divine frozen
  treat.

If you’re a bread pudding
fan you may want to make Spiced Pumpkin Bars just so you can make Spiced
Pumpkin Bread Pudding with Warm Bourbon Sauce.
And, if you’re like me and have never gotten excited about bread pudding,
you may want to make Spiced Pumpkin Bars just so you can make Spiced Pumpkin
Bread Pudding with Warm Bourbon Sauce. Because it could change your mind about
bread pudding.

This is a dessert that
doesn’t take long to prepare. The unbaked dish can be refrigerated for several
hours before baking, so it is perfect for entertaining. Pop it into a preheated
oven just before you serve dinner. By the time you’ve eaten and everyone’s
tummy has had a chance to rest, the dessert will be ready to serve. The Bourbon
Sauce can also be made ahead and warmed at serving time.

It takes 4 cups of small
chunks of the pumpkin bars. They are
placed in a buttered, glass baking dish with toasted pecans and then saturated with
a rich, slightly sweetened bath of eggs, whole milk and whipping cream. At
baking time, the pudding dish is placed inside a large baking pan. Simmering
water is then poured into the pan until it is about an inch deep. This hot
water bath method of cooking is referred to as bain marie. Custard is often baked in a hot
water bath and bread pudding is essentially custard. The hot water bath acts as
an insulator from the oven’s heat, preventing the bread pudding from
overcooking. Baking it this way also produces a very creamy consistency. Use
extreme care removing the pan from the oven; the hot water will scald.

Warm Bourbon Sauce is
buttery and sweet. Rebel Yell is the bourbon I like to use. Makers Mark also
works to give the sauce a nice smooth flavor.

Spiced Pumpkin Bread Pudding
with Warm Bourbon Sauce

• 4 cups ½-inch chunks of
  Spiced Pumpkin Bars (click here for the recipe)
• ½ cup pecan halves, toasted,
  broken
• 4 large eggs
• 1 cup whole milk
• 1 cup heavy whipping cream
• ¼ cup sugar
• 1 tablespoon bourbon
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• Warm Bourbon Sauce

Butter an 8-inch glass
baking dish. Place Spiced Pumpkin Bar chunks and pecans into baking dish.

In medium-sized mixing bowl,
whisk eggs, milk, whipping cream, sugar, bourbon and salt together until well
blended. Pour liquid mixture over Spiced Pumpkin Bar chunks and pecans. Use a
rubber spatula to gently push chunks down into liquid so they are completely
wet. Cover dish tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Remove plastic wrap from baking dish and place dish inside of a larger metal
baking pan. Add boiling water to pan until it comes 1 inch up the side of the
glass baking dish. Bake, uncovered, until pudding is puffed and set and golden
brown on top, about 40 to 50 minutes.

Remove dish with bread
pudding from water and cool slightly. Cut into squares. Serve with premium
vanilla ice cream and Warm Bourbon Sauce. Makes 6 servings.

Warm Bourbon Sauce

• ¼ cup (1/2 stick) unsalted
  butter
• ½ cup sugar
• 3 tablespoons heavy whipping
  cream
• 2 tablespoons bourbon
• Pinch of salt

Melt butter in small, heavy
saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in remaining ingredients. Simmer until
thickened, whisking often, 3 to 5 minutes. Cool slightly. Makes about ½ cup.

• If you’d rather not use bourbon, 1-1/2 teaspoons of pure vanilla extract can be used in the pudding and 2 teaspoons of vanilla in the sauce.
  

After cutting all the little
pumpkins and cats I needed from the pan of Spiced Pumpkin Bars that I had made
for my All About Food column, I had a bowl full of scraps and still had about
1/3 of the pan of bars left in the pan, uncut. I would soon be leaving for a
meeting, so I carefully placed all the cut-out bars in a plastic container and
sealed it up tight. They would rest there until the next day when I would have
time to frost them. I hid them away, not wanting my husband to find them and
eat them while I was at my meeting. I also had a couple of ideas for using the
leftover scraps. I covered them up with plastic wrap, sealing the bowl tightly.

I came home later that
evening to discover the bowl of scraps was missing. My husband looked like a satisfied
fat cat that had just eaten a delicious mouse. Sure enough. He not only ate the
whole bowl of scraps, but he downed them with three big scoops of vanilla ice
cream, finishing every bit that was left in the freezer. So, if you just want
to bake a pan of those bars and don’t feel like frosting them, just eat them
with ice cream or make ice cream sandwiches. For a technique that produces perfect
ice cream sandwiches, see the July 14^th entry on this blog. With no
scraps to transform into another kind of sweet treat, I wound up using all that
was still left in the pan, uncut, to make a couple more spiced pumpkin
pleasures.

Spiced Pumpkin Breakfast
Pudding with Apple Chunks and Pecans combines small chunks of Spiced Pumpkin
Bars with chunks of leftover bread. The chunks are mixed up with other
ingredients you probably have in your kitchen right now to form a mixture that
resembles a muffin batter. Baked in buttered ramekins, the sparkling,
golden-topped puddings become a breakfast or brunch dish, served warm with a small
dollop of creamy, plain Greek yogurt. A little drizzle of warm pure maple syrup
can be the finishing touch. The batter can be mixed up and portioned into the
ramekins the night before and stored, covered, in the refrigerator. They can be
baked at brunch time. Any leftovers can be warmed up in the microwave oven at 60% power.

Before baking, I sprinkled
about ½ teaspoon of coarse sparkling sugar over the top of each filled ramekin.
Some grocery stores carry this, especially around holiday time. It turns
ordinary sugar cookies into dazzling jewels.

I flavored the batter with a
tablespoon of Calvados, a French apple brandy made in a coastal pocket in Normandy. It is not
always readily available in liquor stores, but most large stores will have it.
If you don’t have Calvados, use the same amount of regular brandy or 1½ teaspoons
of pure vanilla.

These personal-sized
puddings will be a hit at your next brunch.

Spiced Pumpkin Breakfast
Pudding with Apple Chunks and Pecans

• 2 cups small chunks of unfrosted
  Spiced Pumpkin Bar (Click here for recipe)
• 2 cups chunks of leftover
  bread (I used Country Hearth Honey Grain ‘n’ Oat bread)
• ¾ cup whole milk
• 1¼ cups half-and-half
• 2 large eggs, beaten
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1 tablespoon Calvados or
  brandy
• 4 tablespoons unsalted
  butter, melted
• ½ cup all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ½ cup peeled chunks
• ½ cup pecan halves, toasted,
  broken
• 4 teaspoons sparkling sugar
• Yogurt and maple syrup at serving time

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Butter 8 (6- to 8-ounce)
ramekins or glass custard cups.

Place chunks of bars and
bread in a large mixing bowl and toss together. Remove 2 cups of the chunks and
set aside. Pour milk and half-and-half over the remaining chunks in the mixing
bowl. Whisk the eggs, sugar, Calvados and butter together in a separate bowl.
Pour over milk and chunks mixture and gently blend together.

Sift together the flour,
baking powder and salt. Fold into wet mixture until all dry ingredients are
incorporated into the batter. Gently fold in the remaining 2 cups of bread and pumpkin bar chunks, apple chunks and pecans.

Divide batter evenly among
the 8 buttered ramekins. Sprinkle the top of each with ½ teaspoon sparkling.
Place ramekins on large baking sheet, spacing them so they do not touch each
other. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes, or until the tops are golden brown. Cool slightly
before serving. Serve warm with a dollop of yogurt and a drizzle of maple
syrup. Makes 8 individual breakfast puddings.

• To toast pecans, place on a
  baking pan and bake at 350 degrees for 8 to 10 minutes or until fragrant. Watch
  closely. They burn easily. Remove from oven and immediately transfer toasted
  nuts to a plate to cool.

Sunday evening always marks
the end of a weekend. And whatever the weekend was filled with, Sunday evening
is the time to finally relax.

My weekend was a busy one. I
was away from home from early Friday morning until late this afternoon. After
several hours in the car, I was ready for some home-cooked food that would
bring warmth and contentment.

It took only about 45
minutes to put together a pot of Thick and Hearty Soup. It could probably be
called a thick Italian-style stew, as it is rich with tomato, pasta and Italian
seasonings. Earlier in the week I was in Minneapolis
and stopped at Trader Joe’s where I picked up some fully cooked chicken and
turkey spicy andouille sausage. I sliced it up and sautéed it with some chopped
vegetables before pouring some chicken broth, crushed tomatoes and tomato puree
into the soup pot. Little shells of pasta simmered in the pot for the last 20 minutes,
thickening the soup as it cooked. I used a blend of Italian seasoning to flavor
the soup. You can use your own favorites – oregano, basil, rosemary, sage or
thyme are all nice choices.

A hot, crusty baguette was
all I needed with my bowl of Thick and Hearty contentment. The perfect ending
to my weekend. 

Thick and Hearty Soup

• 4 fully cooked spicy turkey
  or chicken sausages, sliced
• 2 tablespoons canola oil
• ¾ cup chopped carrots
• ½ cup chopped celery
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1½ teaspoons Italian
  seasoning
• 3 cups chicken broth
• 1 (28-ounce) can crushed
  tomatoes
• 1 (28-ounce) can tomato
  puree
• 1 (15-ounce) can white
  beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 cup shell pasta
• Freshly grated Parmesan
  cheese

Sauté sausage, carrots,
celery and onions in hot oil in a large, deep pot until sausage slices are
slightly browned and vegetables are tender, about 10 to 12 minutes. Add garlic
and sauté for 2 more minutes.

Add Italian seasoning,
giving it a pinch as you drop it into the pot. Stir in the chicken broth,
tomatoes and tomato puree. Bring to a boil. Cook until mixture is heated
through. Stir in beans and pasta. Simmer for 20 to 30 minutes or until pasta is
tender.

Top each serving with
cheese. Makes 6 servings.

•  Mild or hot Italian sausage
  would also work well in this soup.

Another day that demands a
bowl of soup to warm every inch of the body from head to foot. I was in Fargo yesterday and it
was almost 90 degrees. This morning when we woke up it was only in the 40’s and
that held steady as we drove home to Bemidji.
Gloomy, damp and chilly. That spells soup to me.

Actually, I had been
planning on making some squash soup before I even left town on Friday. That
morning, I had roasted some squash halves, let them cool, then wrapped them up
and tucked them into the refrigerator to wait until I got home this afternoon.

With the squash already
roasted, the soup came together in no time at all. Before roasting, I had cut
the squash in half and cleaned out the seeds. Large squash pieces with skin on,
roasted facedown on a baking sheet, keep nutrition from leaching out during
cooking. I saved the seeds and roasted them with oil and salt. You can sprinkle
the toasted seeds on each serving of soup to add a little crunch. Taking the time to roast the squash for the soup develops a
wonderful sweet, nutty flavor.

The creation in my soup pot
became Asian Autumn Squash Soup. Onions and garlic sautéed to tender sweetness,
fresh ginger and coconut milk along with a bit of Chinese Five-Spice powder
turn pureed roasted squash into a seductive, comforting soup with a definite
Asian twist. Chinese five-spice powder combines the five basic flavors of
Chinese cooking – sweet, sour, savory, bitter and salty. A little goes a long
way, so add it gradually the first times that you use it, so that it gives just
the right amount of flavor for you.

I grated fresh ginger and
then squeezed the juice from it to flavor the soup. You will be surprised how
much juice is held in fresh gingerroot. I
like to use my Microplane Grater/Zester to grate the fresh ginger, but any fine
grater will do.

The soup can be pureed in a
blender or food processor. I used my Bamix immersion blender, which does a great job
and is so easy to clean. If you use a blender, be sure to puree the soup in
batches. The hot soup can splash up when the blender is turned on. Hold the top
on with a kitchen towel in case any hot liquid should try to escape.

For a quick soup, roast the
squash a day or two before serving day. It will give you a great head start the day you will be
making and serving it.

The roasted squash can also
be pureed with butter and a little cream to serve as a side like mashed
potatoes. If you like to make homemade ravioli, the pureed roasted squash makes
a delicious filling.

This soup will keep well in
the refrigerator for up to five days. It also freezes well and can be kept
frozen for a couple of months.

Asian Autumn Squash Soup

• 1 small acorn squash, cut in
  half, seeds removed
• 1 small buttercup squash,
  cut in half, seeds removed
• 1 small pie pumpkin, cut in
  half, seeds removed
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1 cup chopped onion
• Coarse salt
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• Juice from 1 tablespoon
  grated fresh ginger
• 6 cups chicken broth
• 1-1/2 teaspoons Chinese
  five-spice powder
• 1 (13.5-ounce) can
  unsweetened coconut milk

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Line large baking sheet with aluminum foil and spray lightly with non-stick
cooking spray.

Brush cut sides of squash
halves with olive oil. Place halves facedown on aluminum-foil lined baking
sheet. Roast for 30 minutes. Check for doneness. If squash feels soft when
poked with fork, remove from oven. Not all the squash halves will be done at
the same time. Check every 10 minutes until all the squash halves are ready to
be removed from the oven. Set aside. If not preparing soup right away, cover
cooled squash tightly and refrigerate until you ready to prepare soup.

Melt butter in large soup
pot over medium-high heat. Add chopped onion along with a sprinkling of salt
and saute for 5 minutes or until tender. Add garlic and saute for 2 more
minutes. Scoop squash away from skin with a spoon and put into the soup pot.
Add the broth and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Stir in the Chinese
five-spice powder, ginger juice and coconut milk. Puree soup in batches in
blender or food processor or puree in pot with an immersion blender. Garnish
with roasted squash seeds at serving time. Makes 8 to 10 servings.

• You can buy Chinese
  five-spice powder in the international aisle of the grocery store or in the
  spice section of the baking aisle. If you just need a small amount, make your
  own Chinese five-spice powder blend by placing equal amounts of cinnamon stick,
  fennel seeds, whole cloves, star anise and peppercorns into a spice grinder. I
  have an extra electric coffee grinder that I use only for grinding spices.
  Blend the spices to a fine powder.
• Grate fresh gingerroot and
  then squeeze it in your hand to get the juice from the grated pulp.
• To make roasted squash seeds, toss them with some olive oil and spread on a baking sheet. Sprinkle them with some salt. Roast in 400-degree oven for 15 to 20 minutes or until golden brown and crunchy.
• An easy way to cut winter squash is to start in the center and cut toward the blossom end. Starting in the center again, cut toward the other end. It’s important to cut along the length of the squash to expose enough of the meat for roasting and to ensure the heat will be distributed evenly.