By Maxine Hooten | I'm the youngest of my fourteen cousins. Ten of us are girls. I always love seeing them but since the pandemic I haven't gotten to see a lot of them. I was so excited when my cousins from Florida, Jamie and Katie, said they wanted to come spend the weekend with us because it was Jamie's birthday. We invited my other family to come celebrate too . My mom said that I could be in charge of making the birthday cake. But I decided to make a birthday pie, peanut butter pie to be exact.

It seems like every produce stand and farmers market in the south is bursting with soft, fuzzy peaches. This basic, peach salsa recipe is perfect for summer get togethers or relaxing on the porch.

Dusk was just starting to creep down the mountain when Megan rolled into the driveway, up from Charlotte for the weekend. 

When we are taking care of ourselves and the people we live with, eating a diet rich in fruits and vegetables, we can end up with a lot of scraps. Two ends, plus the skins, of every onion you eat, garlic peels, mushroom stems, carrot ends, cauliflower leaves, celery bottoms, parsley and cilantro stems, lemon and lime rinds, pumpkin and winter squash skin… the list goes on. 

Gathering violets for this Violet Gimlet will be the most time consuming part of the recipe, but it’s well worth it for a light and refreshing cocktail at the end of the warmer days to come.

Pasta is a very important part of life. It’s one of those necessities that lies alongside love, good conversation, music, books that envelope your soul, wine and rainy days. 

As spring gets underway, Violet Season is officially here. Violets are some of my favorite spring flowers, for they signal the start to the seasons of abundance. The seasons when a walk in the woods can result in a freshly foraged salad.

“Giovedì gnocchi, Venerdì pesce, Sabato trippa”

Today, Wednesday, Feb. 10, is one of those unseasonably warm winter days. The days that invoke a yearning for spring, a yearning for the feeling of walking outside without tension gripping your entire body. These unseasonably warm days will increase in frequency as we move toward the end of March, into the new season. 

When the world gets crazy, I often turn to food for comfort. Cooking is one of those spaces where my inner dialogue switches off and the worries and stresses of the outside world melt away. There is something truly cathartic about chopping vegetables, stirring risotto until it slowly soaks up all its liquid, or coaxing bread ingredients into one, live mixture of warm, rising dough. 

But it’s two fold. Once you’re done with the part that relaxes the mind and carries you off somewhere, you get to sit down with the people you love and enjoy good food — one of the finest parts of life. 

So far, 2021 has given us a run for our money. It’s not like we weren’t prepared. Despite the importance we place on New Year’s Eve, there is no invisible barrier that will allow us into the new year and keep out our trials from the year past. There is no filter to protect us from everything we have caused, and everything that has happened to us the year before. We have started 2021 full to the brim with challenges presented to us throughout 2020. 

It is disheartening. The time of year that we normally get to unwind — recover from a bustling holiday season, and figure out what it is we want out of the coming year — has been ripped from under our feet. Instead, Covid-19 continues to worsen with each passing day. The transfer of power in our democracy was put in serious danger, and it seems like everywhere you turn, people rely on conflicting sets of truths to uphold their beliefs. Their identity. Hatred seems abundant. 

All the while the world is still burning down around us and world leaders are far too distracted, rightly so, with the present threat to think about long-term solutions to that absolute threat. 

Nothing pasta and red wine can’t fix, right? Wrong. But it may be the greatest form of medicine right now. The ultimate comfort food to share with the people we love. Those we are able to be with and hold close during this tumultuous hour. 

I’m usually a fan of making homemade pasta. It’s incredibly simple and the noodles are silkier and more flavorful than those out of a box. This, however, is just a recipe for sauce. Creamy butternut squash pasta sauce is simple and comes together quickly. It’s comforting, delicious and completely plant based. Any substitutions and additions can be made as this is an easy recipe to get creative with. 

Recipe: 

½ small butternut squash (about 400g), roasted with olive oil salt and pepper

4-5 garlic cloves (more or less depending on  your garlic preference)

1 cup Almond milk (or other milk, plant or dairy. Add more or less milk for a thicker or thinner sauce)

½  broth (or water)

¼ cup pasta water

1 tbsp. nutritional yeast (optional)

1 tsp. Salt

2 tsp. Pepper

2 tsp. Sage  

2 tbsp. Lemon juice 

1 tbs. Apple cider vinegar

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Roast butternut squash and garlic together (drizzled with olive oil, seasoned with salt, pepper and sage) until very tender, 30-45 minutes. 
2. Boil pasta, reserving ¼ cup of pasta water.
3. Combine roasted squash, garlic, almond milk, broth, pasta water, nutritional yeast, lemon juice, Apple Cider Vinegar and additional salt, pepper and sage in a food processor or blender. Blend until creamy. Add more milk for preferred consistency. 
4. Reheat in a saucepan prior to serving.
5. Top with any array of ingredients. I topped this batch with pepitas and fresh arugula. Try with your favorite toasted nuts or seeds, sausage or other spicy or salty meat/ meat alternative, or any fresh greens.