Rustic Lime Potatoes and Gardening Thoughts

I've been looking at a lot of recipes which include butternut squash so that I could use up the rest of the squash leftover after the making of corn chowder. I hate tossing out produce even tho we do have a compost bin to put them in, and knew the squash would go bad if I didn't use it this morning.

All left over produce in our home be it rinds or uncooked unused fruit and veggies eventually end up in our garden. We use home made compost to help add nutrients to the dry, desert soil. Last year we only managed to grow a few tiny mutant carrots and a lot of pumpkin that the dogs ate before we could harvest it. This year we are hopeful for more success since there is now more healthy nutrients in the soil from a year of composting. Even the hybrid plum/nectarine fruit tree which we planted last year is starting to blossom and sprout it's leaves! Perhaps we will taste home grown plums and nectarines this year.

Growing our own fruits and vegetables will really cut down on the cost of eating whole, organic foods not to being the most locally grown you can get. Gives me a chuckle to think of all the gas saved and elbow grease spent..  It also allows us to choose NOT to put harmful chemicals on our food. Knowing where my food is coming from has become more important to me as I realized that I had eaten a lifetime of pesticides etc. And although part of me felt like tossing my hands up and saying it's too late now, I've seen enough people regain their health after improving their way of eating that I just have to give it a try.

This morning, I was wanting to use up the leftover squash tho, so all the compost bin got were the rinds and some seeds. Maybe some of the seeds will take sprout in the compost and I can transfer them into the garden. It's happened before, so who knows.

But enough of that! In looking at the various squash recipes in the gluten-free vegan, I found myself inspired. One recipe called for orange juice. We are out of oranges, but we do have lime juice on hand because I love the flavor of limes. I hear there is a lime flavored olive oil that would probably be great in this recipe...I'll have to keep my eyes open. I wasn't sure how much lime to put into this meal because I didn't want to overwhelm the sage and thyme, but it came out great. The following is the delicious meal I had for breakfast. I'd say this would make a great side dish for a main meal.

Rustic Lime Potatoes:
(serves 4-6)
4 medium red potatoes
1/4 cup lime juice
1/2 medium butternut squash
macademia nuts
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon thyme
1 teaspoon sage
1/4 teaspoon sea salt

Clean and cut red potatoes into large chunks. I cut each potato in half, each half into fourths and then halved the larger cubes. Seed, peal and cut butternut squash into chunks of a size similar to the potatoes.

Preheat oven to 350. Mix olive oil and herbs in medium mixing bowl. Add potato and squash chunks and stir until herbs and oil coat thuroughly. Add 1/4 cup lime juice and mix well.

Pour entire mixture onto a baking sheet and bake at 350 for 30 minutes or until soft. Stir periodically making sure all sides stay well coated. I stirred after 5 minutes, and then about every 10 minutes. Poke largest chunks with a fork to test for firmness. I felt it was done properly when the texture was soft but not squishy as this is how I like my potatoes.

Serve with macedamia nuts sprinkled on top for a nice little crunch, their delicious flavor, and of course the added protein. I use them sparingly; these little babies do have quite a bit of fat in them. They'd be eve better. chopped up and sprinkled on top

Carlie has been avoiding my gluten free meals almost as if she's afraid they're going to be tasteless or somehow "too healthy" tasting, but we spoke about it today as we read a gluten-free Italian cookbook, and she decided to give my breakfast a try. She went back for seconds, so it must have been good!