Why I now like Winter

Why I now like Winter
Last year my perception of Winter as a season to moan about and bear was completely transformed by a beautiful and evocative article written by Jeanette Winterson. She writes about embracing the dark and winter: “get plenty of candles, and lay the fire if you have one. Prepare dinner ahead and plan a walk so that you will be heading for home in that lovely liminal time where light and dark are hinged against each other”. And I love what she says about Winter food “there is great pleasure to be had from coming home on a wild night and pouring a glass of good red wine [organic is best, of course], and cooking dark food, such as mushroom risotto or braised beef and turnips served with dark green cabbage and truffle mash. If you want to be depressed, spend long winter nights eating out-of-season food … real Winter food will give you good spirits of the kind not to be found in a ready meal”.

If you like, spend a few minutes reading this inspiring article and let it bring some warmth to your heart during this season. It can be found on http://www.jeanettewinterson.com/pages/journalism_01/journalism_01_item.asp?journalism_01ID=249.

Sage Stuffed Pumpkin
There isn’t enough space here to outline the health
benefits of pumpkin but in short it contains
phytonutrients beneficial for the lungs and eyes. Other
studies have shown that it reduces the risk for
rheumatoid arthritis (by 41% in one study). You can use it
as a substitute for mashed white potatoes – much
healthier and, in my opinion, more delicious.
Millet is highly nutritious and is not an acid forming food
so is soothing and easy to digest. It is a warming grain
so will help to heat the body in cold or rainy seasons.

1 pumpkin
2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 1/2 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp each black pepper and paprika
480ml vegetable stock
200g millet, rinsed and drained
30g shallots, finely chopped
30g shitake mushrooms (or other mushrooms),
thickly sliced
40g cashew nuts
30g fresh or frozen cranberries
1 garlic clove, peeled and finely chopped
6-8 sage leaves finely sliced
Preheat the oven to 190C (375F) gas 5.

Cut the pumpkin in half from stem to pointed tip.
Scrape out the seeds and strings. Place both halves, cut
side up, on a baking tray. Drizzle each pumpkin half with
1 1/2 teaspoons olive oil, and sprinkle with 1 tsp of the
salt, the pepper and paprika.

Bake the pumpkin until tender, about 30-40 minutes.
Meanwhile, bring the vegetable stock to the boil in a
medium lidded saucepan and add the millet. Cover,
reduce the heat to a simmer, and cook for 30 minutes.
Place a medium frying pan over a medium heat and add
the remaining olive oil. Add the shallots, mushrooms and
remaining salt saute over a low heat for a further 10
minutes. Remove from heat and set aside while the
millet continues to cook.

Add the cooked grain to the frying pan and stir well to
combine. Place the pumpkin halves face up on two plates
and fill each hollow with he cooked grain mixture.