Best wishes to all this holiday season.

My kitchen smells so good!

Welsh Raisin Bread

1 tablespoon yeast
1 1/2 cups warm milk
3 tablespoons brown sugar
1/4 melted butter
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon, and a dash of cloves and nutmeg
about 3 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup raisins

Combine warm milk, butter, sugar, raisins, and one cup flour.
Add the rest of the dry ingredients slowly.
Knead, let rise, and then put the dough in a greased pan to rise again.
Bake at 350º 40 to 50 minutes.

Here is a quick and easy recipe for stuffed squash. It is great for summer because it doesn’t take much time in the oven, and could be done completely in a microwave that browns.

cook 1/2 cup rice or brown rice
clean squash and hollow out centers, cook in the microwave until nearly done, (4 to 5 minutes in our microwave)

crumble two or three hot Italian sausages in a skillet,
add, a small onion, diced ( I usually do the onion in the microwave and add after the sausage is cooked)
add the rice to the skillet, and then mix in whatever seasonings you like, we like basil, and lots of crushed black pepper.
stir in 1/2 to a cup of whatever shredded cheese you like

stuff the squash with the mixture and add seasoned breadcrumbs to the top.

bake 20 minutes in a 350º oven

I use this for both zucchini and yellow squash, but this filling could be used for winter squash, too.

These cherries are from Washington state, not from my garden. I never noticed before how pretty they look in the sun, especially with covered with drops of dew. They are back in the refrigerator now, but won’t last the afternoon. We are on our third hazy, hot day, and the cherries will be part of a cool lunch I have planned.

click on photo for larger view