I always enjoy thumbing through Better Homes and Gardens magazine, especially because it is so wonderfully inexpensive, but when I try to find anything on their website, I see clutter and complications.  I can rarely find anything I am searching for.  As a result, I am unable to link to these elusive items.  Nonetheless, here are two quotes from BHG senior associate editor, Jane McKeon, which struck me as worth passing along.  One is appropriate to this very minute:

"After autumn passes and winter sets in, take a bird's eye view of the garden while its bones are bare.  Sketch out those planting plans that came in the heat of a summer moment, before they drift into winter hibernation."

And the other is less technical and more about sharpening the saw in high summer, but its deeper meaning applies year-round:

"Allow time each day to simply enjoy your garden.  Don't dwell on the negatives--the weeds, the unfinished tasks, the plants nibbled by rabbits.  Instead, focus your eyes on the beauty of details--a newly opened flower, dewdrops gleaming in the sun, a butterfly winging from bloom to bloom."

Thank you to the more than 60 members, guests, Blackridge neighbors, and ladies from nearby garden clubs who filled the BCA yesterday to see Sherwood Taylor’s excellent presentation.  I have an “in” with the presenter, so I’ll see if I can post some of his tips about how to create your own holiday magic.

One thing I can write about with authority is the menu, and as we had a lot of requests for the recipes for the winter squash soup, made by our president, and the quiche, I’ll pass those along here.  We served the soup and quiche with a mixed greens salad, topped with dried cranberries, toasted walnuts, and Russian dressing; gingerbread with a dollop of whipped cream for dessert; and coffee, tea, and spring water to drink.

BGC Spinach Quiche
(Adapted from Horn of the Moon Cookbook, http://amzn.com/0060960388 )

6 cups (or about 1 pound) fresh baby spinach leaves, steamed
1 unbaked 10-inch quiche or deep-dish pie shell
 ½ teaspoon dried basil
1 cup crumbled feta cheese
1 ½ cups grated cheddar cheese
1 Tablespoon unbleached white flour
4 eggs
1 ½ cups light cream

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Press excess water out of spinach leaves.  Spread spinach on bottom of pie shell, and sprinkle basil over it.  Mix together feta and cheddar cheeses in medium-sized bowl, then toss flour into cheeses.  Spread cheese mixture over spinach.  Beat eggs well, add cream, and pour over cheese. 

Bake for about 15 minutes at 350 degrees, and then reduce heat to 325 degrees, and bake for approximately an additional 45 minutes, until center is set and top is golden and puffy.  Cool for about 5 minutes before slicing.  Makes 6 servings.

BGC Butternut Squash Bisque

2 medium butternut squash (3 lbs total)               
1 Tablespoon butter                                                            
1 medium onion, chopped                                     
Coarse salt and ground pepper
½ cup 2% milk
¼ teaspoon dried thyme, or ¾ teaspoon fresh thyme
1 can (14.5 oz) reduced sodium chicken or vegetable stock
2 cups water

1. Place squash on a paper towel and microwave on high just until tender when pierced with knife tip or fork—about 8-10 minutes.  Remove from microwave and halve each squash lengthwise to speed cooling.  When cool enough to handle, scoop out and discard the seeds.  Scrape out flesh into bowl and discard skin.
2. In a large saucepan, heat butter over medium.  Add onion; season with salt and pepper.  Cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, 3-5 minutes.  Add squash, thyme, broth and 2 cups water.  Bring to a boil over high heat; reduce to medium and cook until squash is very tender—maybe 15 minutes, maybe longer.
3. Working in batches, puree mixture in a blender until very smooth, about 1 minute.  Return to pan, add milk, and generously season with salt and pepper.  Thin bisque, if needed, by adding more water.  Garnish as desired.  Serves 4.