Give me three days off of work and I’ll come up with some crazy scheme. It never fails. My Carrot should know better by know. He should take me out to some big city where I’m distracted by food and people and fun and cute neighborhoods and don’t have the time to think so much. I’m serious honey, it’ll probably save us money in the long run. Because now you’re stuck listening to me dream up plans for building our first home. (Say what!?) Yeahhhhh.

I had a fabulous Labor Day weekend. It started out with a Pumpkin Porter float over Ben & Jerry’s Phish Food. It ended with a crazy all-day salsa canning session with my mom while my Carrot husband toiled away in the fields (bringing in a whopping 250# of tomatoes)! There was good food, so many episodes of Castle and conversations about the prospect of home-building sprinkled throughout.

Yes! A home! That we might build ourselves with our love, blood, sweat and tears (alongside a very kind, patient, and hopefully reasonable contractor man) on a piece of my parents’ land that’s been in the family for almost a century. Oh I’m excited guys. Like really excited. The kind of jazzed up that leads to non-stop babbling and constant idea-percolation and oh my poor husband. But alas, he’s feeding the frenzy and getting all kinds of enthusiastic himself.

All my mom had to say was “wouldn’t it be more cost effective to build?” when we told her we were house hunting and “just take a look at our land down the road” and all of a sudden the wheels got a turnin’. I stayed up too late every night of my three-day weekend (that “I should have been resting and relaxing” says hubby) researching away, looking for the kind of information that will tell me if this is yet another crazy dream (I have a lot of these) or a practical step forward on the crazy path that is our life. I even found a podcast about building your own home! (It sucked).

Which all brings me to something else I really want to tell you about that does not suck that has nothing to do with building a house or crazy dreams, but is totally delicious: red kuri squash! It’s another thing I discovered this lovely three-day weekend! We grew it for the first time this summer and it’s so delicious! It’s buttery and smooth like no squash I’ve ever tasted before. It looks like a funky pumpkin but tastes like heaven with its subtle sweetness. I love it. I roasted it up with a ton of salt, pepper and maple syrup, threw it on a salad with some melty bread cheese and voila! Dinner!

-Leek

KURI SQUASH & BREAD CHEESE SALAD
Inspired by Things I Made Today

Takes 30 minutes
Serves 4-6

1 medium red kuri squash, seeded and cut into 1-inch cubes
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons maple syrup
6 ounces bread cheese, cut into cubes
1 tablespoon butter
1/2 baguette, cut into 1-inch cubes
3 ounces arugula
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Maple Vinaigrette:
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup maple syrup
1/2 teaspoon whole-grain mustard
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
Toss winter squash with olive oil and lay out on a baking sheet in a single layer. Season well with salt and pepper. Roast for 20 minutes. Drizzle with maple syrup and roast 10 minutes longer.
While squash roasts, cook bread cheese over medium heat in a large saute pan until a little browned and melty, about 8 minutes. Remove the cheese from the pan, set aside and melt butter. Add baguette cubes, toss with a bit of salt and pepper. Saute for 10-15 minutes until browned and crispy.
In a small bowl, whisk together all dressing ingredients until smooth and creamy. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Toss arugula with half the dressing. Serve arugula with roasted squash, croutons and bread cheese. Add more dressing to taste. Serve warm.