Raspberry-Glazed Acorn Squash

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If you’ve never cooked an acorn squash, you don’t know what you’re missing. They’re super easy to cook! The hardest part of the process is cutting them in half (which I’ll admit isn’t easy). But once that part’s done and you scoop out the weeds, you can stick them in the oven at 375 degrees with a pat of butter and a tablespoon of brown sugar, and forget about it for an hour. I like to wrap mine in foil so that it gets nice and soft.



Here’s a slightly more involved recipe with a delicious tart twist. The glaze cooks along with the squash, resting in the bowl created after you scoop out the seeds. As you eat the squash, you can dip each forkful into the glaze just before biting into it. Heavenly! One squash is substantial enough to make a healthy main dish meal for two people.

Recipe: Raspberry-Glazed Acorn Squash

1 acorn squash, cut in half and seeds removed

2 T olive oil

¼ c minced onion

2 cloves garlic, minced

¼ C raspberry jam

½ t cinnamon

½ t cayenne

2 t red wine vinegar


On a jelly roll pan, place each half of the squash on a piece of aluminum foil large enough to wrap it completely. You might want to slice off a narrow piece at the bottom so that it will rest without rocking on a jelly roll pan. Mix together the remaining ingredients and pour half into each squash half. With a spoon or basting brush, drizzle some of the glaze over the rest of the exposed flesh of the squash.
Wrap the squash in foil. Bake at 375 degrees for one hour. (You can also place the foil-wrapped squash on the grill over indirect heat for an hour.) Serve in a bowl.

Summertime Broccoli

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I am especially proud of this recipe for Summertime Broccoli. Why? Number one, because it’s delicious; and number two, because it wasn’t inspired by any other recipe I’ve ever seen or tried. It started with me standing in the kitchen staring at a head of broccoli, wondering what I could do to give it an interesting twist.

I’ve been hard at work getting ready for the release of ONLY MINE, the first of this year’s Fool’s Gold books, as well as writing next year’s books, so I didn’t have a lot of time to cook. (You can read a free excerpt of ONLY MINE at www.susanmallery.com/excerpts.php.) I know a lot of my readers are busy women, too, and I wanted to create something fast, easy, and delicious. And healthy. Broccoli is such a rich green color, you know it’s got to be chock full of vitamins.

ONLY MINE, July 26 2011

Summertime Broccoli fits the bill on all counts. The nutty, salty flavor is a pleasant surprise. We ate it alongside a nice rib-eye, and I think it would be a delicious side dish for chicken or seafood, too. I think you’ll love it!

Recipe: Summertime Broccoli

4 C fresh broccoli, cut into half-inch chunks
1 T toasted sesame oil (peanut oil may be substituted)
1 t tahini (smooth peanut butter may be substituted)
1 clove garlic
½ t red pepper flakes
½ t Kosher salt
¼ C walnut pieces

Steam the broccoli for 5-7 minutes, until crisp-tender. Rinse under cool water, then drain completely. Mix together the oil through the salt. Pour mixture over the broccoli and toss, then add the walnut pieces. Serve warm or chilled.

Serenity's Portobello Mushroom Fajitas

You'll find a printable version of this recipe and many other free recipes on my website, SusanMallery.com.

In ALREADY HOME, which will be in stores on March 29, heroine Jenna Stevens is surprised by the sudden and unwelcome arrival of her birth parents. Why now? They claim they’ve always thought of her… so why did they wait until she was in her early thirties to show up?

Not that she’s been anxious to meet them. Jenna had been raised by loving and traditional adoptive parents in a town outside of Austin, Texas. After a painful divorce, she moved back to her hometown to be near her parents, returning to the comfort of the familiar and expected. The last thing she wants to deal with is a New Age birth mother who won’t go away.

Without revealing any secrets, I will tell you that Jenna discovers that she does have a few things in common with her birth mother, Serenity, after all. Most notably, they both love to cook. But Serenity is a vegan, while Jenna was raised in a family of unrepentant carnivores.

This week, I thought it would be fun to come up with a recipe for Serenity’s Portobello Mushroom Fajitas. These can be vegan, but I’ll confess – I added cheese and sour cream to mine. I’m unwilling to live in a world without dairy.

Recipe: Serenity’s Portobello Mushroom Fajitas (Vegan or Vegetarian)

12 oz Portobello mushrooms, sliced ¼-inch thick
½ C + 2 T olive oil, divided
6 cloves garlic, minced
½ C cilantro, minced
1 t cumin powder
½ t salt
1 small onion, sliced
1 green bell pepper, sliced
1 orange, red, or yellow bell pepper, sliced
Splash of lime juice
Flour tortillas
Cheese and sour cream (unless you want to go vegan)

Place the mushroom slices in a casserole dish. Mix half a cup of the oil with the garlic, cilantro, cumin, and salt, then pour over the mushrooms. Stir to coat well. Allow to marinate for an hour or more.

Preheat a large nonstick pan over medium heat. Put a single layer of mushrooms in the pan and cook, without stirring, until it browns, about 3 minutes per side. Keep warm in the oven while you cook the rest of the mushrooms. After all the mushrooms are cooked, add 2 T of oil to the pan and toss in the peppers and onion. Sauté, stirring frequently, until the peppers are crisp-tender. Put in the dish with the mushrooms, and add the splash of lime juice.

Serve on warm flour tortillas with, if desired, cheese and sour cream.