STUFF IT!!

buttercup squash.
y'wanna know what i think of it?
NOT my favorite.
it looks so cool,
i guess should've known i'd be disappointed.
that's pessimistic, but, it's also a provably reliable perspective.
on the ones-
if i'm attracted to the weird good looks of somethin' or someone,
it's gonna take a hot sh!t right on my chin, guaranteed.
i mean,
that's sort of been my move, both in and out of the kitchen-
hey, neighbors, i rolled the dice anyway,
and i snake-eyed another 'nother sexxxy meal!
too bad that it just wasn't what i wanted.
check the teleport:

isn't she pretty??
i bet you'd like it, especially if you're a winter-squash-head.
me?
i like a lot of things, but this buttercup was kind of a bust out.
the bowl-style bump-up presentation had it poppin',
but damn, duders-
it tasted like a pithy, hot cantaloupe.
no thanks.
even with sea salt and olive oil, and a pre-bake,
before a caramel-creating broil, it just didn't tickle my fancy,
despite lookin' fancy.
it has about two cups of sourdough crusty stuffin',
with a quarter of an onion, half a carrot, one huge stalk of celery,
half a sweet potato, and half a cup of black beans in there, too.
everything sauteed and seasoned,
coated in half a cup of broth,
tossed, tucked away in a tin, and baked for a bit, at 375F, along with the squash,
and those potatoes in the bottom right corner, which we'll talk about in a minute.
after 20 minutes of soaking and baking and generally being aromatically awesome,
which, incidentally, was close to 15 minutes after the squash went in the oven,
i put the one inside the other, and out the combo back in the oven,
on a much higher, broily browning blast for another 'nother 15 minutes.
it looked like i wanted to like it so much more than i did:

mmmmmhmmmmm.
homemade gravy is key.
butter and flour, 1:1 browned, with a cup of broth, and GPOP, and nootch,
and maybe a little bit more flour, if you're in a hurry to thicken it quicker-
the gravy saved some of the day,
as did those very smoky tempeh bacon sprankles.
yup.
i took it there.
mixin' in the texture of that curly kale was a bonus as well.
that squash, though, man.
i'm just not feelin' it.
*
that sausage and potato and broccoli rapini jaun, however....
that sh!t was THE sh!t.
daaaaaaaamn.
homemade vegan sausages get made in big batches, b!tches-
and none of 'em ever go to waste.
bias cut, and browned with circles of shallot makes the my mouth get psyched.
roasted yellow-flesh blue-skinned potatoes aren't too shabby on their own-
so when they get olive oiled, and tossed in with the sausages?
holy smokes, the world is expanding, the universe is collapsing,
and the overlap of tastes creates infinity on your tongue!
exaggeration?
maybe just a little bit.
but,
not when you factor in that blanched and braised broccoli rabe, bro!
yup.
the side order stole the show, yo.
ad i'm glad it did, or i'd have pouted out loud,
and made a whole new dinner, too.
i'm not about to be bummed out all night,
when all i've had to look forward to all day is dinnertime.
awwwwwwwwwwwwww.
it's cool.
those 'tatoes did the trick.
i'm cool.
we're cool.
it's cool.
***********
december, man.
is my car ready yet?
nope.
am i worried?
not exactly.
the thing is-
i've got a silver rental car.
uh-huh.
and i don't think i'm a silver car person.
like,.
maybe part of the reason that november sucked the hardest balls
was that i was living the life of a silver-carred man,
instead of the more exceptional metal-flaky charcoal/graphite
grey-and-black jammer i know myself to be.
i think that's a thing.
also, the other reason november sucked hard balls is because
november is a F*ing A*-hole.
that's no joke.
i'm excited to have what's mine returned to me.
i'm also excited to rock out with crabtree in the co-pilot seat,
and cruise the woodsly goodness with that little dude.
i've missed it, and he's missed it,
and we HATE missing out,
almost as much as we hate missing you.
awwwwwwwwww, sh!t.
but, we do, and we are, and we do,
and it's ALL really happening,
so i s'pose this silver subaru has got to go, so we can all get back on track;
never quiet, never soft.....