Climate change has hit San Francisco and this is the chilliest winter any of us can remember. Our cars are frosting up, there’s snow on them thar hills, and our shabby-chic Victorians have drafty windows and un-insulated ceilings, so we are COLD!  This makes me long for earthy baked warm sweet things.  

Recipe-ish: Although I called this “melange” because it’s such a fun word (say it out loud … melange… melange… there, don’t you feel all European-slow-food-trendy?), this is super-easy and not fancy at all. It’s just cutting and then putting in the oven and then taking out of oven (don’t forget that last step while you’re Facebooking).  

First I cut my acorn squash in half across the middle; what I mean is, if it were a jack o’lantern, the mouth would be on one half and the eyes would be on another. I scooped/scraped out the seeds and stringy mess with a small knife, and threw that mess away in the compost bin. Then I rubbed the cut surface with olive oil and black pepper, and placed it cut-side-down on a baking sheet at 400 degrees, and set the timer for an hour.  

Meanwhile I sliced some apples and pears (past their prime) thinly, as well as a couple of Meyer lemons. Oranges would work just fine too. I arranged the pear and apple slices in a pan like you’d do for scalloped potatoes, added non-butter, and sprinkled with cinnamon. Then I laid the lemon slices in a pretty pattern across the top and sprinkled them with sugar.  I put that in the oven too for the rest of the cooking time of the squash. I think it was about half an hour.  

Then I took everything out of the oven, scooped some of my “melange” into one half of the squash, and ate it.  I could have served someone else the other half, but why would I, when instead I can have something yummy to eat tomorrow?

By the way, while I have the oven on, I also like to wrap a potato or sweet potato in foil and bake it, if I have one around.  Instant snack for later.  Non-carb-eaters, sorry … but please feel free to help yourself to the delightful organic lettuce that’s wilting in the middle drawer of the fridge!