Daddy's Hankie- Memories

We finally got everything squared away with my husbands Father's estate. While cleaning out the last bit of stuff, we come across handkerchiefs. Lots of them. Some were old and stained and some were still in the box. My husband would toss them in the trash as I kept retrieving the good ones. Some were fancy and monogrammed with a D.

He looked at me funny with a little smirk. "Nobody uses hankies anymore, just throw them away". I replied, "But they are still good and some still boxed! Everybody needs a hankie!"
"Ok" he said, "just do what you want with them".

My plan is to use them to practice making crochet lace trim.

Then the memories came as I put away the boxed ones and gently washed and folded the old ones. My daddy always had a hankie in his pocket. He also had four snotty nose kids with him all the time.

Daddy wiped many tears and runny noses with his hankie. He would fold the dirty part to the inside and slid it back into his pocket. The next kid up, he would always say, "Here is a clean part to use" and we would.

Daddy's hankies were there to wipe up our spills, clean sticky fingers or polish our shoes. I’ve seen him use them to wipe a foggy windshield or wrap around a kitten. They may have even been used to take a fish off our hook a time or two.

So I'm keeping the handkerchiefs we found. Even though these are not my daddy's hankies, I know the benefits of these little rags and who knows, maybe I'll keep one in my purse. You never know when one will come in handy. 

Acorn Squash-Two Ways

Today I want to introduce a new food I discovered. The Acorn Squash. Now if that name does not scream Fall, then I don't know what does.

I have seen Acorn squash in the grocery stores but I have never tried them. They just always looked like an ornamental gourd to me and I had no desire to eat one. I want to add new foods to my diet so I thought I'd give this baby a try.

As I looked around online for directions on how to cook them, I also seen several recipes. It started getting interesting. I never knew these things had such a good reputation.

I experimented with recipes and created this delicious way to enjoy an Acorn squash.

Cutting it in half was the hardest part. Seriously.

Stuffed Acorn Squash

Preheat oven to 475.

Cut the acorn squash in half and scooped out the seeds. 

(I put the seeds aside for roasting).

Coat the inside and outside of the squash with melted coconut oil 

Place on a cookie sheet or shallow baking dish.

Add a layer of cinnamon to the inside.

Bake 45-55 minutes or until soft when pierced with a fork.

Remove from oven and.........

STOP RIGHT THERE: 

The squash is good just like it is at this point. It has the same flavor as a sweet potato but sweeter! This will make a great side to any dish. 

But lets make it better.....

Trust me on this one.

Add vanilla Greek yogurt to the center. 

Mix a little so the flavors of the cinnamon combine in with the yogurt. 

Drizzle with Honey and top with walnuts.

OH MAN this was soo good. I do not like yogurt, much less vanilla yogurt but something about this mixture was so sweet and delicious, my tongue almost slapped my forehead.

I would consider this either a breakfast or a dessert.
YES! Squash for breakfast. Bring it on.

Since discovering that these acorn squash taste like sweet potato, I did something different with the other half. I added some melted butter and marshmallows. I placed it back in the oven to brown the marshmallows. It tasted like a little personal sweet potato casserole.

I got a thumbs up on both from Nick. It was a toss up between which one tasted better. Both were as good as the other but I think I liked the yogurt way best as it was more healthy in my opinion.

Oh about the seeds.

I salted and roasted them in the oven for about 15 minutes.They made a great snack to nibble on while dinner was being prepared.