Pumpkin lentil salad, Gourmet Magazine and a young entrepreneur

When you are on Day 15 of a sprained ankle, day 15 of a no-good-terrible cold and day 6 of a wrenched back, somehow you seem to read a lot of news. There certainly is an entrepreneurial spirit in the ten year-old English girl who sought to sell her grandmother on e-bay.
http://www.postchronicle.com/news/business/article_212259444.shtml

I was always told to be good to your kids because they pick your nursing home. Hmmm ... better be extra good to your grand kids also!

And then of course, there is the sad story of Gourmet Magazine. It's offices are being packed up and this lush, posh magazine has it's last issue in November. 68 years of celebrating food in the best possible way - it is a loss to the food world. Some thoughts can be found here:
http://www.examiner.com/x-25270-Minneapolis-Italian-Food-Examiner~y2009m10d6-Gourmet-Magazine-closes-its-doors



This 1989 book has seen me through birthday parties, my first attempts at a serious American beef roast with all the trimmings, holidays, appetizers and desserts. It's pages are stained and it remains beloved of my kids - who had many celebratory meals from this book and Gourmet Magazine.

In the midst of shuffling through news, I also managed to cook here and there. We have had wet, cold weather for six days. Something welcoming was needed. Bon Appetit (sorry, Gourmet!) has a recipe for spiced pumpkin-lentil-goat cheese salad in their October 2009 issue.

The link will give you the detailed instructions. I have to say this was a beautiful autumn side dish - and became my husband's lunch the next day. The tangy mellowness of the goat cheese with the sweet squash and "take me as I am" lentils blended in a way that exclaimed, "October is here." I will make this again. I did some changes. First - I bought chopped and already-peeled squash. Yes, I did. Peeling and dicing pumpkins and squash is probably the last thing I want to do on any given day. So I didn't use the pie pumpkin and nobody minded. Because my pieces were smaller than the pumpkin chunks, I also roasted it for only about 30 minutes. I add more cumin. After assembling all, I thought it needed a taste of - something. So I judiciously dripped a little white balsamic over the salad. It added some zing and tang and I will certainly do that again.

Doesn't that just cry harvest moon, All Hallows Eve and autumn leaves? Meanwhile, join me in a glass of bubbly or a bite of artisan bread and your favorite cheese in celebrating Gourmet's remarkable 68 years and mourning it's passing.