Awhile back I acquired a cookbook from my mom. It's one leftover from her hippie days and was appropriately titled, "Country Commune Cooking." It was written by a woman named Lucy Horton, who spent five months in 1971 hitchhiking around the country, visiting communes and collecting recipes. It's interesting as much for the stories she tells about the places she visited and the people she met as it is for the recipes she prints.

One of the things I find interesting about this book is it's emphasis on organic foods. I tend to think of the organic movement as something fairly recent, but according to Lucy, there were quite a few people back in the early seventies who were committed to eating whole, organic foods.

The majority of the recipes in this book are a bit dated, but a few still jump out at me as worth trying. After the jump you'll find a recipe for Curried Squash and Chickpeas that seems, at least to me, to be the perfect dish for this time of year. I imagine that it would be particularly good over a scoop of warm brown rice. Curried Squash and Chickpeas
from Country Commune Cooking by Lucy Horton

1 cup chickpeas, soaked overnight*
2 tablespoons oil
2 onions, chopped
1 small winter squash, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes
2 to 3 cloves garlic, mashed
1 large (28-ounce) can of tomatoes, undrained
2 teaspoons curry powder
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground clove
dash cayenne
salt

Cover soaked, undrained chickpeas with water and simmer in a covered saucepan until tender, about 1 to 1 1/2 hours. Add water as neeeded, but try to end up with as much of the water as possible absorbed.

Heat the oil in a large pot or skillet. Saute onions for several minutes over medium heat. Add squash, garlic, tomatoes and seasonings (except for salt) and bring a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 1 hour.

Combine chickpeas and squash mixture. Salt to taste. Simmer together 15 minutes. Serves 8.

*If you were in a hurry, you could swap in two cans of rinsed and drained chickpeas.