Acorn Squash

Your choice of pumpkin depends on whether you want to eat it or scare people with it. The Jack O'Lantern pumpkin with its thin wall and large seed bed makes the perfect carving vehicle. Your Halloween pumpkin, however, is not the best one for eating. Its flesh is watery and there isn't much of it for the size. For cooking you want the short, squat, beige cheese pumpkin with its thick, deep-colored flesh and small seed pocket.Pumpkin, high in vitamin C, is a member of the winter squash family and can be used in any recipe calling for butternut or acorn squash.

All it takes is a little cool weather, and I'm back in the kitchen again. It must be a hibernation thing.I called my sister, Linda, in Florida. She spent the whole weekend cooking, too.In the event you, too, are in the mood, I'll share this weekend's discoveries. One's a quickie, and one takes some time. Both are squash.Yuck, squash!My childhood response was based entirely on not liking the sound of the word, since I never even tasted it until I became an adult. Frankly, it's not bad.Acorn squash is a fall favorite now appearing in a variety of colors.

Nothing is simple at Michaelangelo, the restaurant where Scirocco Mediterranean Grill used to be; and for the most part that's fine.From the Mediterranean decor to the food on your plate, a lot is happening here. That's not surprising, I suppose, when the cuisine is a combination of Northern Italian, French, Spanish and American.A steak isn't just a steak. It's a charred filet mignon with herbed potato salad, bacon, scallions and "a natural sauce." But it sounds pretty good, doesn't it?The only soup regularly on the menu is a puree of cranberry bean with "crispy" prosciutto.

Every once in awhile a restaurant opens up with such promise it makes a food critic's heart sing.The new Rothwells is one of those.Promise isn't perfection, so there are things to carp about -- a dinner served at room temperature here, a waiter undereducated in the food there. But when Rothwells is good, it's very, very good.The loyal customers who followed Mark Hofmann when he left Due to open Rothwells must have been surprised at his new place. Due, sister restaurant to Linwood's, is known for its rustic chic and its casual but upscale northern Italian menu.

We've known for a long time that it prevents scurvy and is important for the healthy functioning of all mucus membranes in our bodies.Now mounting evidence suggests (but doesn't prove) that vitamin C may play a role in preventing many kinds of cancers, hardening of the arteries, cataracts and birth defects, as well as reducing high blood pressure and common cold symptoms.The Environmental Nutrition (EN) newsletter points out that on any given day, fewer than 50 percent of Americans consume 60 mg of vitamin C, the Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA)

A friend once defined a restaurant critic's job as having to find 9,000 ways to say mediocre. I'm happy to report that wasn't true in 1996.While we didn't have quite the excitement of a Joy America or a Savannah opening this year, there were some notable additions to the restaurant scene: Sotto Sopra on North Charles Street, Daniel's (formerly Tabrizi's) in Federal Hill, the Cheesecake Factory in Harborplace, Opa! in Canton, the Brewer's Art on North Charles Street, jr. in Bolton Hill and Rothwells in Timonium.

Anyone who thinks Baltimore is a tradition-bound city should visit Saffron, a new restaurant just north of Mount Vernon Square. You might expect that it's just another Indian restaurant, given that owners Tony and Ann Chemmanoor also own the Bombay Grill group of restaurants in the area. But you'd be wrong. True, Indian flavors and cooking techniques predominate in many dishes. Saffron's food is, for want of a better term, Indian fusion. What it's fusing with isn't always clear, but there are hints of Japanese, Chinese, Hawaiian, Southwestern, French and Italian -- if you consider fettuccine Italian.

A PICTURE IS worth 1,000 calories, as anyone who is viewing holiday snapshots knows. "Oh, God! Tell me I don't look like that in real life," is the lament uttered just before, "That's it. I am not putting another thing in my mouth in this lifetime." Howard M. Shapiro, New York City diet doctor to the rich and famous, seems to understand the power of the picture, and his new weight loss program is all the buzz as a result. In Dr. Shapiro's Picture Perfect Weight Loss, now available in paperback (Warner Books, $14.95)

After two years, the original owners of Zella's Pizzeria on Hollins Street are coming back. Julie Ernst and Cem Ari opened Zella's in 2007. It found a loyal following and helped to anchor the struggling Hollins Market neighborhood. They sold the business in 2010, but it floundered without them and eventually closed. In 2011, Ernst and Ari opened Toss , a pizzeria near the Senator Theatre in Rosebank, where they reunited with some of their old patrons, who encouraged them to return to Hollins Market.

Each day of the week offers a menu aimed at a different aspect of meal planning. There's a family meal, a kids' menu aimed at younger tastes, a heat-and-eat meal that recycles leftovers, a budget meal that employs a cost- cutting strategy, a meatless or "less meat" dish for people who may not be strict vegetarians but are trying to cut down on meat, an express meal that requires little or no preparation, and an entertaining menu that's quick.Shopping ListWhat you'll need for this week's menus (consult recipes for exact amounts)