1/4 cup hoisin sauce
2 teaspoons minced ginger
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
2 tablespoons soy sauce
Heaping 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 (2-pound) tri-tip roast
1 tablespoon olive oil

Stir together hoisin, ginger, garlic, vinegar, soy sauce, and pepper until well blended. Rub marinade all over roast, coating it well. Place in a glass baking dish, cover, and allow to marinate in the refrigerator at least 8 hours, but preferably overnight.

Remove tri-tip from the refrigerator and let it sit at room temperature for 30 minutes. Heat oven to 375°F. Blot roast dry with paper towels to remove some of the excess marinade.

Heat olive oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Sear roast for about 2 minutes per side or until nicely browned. Transfer roast to a small roasting pan or baking dish and place in the oven. Cook until roast reaches an internal temperature of 125°F for medium rare, about 20 to 22 minutes.

Remove roast from the oven and cover loosely with foil. Let rest for 15 minutes before carving. Slice tri-tip across the grain and serve.

Ingredients
2 (1-pound) acorn squash
3/4 cup fresh or frozen cranberries
3 Tbsp orange juice or orange marmalade
3 Tbsp brown sugar
2 Tbsp butter
1 tsp lemon juice

Instructions
With a fork, pierce the whole squash on each side. Place on a paper towel in the microwave oven. Microwave 12 to 15 minutes or until fork-tender, turning over after 5 minutes. Let stand 5 to 10 minutes. Meanwhile, in a one-quart casserole, combine the remaining ingredients. Cover with waxed paper. Microwave for 3 to 5 minutes or until berries have popped, stirring after 2 minutes.

Cut the squash in half. Remove the seeds. Place cut side up on a microwave-proof platter. Spoon cranberry mixture into the hollowed-out squash. Cover with waxed paper and microwave for 1 to 3 minutes to heat through.

Yield: 4 servings

1 teaspoon vegetable oil

1 pound lean stew meat, all visible fat removed

2 cups low-sodium beef broth

1 cup water

1 medium tomato, peeled, seeded, and chopped

1/2 medium red bell pepper, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 serrano pepper, seeded and chopped

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano, crumbled

1/4 teaspoon dried thyme, crumbled

1 bay leaf

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon black pepper

1 pumpkin, preferably with a protruding stem, scrubbed and rinsed in cold water (about 5 to 6 pounds)

1 ear of corn, shucked and desilked

1 medium russet potato

1 medium sweet potato

1 medium zucchini

8 pearl onions

1/4 cup dried mixed fruit, chopped (equal amounts of peaches, apricots, and apples) (about 1 ounce)

In a Dutch oven, heat the vegetable oil over medium-high heat. Add the meat and brown on all sides, 8 to 10 minutes. Add the broth, water, tomato, bell pepper, garlic, chili pepper, oregano, thyme, bay leaf, salt, and black pepper. Bring mixture to a boil over medium-high heat, then reduce heat and simmer, covered, for 1 1/2 hours, or until meat is tender.

Preheat oven to 3500 F. While meat mixture is cooking, use a sharp knife to cut a lid from the top of the pumpkin.

Using a metal spoon, scrape the seeds and fibers from the lid and inside of the pumpkin. Discard fibers and seeds. Place pumpkin on a baking sheet and put the lid on the pumpkin. Bake for 1 1/2 hours, or until pumpkin is tender. (It should yield to gentle pressure when pressed on the outside with a spoon. If it gets too tender, it could collapse.) Set aside.
While pumpkin is baking, prepare the remaining vegetables for the stew. Using a sharp knife or cleaver, cut the corn cob into 1-inch slices. (You can use the flat side of a meat mallet as you would a hammer to aid the knife cutting through the cob.) Peel the russet and sweet potatoes and cut into 1-inch cubes. Cut the zucchini crosswise into 1/2-inch slices. Peel the pearl onions (see Cook's Tip, below). Add the vegetables and dried fruit to the meat mixture and simmer, covered, for 10 to 15 minutes, or until vegetables are tender.

To serve, pour the stew into the baked pumpkin and then present it on a platter. Use a metal ladle or deep metal spoon to scoop out the stew and scrape some of the baked pumpkin from the inside.

To make this ahead, store the stew and baked pumpkin separately. Reheat stew over medium-low heat for 10 to 15 minutes on the stove or 5 to 6 minutes on 100% power (high) in the microwave (full recipe) in a covered microwave-safe dish. Pumpkin can be reheated in a 3500 F oven for 15 to 20 minutes or on a microwave-safe plate on 100% power (high) for 4 to 6 minutes, depending on the microwave. Freeze cooked pumpkin in an airtight plastic bag for up to 6 months. Freeze stew in a rigid container for up to 4 months.

Cooks Tip 2:To peel pearl onions easily, drop them into boiling water and boil for 1 minute. Remove onions from the water and cool. Trim ends off and remove skin.

Calories: 422
Protein: 32 g
Carbohydrates: 65 g
Total Fat: 7 g
Saturated Fat: 2 g
Polyunsaturated Fat: 1 g
Monounsaturated Fat: 2 g
Cholesterol: 60 mg
Sodium: 253 mg

Reprinted with permission from the American Heart Association Around The World Cookbook, Copyright ) 1996 by the American Heart Association. Published by Times Books, a division of Random House, Inc

Interesting back story about this recipe: http://www.figmentfly.com/bb/dvd5.html

Total time : 5 hours

1 very large watermelon
1 roaster chicken, about 5 to 6 pounds
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
1 lemon
1/2 cup soy sauce
1 teaspoon five-spice powder
2 tablespoons chilled butter.

1. Cut a 1/4-inch-thick horizontal slice off bottom of watermelon, so it won't roll. Discard. Cut off the top third of the melon horizontally, then scoop out seeds and enough of the pulp from both remain parts to make room for the chicken.
2. Season cavity of chicken with salt and pepper. Insert lemon pricked with fork, along with 1 tablespoon of the soy sauce. Brush outside of chicken with remaining soy sauce, and sprinkle with five-spice powder,
3. Place chicken in the larger part of the melon, and position the other piece of melon on top, securing with long skewers.
4. Preheat oven to 400 degrees, and bake 2 hours. Then, reduce heat to 300 degrees and bake 2 1/2 hours longer.
5. Place watermelon on a tray and show it to guests. Return it to kitchen: remove chicken and carve. With a ladle, remove juices from watermelon and reduce in skillet until thickened; whisk in cold butter and spoon over chicken before serving.

Yield: 8 servings.

Approximate nutritional analysis per serving: 520 calories, 25 grams fat, 140 milligrams cholesterol, 1,185 milligrams sodium, 45 grams protein, 30 grams carbohydrate.

4 cups toasted oat bran cereal
2 cups uncooked quick-cooking oats
1 cup coarsely chopped pecans or cashews
1/4 teaspoon salt
1-1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon (I used Saigon cinnamon)
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup honey
1 (6-ounce) package sweetened dried cranberries (or substitute dried cherries or blueberries)

Combine first 5 ingredients in a large bowl; set aside.

Stir together butter, brown sugar, and honey in a small saucepan over low heat, stirring until butter melts and sugar dissolves.

Pour butter mixture over cereal mixture, stirring to coat. Spread in a single layer on an aluminum foil-lined 15- by 10-inch jellyroll pan. Bake at 325� for 20 minutes, stirring once. Stir in cranberries, and bake 5 more minutes. Spread immediately on wax paper; cool. Store snack mix in an airtight container for up to 1 week.