I used the Japanese Kuri squash which is a fiery red colour. It roasts well. You can use any drier variety of squash for this curry.

The best Scottish shortbread handed down through my family. Crumbly, sweet and buttery.

This dish has a salty, savoury sauce with a little bit of a kick. If you don't want the spice of the jalapenos, leave it out, and finely diced onion can be used instead of the shallots.

This is the one hors d’oeuvre that I keep being asked for time and time again. It’s crunchy, creamy, spicy and hits all the high spots.

Mushrooms and squash have a real affinity and this soup proves it. I like to use oyster mushrooms, but chanterelles, which I found at the supermarket this week, provide the best flavour.

The fifth taste, umami, has much to do with glutamate, an amino acid found in such foods as prosciutto, soy sauce and a number of cheeses. Umami can show up in your glass, too (fermentation is glutamate’s old friend).

When this recipe originally ran in The Globe and Mail, I received a lovely note from reader Barbara Zuchowicz. This dish reminded her of a wonderful meal she had in Italy: "It brought back joyful memories of a trip to Italy my late husband, an exceptional cook, and I took a number of years ago.