Pumpkin/Squash Saag

I had a nice butternut squash sitting about and wanted to try something different. SO I whipped out one of my favourite cookbooks (the Veganomicon) to see what I could do with it. This recipe is originally for pumpkin, but seemed something that would work with the squash so I gave it a whirl. It takes a bit of time to bake the squash, so you can do it the day before, or just go read a book while it's baking like I did :)

~ 3Lb sugar pumpkin or butternut/acorn squash

2-3 t oil

1 large white onion diced up

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 ½ t garam masala

¼ t cinnamon

½ t salt

1/8 t cayenne

1 c water (or veg stock)

1 inch cube ginger peeled and grated/minced up fine

10 oz spinach (~2 small bunches) washed and chopped coarsely

juice of ~1/2 lime (or more to taste)

First bake the squash-cut in half and scoop out seeds. Brush with oil and place skin side out on a cookie sheet lined with foil and bake at 350 for ~45 minutes until a fork easily pierces it. Take out, peel off skin and let cool a bit. Dice into 1 inch chunks.

Preheat a soup pot over medium heat and sauté the onions in oil for ~5 minutes. Add garlic and sauté 2 minutes more until it starts to turn a honey brown color.stir in pumpkin and cook until warmed through again (2-3 min) and then add the spices and water to the pot and cook for about 5 minutes stirring often. The pumpkin will mush up a bit and still have some chunks. Then add the spinach in 3 or 4 batches, stirring it well after each addition and let it wilt so it all fits in the pot. Cook for about 10 more minutes and then add the lime juice at the end. Adjust salt and pepper (and curry) if desired. This is even better the next day or if it sits a few minutes…

This is simple and delicious with a bit of bread or rice. If you have the time, give it a try. Nice subtle spices that taste yummy on a cold day and fill you right up.

Have a great day!

Baked almond chicken fingers

My favourite way to make chicken is to sort of "schnitzelify" it, with my own twist...I cut a chicken breast into thin finger strips, dip in flour, egg wash and then a crunchy mix of roughly equal amounts of coarsely ground up roast salted almonds (done in food processor)and Panko flakes, with some spice added (pepper, cumin, Mrs.Dash, oregano). I used to fry them in a pan in about a cm of oil to golden brown, but I haven't made them in a while as they really aren't the healthiest. They are incredibly amazing tho - the almonds and Panko make for crunchy tasty chicken. So good.
Last night I had an idea - bake them.
So I prepped them the same as usual and then put them on a non-stick cookie sheet in a 375 degree oven for about 35 minutes, flipping every 10 minutes or so until the chicken was cooked and the coating started to brown up. They were amazing! Incredibly tasty and crunchy but not greasy. Score.

To go with them I served one of my favourite sides: I cooked up a spaghetti squash in the microwave and sauteed some garlic, green onion and red pepper (~1/8 c each) with some oregano and pepper in some olive oil. I took the cooked spaghetti squash and added the sauteed veggies with it, with just enough flavoury oil and herbs to sort of break up the spaghetti squash, tossing it up together and coating it a bit for flavour.
That with the chicken?
Divine :)

Roasted root veggies and baked fish

Last night I had lots of work to do (what a surprise), so I made a meal that took long to bake, but required very little work from me and could be ignored...and it was SO GOOD.
In a mixing bowl I thinly sliced a few potatoes, a yam, and part of a butternut squash (cubed it because it cooks faster) and some onion. I drizzled on some olive oil and some Organic natural herb seasoning (from costco) and a bit of pepper on this, tossed it to coat and spread it out on a foil covered cookie pan and baked it for 45 minutes at 375, turning things halfway. Along with it I put a trout fillet on top of some sliced lemon and onion and sprinkled some dill and garlic on top and wrapped it in a tinfoil pouch and stuck that in the oven too.
The results was very healthy and insanely delicious - easy cleanup too. Maybe it's all the snow lately, but nothing says yum like baked squash and yams. And i love baked trout - the foil pouch kept it moist and lemony.

Mmmm...and there was more for lunch today. Bwaha!

Kabocha!

A friend gave me some squash from her garden this fall. There is an advantage to having a friend on an acreage...lots of yummy veggies in the fall.

I still had two huge kabocha squash sitting in my pantry staring at me every time I opened the door. One was about 6 Lb and bigger than my head! They are yummy flavourful winter squash -sweet and nutty...like a cross between and acorn squash and a yam. Apparently after you pick them they're supposed to have a few weeks to mature and get more flavourful before you eat them...heh heh. No problem there. I've had mine a few months now :)

I was wondering what the hell to do with it this weekend when I opened the mail and found this month's Vegetarian Times in it...and on the cover was a picture of their recipe for Kabocha squash soup. And it had smoked paprika in it, which is one of my new favourite things. Score! This magazine is usually full of yummy recipes and this soup was definitely no exception-I used half my gargantuan squash to make a double batch of soup and froze the rest of the squash for another soup session. It was so simple and yummy I must post the recipe, giving full credit to the folk's at Vegetarian Times.

Kabocha Soup

1 c thin sliced white onion (~ 1 medium onion)
1 T olive oil
1 bay leaf
2 T cooking sherry
2 cloves garlic
2 t smoked paprika
~1 1/2 Lb peeled kabocha squash, cut into 1 inch pieces
1 c water
2 c low sodium veggie broth
Pinch salt
pepper to taste

Saute the onions and oil in a large saucepan for 5-7 minutes, add the garlic and saute another few minutes. Add the paprika and bay leaf and saute another minute. Add sherry, water, broth and squash and bring to a simmer on low-med heat. Let simmer with lid on for ~30 minutes until squash is softened/cooked. Add pinch of salt and pepper, fish out the bay leaf and puree the soup in a food processor. Add pepper to taste and enjoy. Easy and delicious.