Buttercup Squash

Buttercup Squash is a boxy, squat, dark green, solid looking vegetable. But it's light. (This one was anyway, maybe some are heavier, maybe it depends on what kind of a rain year we are having.) I didn't get a picture of it before I cut it in half, sorry. You can see from the pictures below that the flesh is not thick. So when I cut this Buttercup in half and dug out the seeds, it presented me with two bowls. What should I do with these two bowls?

This is what I did. I looked around, in the pantry, in the refrigerator, in the fruit bowl. I checked my spices. I was determined to go savory, not sweet. I didn't want the maple syrup/ brown sugar and butter squash of my past. 

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F

A drizzle of Olive Oil in each pumpkin bowl (1 Tablespoon each)

Followed by a generous shake of salt, pepper and cinnamon.

I had a small package of chili pepper that comes with pizza when it's delivered and divided it between the bowls.

I chopped up 4 small apples - about 3 cups and about 1/2 cup of walnuts and stirred them together before spooning them into the squash halves. 

Cover with aluminum foil and put into the oven for 30 minutes.

Then uncover for the remaining 30 minutes. 

So Pretty.

YUM

You could use pears instead of apples. You could add celery, onion or cranberries. You could change the spices. It's a dish the lends itself to experimentation. 

To take advantage of the oven heat, I also roasted 2 head of garlic at the same time and served them alongside the squash. It was a very nice compliment to the natural subtle sweetness of the squash.

Anti-Fruitcake Bars

How many people do you know actually likes fruitcake? My husband does, the only one I've ever known to eat it and relish it. I've wondered more than once if I could make a fruit cake that isn't made from artificially colored over processed dried fruit, and perhaps more wholesome altogether. So when he brought home dried persimmon and golden raisins from the farmers market this weekend, I felt that this was my time to act while the holidays raged on all around me.

Today I found he took the raisins with him to work, but I still had several dried fruits in the pantry. Anyway it was the dried persimmon that intrigued me anyway. Looking at fruit cake recipes I noticed they took several eggs. Then I happened on a bar cookie that originally was supposed to have jam spread on top. I used the same ingredients but added 1 cup of walnuts and 1 cup of mixed dried fruit, however, the mixture was now a little dry. What to do about a binder? My brother looked over my shoulder and told me to put in some treacle, better known as molasses. It worked like a dream! These cookies are incredibly wholesome, dense and sweetly delicious. Let these bars replace all those mass produced granola or energy bars in your lunch boxes from now on.

Anti-Fruitcake Bars 

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 cup whole grain rolled oats

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

2/3 cup brown sugar

1 cup chopped walnuts

1/4 cup dried blueberries

1/4 cup dried dates

1/4 cup dried cherries

1/4 cup chopped dried persimmons

1/2 cup margarine (1 stick)

2 tablespoons molasses

Combine all the dry ingredients, including the walnuts and dry fruit. Feel free to play with the dried fruit combination. Then melt the margarine before adding it to the dry mixture. Add the molasses and stir only until just combined. Press into a 8x9 greased square baking pan or into two loaf pans sprayed with oil, as I did because I gave away my square pan at some pot luck long forgotten. (Why do I never remember to replace it?) Bake at a 350 degree oven for 30 minutes. Let cool before cutting into bars.

 

NUTS

Same old, same old. That has been my menu lately. It occurred to me that since nuts were healthy, there must be a vegan recipe out there that used nuts as a main ingredient that I could add to my repertoire. So today I bring you a very simple Walnut sauce.

My two go to places to check out nutrition, World's Healthiest Foods and Dr. Michael Greger's website say that walnuts are high in omega 3 fatty acids. They rave about many benefits of eating walnuts. The one that really caught my eye was the idea that a handful of walnuts everyday will reduce weight gain around the mid section.  

This very simple sauce reminds me of pesto. The prominent flavor is garlic. If you don't like garlic, other spices will work very nicely. Substitute the garlic with peppers or celery seeds. I imagine cilantro and chopped cherry tomatoes would be lovely. 

Walnut - Garlic Sauce

3/4 cup chopped walnuts
1 small garlic clove
2-3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup boiling water
pepper

Put walnuts, garlic, olive oil and salt into a blender and blend until smooth. Add 1/4 cup boiling water. Check the consistency. Add water if needed.

Serve over noodles.
Nest time I will garnish with chopped walnuts and chopped parsley.

I chopped up some beet greens and fried them quickly in olive oil and a little chopped garlic to serve with the pasta. It was wonderful. A surprisingly satisfying break from rice and beans.