Acorn Squash Stuffed with Quinoa

With the return of fall weather recently, I've noticed that I'm craving less raw salads and more hearty meals. And the other night was no exception. As the seasons change, have you noticed a change in the foods your body craves?

Acorn Squash - those seeds are tasty too!

Because I've taken the October Unprocessed pledge, I took a look in my kitchen and tried to come up with something to make that would not require me to buy anything or go to a restaurant. I saw an Acorn Squash I bought recently, and decided to turn it into a complete meal. How to do that, you ask? Enter quinoa! I always have quinoa in my kitchen, in fact I have three kinds of it: white, red and black. Each ones tastes subtly different, so depending on what I'm making I'll choose a different type. To go with the squash, I decided to go with the blend, as it seems to go well with savory dishes.

To start, I roasted the squash in my oven. As that was baking, I cooked the quinoa in a pot on the stove. And miraculously, everything was done at about the same time!

A delicious meal! Yum!

Acorn Squash Stuffed with Quinoa (serves 2)
Ingredients:
- 1 Acorn Squash
- 1/2C Quinoa
- 1C Water
- 1/3C Minced Onion
- 1/8C Your choice: Raisins, Currants, Cherries, or Cranberries
- 1/8C Pecans
- 1T Olive Oil
- 1T Balsamic Vinegar
- Salt and Pepper, to taste

Directions:
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- Rinse and dry squash, then slice lengthwise down the middle.
- Remove and save the seeds for roasting.
- Put the squash face-down on a foil-lined baking pan. Bake about 30 minutes, or until soft.
- While squash is baking, prepare the quinoa.
- Rinse the quinoa to remove the natural saponins that give it a bitter taste. When water runs clear, put quinoa in a pot with water (ratio is same as for rice - 1:2).
- Bring water to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer quinoa until water has been absorbed, about 10-15 minutes. In the last few minutes, add the onion.
- When water is absorbed, remove quinoa from heat and add the remaining ingredients. Stir to combine, and let sit until the squash is done.
- Spoon the quinoa into the squash, and serve.

Great Grains! Mom's Breakfast Porridge

Okay, I realize this may not be the most appetizing photo...but I promise it tastes divine!

I spent the night at my mom's house recently, and before going to sleep for the night, she asked me what I wanted for breakfast. Oh, the joys of having someone else prepare food for you! :-) She's eaten healthy for as long as I can remember, so I simply told her, "I'll have whatever you're having."

The next morning, I walked into the kitchen to the delicious smell of grains cooking on the stove. I thought it was oatmeal, but it turned out to be something much more delicious. And much healthier too! All sorts of whole grains, cooking in almond milk and spices. I couldn't wait to dig in! She spooned some into a bowl for me, and I added in toppings from the assorted jars she'd placed on the counter: coconut, nuts, cinnamon, chia, flax, and maple syrup.

It was a delicious start to my day, and was very filling! I didn't feel stuffed at all, but it kept me going until lunch time, and I didn't even need my usual mid-morning snack. Thanks Mom for sharing the recipe with me!

Mom's Breakfast Porridge (serves 2)
Ingredients:
3/4C any combination of steel cut oats, quinoa (rinsed), millet, teff, amaranth
2C Water
1/4C Almond Milk (or your milk of choice)
Dash of salt, nutmeg, and cloves
Splash of Vanilla Extract
Ginger (about 1t fresh, or 1/2t dried)

Toppings: (any combination you desire, to add after cooking)
Chia Seeds
Ground Flax Seeds
Shredded Coconut
Cacao Nibs
Gogi Berries
Nuts (such as almonds, walnuts, pecans)
Cinnamon
Fruit (such as berries or banana)
Honey or Maple Syrup to sweeten

Directions:
- Be sure to rinse the quinoa well if you're using it. The grain naturally contains a coating called saponin that makes it taste bitter (and has a laxative effect).
- Put your desired grains into a pot with the milk/water mixture, and heat on the stove.
- Bring to a boil, then lower to a simmer.
- Simmer uncovered for about 15 minutes (keep an eye on it so you don't almost burn it like I did!).
- Let it stand about 5 minutes, this will thicken the mixture.
- Spoon into bowls and mix in your favorite toppings! If it has gotten too thick, add some more milk and stir.

Vegan (or not) Pecan Pie

A perfect, delicious pecan pie right out of the oven.

The holidays are over, and as I reflect back on the delicious food I made (and ate) between Thanksgiving and New Year's I'm proud of all the new things I tried in the kitchen. Some of my experiments flopped, but others turned out fantastic! One recipe that I plan to make every holiday from here on out, and just have to share with you all, is for Pecan Pie that can be made vegan or not. As someone who is allergic to eggs, I usually find that when it comes to baking, vegan recipes are the easiest for me to modify. It's easy to replace margarine with butter, for example. In my search for a pecan pie recipe, I found a great vegan recipe resource: Post Punk Kitchen. This woman seriously has a recipe for anything!

The story about the pie goes like this. I was planning to attend a post-Thanksgiving pot-luck, and really wanted to make a pecan pie. I had not yet had one this year, and really craved it. However, I cannot eat store-made pecan pie because they have eggs, and I really did not want to use Karo Syrup. Besides the fact that I just prefer the taste of real sugar, I also am doing my best to avoid corn, as most is genetically modified. If you want to learn more on that subject, do a search for "gmo corn" and read some of the results. I made the pecan pie for the party, and it was delicious. I was a little afraid the filling wouldn't set, as it seemed very liquid-y going into the oven, but it turned out perfectly!  And don't be scared of the recipe calling for tofu in the filling, I PROMISE you will not ever know it's there. Seriously.

Maple Pecan Pie
Ingredients:
1/2C sugar
1/2C brown sugar
1/2C pure maple syrup (the real stuff!)
1/4C margarine (I used butter since I'm not vegan)
6oz extra firm silken tofu
1/4C cold, unsweetened, plain, non-dairy milk (I used almond)
2T cornstarch
1/2t salt
1t vanilla extract
2C pecan halves
1 prepared pastry crust (do not parbake)

Directions:
First, preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
Then,
1. Make a caramel: in a saucepan over medium heat, mix together sugars and maple syrup. Stir often with a whisk. When bubbles start to form rapidly, stir consistently for about ten minutes (mine took more like fifteen). The mixture will become thick and syrupy - give it time! If it boils up the sides of your pot, lower the heat.
2. Once the caramel is thickened, add butter/margarine and stir til melted. Turn off the heat, and transfer mixture to a mixing bowl.
3. Work quickly here! Prepare the rest of the filling: crumble tofu into blender or food processor. Add milk, cornstarch and salt. Puree until completely smooth.
4. With caramel still warm, add to the mixing bowl the tofu mixture and vanilla. Mix well. (Mine got really watery at this point, but it turned out fine!)
5. Fold in the pecans.
6. Pour the mixture into the pie crust, bake for 40 minutes. It should appear to be set and no longer watery.
7. Let cool for a few hours (it will continue to set as it cools), then slice and serve!

Whisking the caramel - yum!

The pie before baking.