Spiced Acorn Squash Rings

Beautiful Monster by Ne-Yo

Today's post is about a plant that I was convinced was a creepy, crawly, life-threatening monster - until it revealed itself to be something quite beautiful and tasty!  The guys in the white suits that literally pop into the scene behind Ne-Yo in this music video are just how I perceived this plant to grow and inch toward me while my back was turned.  This is very spooky and Halloweenish activity, folks.  Read on - if you dare!

Several years ago

I started a garden space using the

"lasagna gardening" method.

I didn't have access to a tiller to 

"dig up" a garden in the traditional

manner I was used to.

This new method was circulating through

my area with great interest at the time

so I decided to give it a whirl.

And it worked!

And I loved it!

As my various seeds grew and 

prospered in abundance, I noticed

one plant in particular that was

growing at warp speed.

It seemed to grow even while I

stood and watched!

The only problem was,

it wasn't anything I had planted!

It was rogue!!

I could tell it belonged in the cucumber

or squash or pumpkin family.

But it wasn't a variety of any 

of those that I had planted.

And it seemed to be much happier

with the new garden setting than 

anything else.

When I would go out to tend my garden

I would conjure up images of

the scary movies I watched as a kid

where plants, such as this one,

would attack people from behind

and devour them!

Believe me, after this plant had literally

overtaken most of my garden space and 

started it's tendrils towards the neighbor's,

I didn't dare turn my back on it!

For the longest time

this plant annoyed me.

I didn't have the heart to pull 

it out, though, until I knew what it was!

Eventually it got some blossoms

and I waited anxiously to

see what those blooms would yield!

Oh, happy day, when

I saw that a bounty of acorn squash

would be visiting my harvest

basket that year!

Now I didn't mind it's uninvited

intrusion at all!

Now it was beautiful!

Acorn squash are so simple to fix,

and apparently, very simple to grow!

To me they are the quintessential 

fall squash as we ate them

so often as I was growing up.

Usually I just cut them in half,

scoop out the seeds, and bake.

But today I wanted to show

you how you can slice them

and make them "pretty."

They also cook faster since 

they are cut smaller!

Always a bonus!

Spiced Acorn Squash Rings

Serves 6

Printable Recipe Card

1 large acorn squash

2 teaspoons kosher salt

1 1/2 teaspoon five-spice

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Spray a sheet tray with cooking spray or use your oil mister.  Set aside.

Lay the acorn squash on it's side on a cutting board.  

Slice an inch off the pointy bottom part and an inch off the stem top part.  Then slice the remaining squash into 6 rings anywhere from 1/2" to 1" thick.  Using a small biscuit cutter or a paring knife, trim the seeds from the center of each slice.

Place each side, cut side down, onto the prepared sheet tray and spray or drizzle the olive oil over the tops.

Mix together the salt, five-spice, and pepper in a small bowl and then sprinkle over the top of the slices.  

If you don't have the five-spice on hand you can substitute 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon cumin powder, and 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg.  This is not five-spice, but it'll give you a sweet and smoky flavor combination.

Bake for 20 minutes and then turn and sprinkle with more of the spice mix.  Then bake for another 15 minutes, until golden and the squash flesh is soft when pierced with a fork.  Serve warm and enjoy!

Sausage and Mushroom Bread Pudding

Autumn Leaves by Eva Cassidy
Absolutely soulful.  If you're not familiar with Eva Cassidy's music, you should be.  I'm actually very surprised to find I haven't put her in a post yet!  This woman sang with her heart and soul and her music has the ability to reach across the sound waves into yours.  This song is my favorite autumn song.  I have several renditions of it in my music library.  But I needed Eva's heartfelt version today.  Savory bread puddings are soul food.  And this time of year I feel the need to feed my soul.  As I reconcile myself to the fact that summer is gone I can comfort myself with earthy mushrooms and spicy sausage  - and watch the autumn leaves drift by.

It took three tries before I came up with

this recipe today!

This is what happens sometimes as

I try to fit my healthier approach into practice.

My first attempt ended up being too dry -

not enough custard mixture.

My second attempt was too mushy

as I went waaaay overboard with the vegetables.

Yes - apparently you CAN add too 

many vegetables!

At least in a bread pudding.
If you want more veggies, serve them on the side!

You need enough bread to soak up the

custard without too many other ingredients getting

in the way of that process.

My third approach I found myself really
struggling with my urge to overindulge!
"Simplify!!" my mind kept telling me!
"Quit thinking you have to add more!"

So I resisted the temptation

to add more sausage.  And I heartily
fought back my mushroom addiction and
limited the numbers of those as well.
SO HARD!
THE STRUGGLE IS REAL, FOLKS!

I blame my dad.

The very first time he slid a perfectly
sautéed mushroom across the table to me
and that earthy, salty, sweet morsel
met my little girl tongue, I was hooked.  

It's a love affair that's lasted to this day,

But sometimes you need restraint -

even with mushrooms!

Once I cut back on the gorge of vegetables

this dish turned out perfect!

And, of course, throwing the cheese

on at the very end, well -

melty cheese.
Not necessarily healthy but - 

Need I say more?

Sausage & Mushroom Bread Pudding

Serves 6

Printable Recipe Card

1/2 lb. bread, cubed or tore into chunks

1/2 bell pepper, diced

4 oz. mushrooms, cleaned and sliced

1/4 red onion, sliced thin or diced

2 carrots, peeled and shredded

1/4 lb turkey sausage

2 slices bacon

3 fresh sage leaves or 1/2 t. dried

1 T. chopped fresh oregano or 1 1/2 t. dried

1 T. chopped fresh thyme or 1 t. dried

4 eggs

1 1/2 c. milk

1/2 c. shredded cheddar cheese

salt and pepper

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Place the bread cubes onto a sheet tray and toast for 10 - 15 minutes until lightly toasted.  Place them in a large bowl and set aside.

In a skillet, cook the bacon over medium high heat until crisp.  Remove bacon and break into pieces and add to the bowl of bread cubes.  Put the mushrooms into the hot skillet with the bacon drippings and sprinkle with a pinch of salt and pepper.  Cook until the mushrooms have caramelized and released their juices.

Remove the mushrooms and add to the bowl with the bacon and bread cubes.  Place the turkey sausage into the hot pan and stir to break into chunks.  Add the rest of the vegetables and the herbs and sprinkle with a pinch of salt and pepper.  Stir occasionally as the sausage loses it's pink color and the vegetables soften.

Add the contents of the skillet to the bowl with the other ingredients and stir to toss them well.

In another bowl whisk the eggs until uniform and then whisk in the milk.  Add a pinch of salt and pepper.  Add the egg "custard" to the bowl with the rest of the ingredients and stir well, pushing a little with the spoon to help the bread absorb the custard.  Spray an 8x8 square pan or a small rectangle pan with cooking spray and scoop the contents of the bowl into the pan.  Again, use the spoon to sort of squish the ingredients down.

Bake in the 350 degree oven for 40 minutes, but start checking at 30 minutes.  A knife inserted into a bread part of the dish should come out clean.  Scatter the cheese over the top and cook about 5 minutes more to get the cheese to melt and get bubbly.  

Remove from the oven and let sit for about 15 minutes before cutting and serving.

The cross-cut view is beautiful!

Quinoa Garden Salad

Surprise Yourself by Jack Garratt
"Keep exploring, seek and find."  My younger children, who didn't get much of a chance to get to know their grandfather, my dad, before he passed away, will ask me questions now and then about him.  They ask about the things he liked to do, they ask for little anecdotes that will shed light on what it was like to be around him, and they sometimes ask what he would have done in such and such a situation.  I love these questions as it allows me to sink back into the time when he was alive and the love I felt from him.  The words to this song are an accurate depiction of how he approached the world - an insatiable learner, never satisfied that he knew enough.  And I have inherited this from him.  When I see something that intrigues me, I must know more.  And all the quinoa salads I've had in recent months had put me on a quest to create my own.  And now I have.  And there will be more varieties because I must keep surprising myself!

I had a long round road trip this past weekend.

600 miles each way.

With road construction tucked in neatly

here and there, it amounted to about 

a nine to ten hour drive.

Ten hours to the destination because I had my 

daughter with me and she has back pain

so we needed to give her time periodically

to get out and walk around.

It took nine hours on the return trip 

because I was alone.

But I was alone!

I can usually find someone to come along for

the ride to keep me company.

This time I had no success!

How to keep myself alert and awake?

Podcasts!!

If you have never listened to a 

podcast, I greatly urge you to give one a try!

There are some really good ones!

It's like the old radio shows

but with an endless variety of topics!

On this nine hour drive I chose to listen to

the TED Radio Hour podcasts that

had filled up my queue.

TED talks are always phenomenal.

They always have subjects that exercise your

brain and enlighten your view on

so many subjects!

I probably listened to 7 of them

and never got a hint of drowsiness because I 

was so fascinated!
It's very much the same experience
I get when I'm on my treadmill.
I compose many of my recipes
and posts while on my treadmill!

So, while I'm listening to these fabulous
talks, in the back of my mind, 

I was also composing 

my quinoa salad.

I knew that what I loved about the quinoa salads

I'd had so far was the variety of textures

more than the variety of flavors.

But follow the texture cues and

you're bound to find amazing flavor!

There needed to be freshness, crispness, 

crunch, smoothness, creaminess, and a pop.

I thought about what was hanging out

in my pantry and fridge at home.

The ribs from the romaine lettuce 

and the new crop Fuji apples would be crisp.

Sunflower seeds would give a crunch.

Tomatoes would be fresh.

Avocados would provide the creamy element.

And quinoa has a sort of pop in your mouth.

I couldn't wait to try it out!

Sometimes these salads are offered with a 

protein addition like chicken or shrimp

but they don't need one

as quinoa is a complete protein itself!

But I'm a fool for a soft poached or over-easy egg.

When I dine out, even if an egg isn't offered on the menu,

I will ask if the kitchen would be

willing to do it anyway!

I'm rarely told no!

There is a guilty pleasure in the way the velvety

yoke coats all the morsels that enter your mouth!

My favorite bite?

Each time one of those apple chunks

found their way onto the fork!

Wowza!!!

New to quinoa?

Expand your mind

as well as your palate!

You just might surprise yourself!

Quinoa Garden Salad

Serves 6

Printable Recipe Card

1 head romaine lettuce, rinsed and chopped

1/2 cup cooked and cooled quinoa (follow pkg. directions)

1 tomato, diced

1 apple, cored and diced

1/4 red onion, small diced

1/2 orange bell pepper, diced

1 small avocado, peeled, pitted, and diced

1/4 cup sunflower seeds

2 Tablespoon chopped chives

1 Tablespoon chopped fresh thyme

---

juice from 1/2 orange

2 Tablespoons vinegar

1/4 cup vegetable oil

salt and pepper to taste

Whenever I am working with fruits or vegetables that tend to oxidize (turn brown) quickly, I set up a strategy where I can make sure that that doesn't happen.  If you're not that picky then ignore my steps!  But, with this salad, I am dealing with both apples and avocados.  Both known oxidizers.

I started by cutting the stem end of the romaine lettuce off and washing it well and then standing it up in my dish drainer to drain while I did the rest of the prep.

Next I cooked the quinoa and spread it out on a shallow pan and stuck it in the freezer to cool quickly.

Next I made up the vinaigrette with the last four ingredients - the ones after the dashes.

After that, I cup up the apple and scooped the bits into the bowl with the vinaigrette and tossed them around so that the acid from the orange juice could keep them from browning.  With a slotted spoon I removed them and placed into a large bowl and set aside.

Then I chopped the tomato, and onion, and bell pepper - adding all to the bowl with the apples.  I also chopped the chives and thyme and added them to the bowl as well.

When you have something this pretty going on, how can it be anything but delicious?!

Now it was time to chop the romaine lettuce.  I placed it all in a larger serving bowl.  I removed the quinoa from the freezer, fluffed it with a fork and sprinkled it over the lettuce in the serving bowl.

I cut up the avocado and tossed it around with the apples and vegetables and then poured them all into the serving bowl.  I lightly mixed the ingredients around and gave it a taste.  I ended up adding a little bit extra dressing but I was surprised at how the dressing on the apples had done a great job of coating everything else!  A little salt and I was good to go!

You can serve it just like this.

You won't feel cheated, I promise!