Kabocha squash and kale

I had a long, rather involved morning trying to get a jump start for my car today. I actually did get one early on, only to not let my car run long enough to recharge, then parking it face-in in the garage to not start again. Um...?! This maneuver perhaps tops last week's decision to bring my house plant, aka small tree, outside for sun last week, forgetting that the nights were pretty cool and that the tree would, of course, feel the fall chill and drop its leaves, which it is now doing quietly every hour in my living room.

So. The big need for a functional vehicle today was a grocery store trip because I was out of eggs and cream. So breakfast this morning was keto style coffee (coffee blended with butter and coconut oil) and this delicious squash and kale with breakfast sausage, rather than eggs. Which was not bad. I could eat kale and kabocha squash forever, and this pairing was particularly good. (It is slightly reminiscent of the roasted kabocha with date relish from some years ago, but less fancy and less sweet!) I am coming to the end of my garden kale - I picked a bunch this morning after brushing off snow, and I suspect my next harvest will be the last. No more daily kale bounty!

This recipe is simple, and makes a great side, or eat it for breakfast as I did, with eggs and/or sausage. The fussy part of this dish is that it requires two pans: 1 for roasting the squash, and the other for the stove top. I made my squash more like slices, but you could also cut it up into chunks. I did that with the rest of the squash, which I also cooked to save for later.

• olive oil and coconut oil
  
• half of a red onion, slivered or diced
  
• 1 clove garlic, minced
  
• 1 bunch kale, stem removed and chopped
• 1 jalapeno, chopped with seeds
  
• half a small kabocha squash (or butternut), seeded, peeled, and sliced about 1/2" thick
  
• salt
• few squeezes of lemon juice
  

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. 

Pour about 1 T olive oil onto a rimmed sheet tray; lay kabocha squash slices in a single layer, making sure to coat both sides in the olive oil. Add more olive oil as needed, and sprinkle salt over the top. Put sheet tray on the bottom oven rack for 20-25 minutes, flipping halfway through. You want the slices to brown on each side.

While squash is cooking, prep the onions and garlic and kale. Heat 1 T coconut oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Saute onions until soft. Add garlic and saute another 2 minutes. Add chopped kale and jalapeno and saute for 5-10 minutes, stirring often to coat all of the greens. If your kale is dry, add 1 T of water to help cook/steam the kale. (Mine was wet from the snow cover!) You want the greens to be soft, but still bright green. Keep heat under the skillet on low, uncovered, while you wait for the squash.

When squash is done, spoon it into the cast iron. Pour a glug of olive oil over the top, and give some generous squeezes of lemon juice before stirring everything together, gently. Add more salt to taste, and serve.

Pumpkin Custard

I've been eating a lot of orange vegetables lately: carrots, squash, and sweet potatoes. The first two are still from the garden, and the latter is just what I want this time of year. And even though greens sound good, I can't quite bring myself to buy any at the store. It seems silly after spending the past numerous months picking whole armfuls in the backyard. (Incidentally I was able to keep picking it basically up until this last snowstorm. The kale was frozen out there and snapped off the plant when I "picked" it, but cooked up just fine). So - it's me and lots of orange veggies. My feet and hands have not turned orange yet, but I keep checking them to see.

Amidst the orange is this lovely pumpkin custard. I remember a few years ago when my sister was visiting and staying with my dad for several weeks - they seemed to have an epiphany/burst of enthusiasm for pumpkin pie. "It's really just eating vegetables!" they would exclaim gleefully, and were baking several a week to eat alongside breakfast, lunch, or dinner. I'm having my own version of their glee - pumpkin custard?! Eggs, squash/pumpkin, and a little sweetener. Yum! I've made this a few times in the last month or so.

I tend to like a thicker custard, and that seems best accomplished by reducing the amount of coconut milk in the recipe. I also like lots of the pumpkin and some strong spices. The recipe is pretty forgiving though - I mean, whats to go wrong?! In terms of sweetener: You can use 1/2 c honey if you want to go full out, but I usually do a mix of stevia and honey. My version is pretty modestly sweet (I prefer only 16 drops of stevia, but I'm a light weight on the stevia usage). One time I added in a Tablespoon of molasses, which gave it a really rich flavor. I'm listing the stevia/honey blend here, but use whatever you like.

Pumpkin Custard (modified from this "Against All Grain" recipe)
Makes 4-6 servings

1 can pumpkin puree*
3 eggs
2 T honey
16-24 drops liquid stevia
1/4 c coconut milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp cloves
1/4 tsp cardamom
1/2 tsp lemon zest (opt)
pinch of sea salt

*or 2 cups of your own: I've found that kabocha squash makes a really nice, dense "pumpkin"

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Whisk all of the ingredients in a bowl until a smooth consistency. Pour the filling into ramekins or oven proof bowls, filling not quite full. (I only have 4 ramekins, and so I use a muffin tin for the overflow last cup or so. Not as picturesque, but very practical!)
3. Set ramekins in a cake pan or on a baking sheet, and set carefully in the oven to bake for 20-35 minutes (depending on the size of your ramekins/bowls). They are done when they are "set" - meaning the center is just a bit jiggly, but not sloshy when you shake them. Those are very technical terms.
4. Let cool (really they are better after they cool) and refrigerate for an hour or so.  Serve with a little coconut cream or just as is. 

Note: I did fill this left over (from my quiche crust) mini-crust with some of the pumpkin custard and oh my. It was very delicious, especially with some coconut cream all over the top. I didn't even whip the cream, it was just the thicker stuff that was at the bottom of the coconut milk can. It was very good if you want to go all out for the whole pumpkin pie thing.

Roasted Squash with Date Relish and Pumpkin Seeds

I made a new recipe for Thanksgiving this year, and I have to say it is my favorite squash recipe ever. OMG this was so good. It comes from Bon Appetit, and it turned out totally gorgeous. I never got a photo, but I perused some online pictures to try to find one that might hint at the color and flavor combo of this dish. It was stunning and delicious.

This is the first time I have ever cooked kabocha, and I love it. It is really rich and almost dry because it is so dense. It is almost like a sweet potato in dark orange color and texture. It would probably make excellent pumpkin pie filling because there is such little moisture.

The prep for this dish is a bit lengthy - mostly because you have to peel the squash before baking it. The recipe recommends that you remove the peel after halving the squash (as shown), which is what I did.

Roasted Squash with Date Relish and Pumpkin Seeds (serves 8)

Final servings looked a little like this...

1/3 c. shelled raw pumpkin seeds/pepitas
1 tsp + 3/4 c Extra Virgin Olive Oil, divided
1 4 lb kabocha squash, halved through the root end and seeded
kosher salt
1 T fresh thyme leaves
freshly ground pepper
1/4 c (or more) fresh lemon juice
1/4 c chopped fresh flat leaf parsley
1 bunch/4oz. dandelion greens/arugula - rough ends removed (I recommend arugula)
1 c deglet dates (*deglet is very important! other dates are too sticky), pitted and thinly sliced lengthwise
2 oz parmesan cut into 1/4" pieces (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 375. Arrange racks in upper and lower 1/3 of oven. Spread pepitas on a baking sheet in a single layer. Stir them once or twice while browning on the top oven rack - about 7 minutes total, until lightly browned, puffed, and aromatic. Toss seeds on cookie sheet with 1 t olive oil and a pinch of salt. Let cool on the tray. When cool, chop as garnish for salad. (I used them whole!)

like this only with no peel!

2. Increase oven temp to 425. Place squash half cut side down on a cutting board. Carefully remove the peel with a sharp knife. Cut squash lengthwise into 3/4" thick wedges. (Again, you could reverse those steps and try removing the peel after making wedges.) Put squash wedges, 1/4 c olive oil, and thyme in a large bowl and toss to coat. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Arrange squash wedges on two large rimmed baking sheets in a single layer. Bake until soft when pierced with a fork, rotating sheets one time midway through, about 25-30 minutes.
3. Mix remaining 1/2 c oil, 1/4 c lemon juice, and parsley in a medium bowl. Season with salt, pepper, and any additional lemon juice to taste. Place greens in a large bowl, drizzle 1 T of dressing over the top and toss to coat. Season with more salt and pepper to taste. Add dates and parmesan (if using) to remaining dressing for date relish.
4. Arrange greens on a large platter, top with warm squash, and then spoon the date relish over it all. Top with pumpkin seeds as the garnish.

*Note: I have made a version of this dish sans greens - with only the squash (I mixed in delicata too), the dressing, pumpkin seeds, and the dates. It makes a great potluck item.

Glazed Delicata Squash

It seems that this month is the one to eat copious quantities of squash. I have some kind of squash pretty much everyday, sometimes more. Yum. Last night I went to my friend and neighbor's Harvest Dinner, which is a lovely gathering to celebrate the harvest, friends, and gratitude. This year I used some of the delicata and herbs from the garden, and also some cider from apples I helped pick and press last year. It turned out pretty delicious - sweet and tangy, with some savory herb bites.

I stayed fairly true to the original recipe, but did not peel the squash. I find it so novel that you can eat delicata peel that I just can't imagine why I would go to the trouble. I also baked it all in the oven instead of cooking it on the stove top, which worked nicely for a larger batch (I made extra), and it turns out I needed less cider that way.

Serves 6-8

2 medium delicata squash (about 2 pounds total)
3 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup coarsely chopped fresh sage
1 tablespoon coarsely chopped fresh rosemary
1 1/4 cups apple cider
2 teaspoons cider vinegar
Salt and pepper
 
1. Cut squash in half lengthwise and scrape out the seeds with a spoon. Cut each piece in half lengthwise again, and then crosswise into 1/4-inch-thick slices. Heat oven to 375.
2.  Melt butter in a heavy large skillet over low heat (or in the oven in a large baking pan). Add the herbs. Cook, stirring, until the butter just starts to turn golden brown, about 3 to 5 minutes (don’t brown the herbs). Add the squash to the skillet/pan. Toss to coat. Add cider, vinegar and salt to taste. Bake in the oven, stirring occasionally, at 375, until the liquid has boiled down to a glaze and the sauce is tender, about 20 to 30 minutes, adding a few tablespoons of water if the glaze gets too thick (I did not need to do this, and this happens quickly. The pan goes from cider-y to glazed in a few minutes!)
3. Season with pepper and additional salt, if necessary.

Pumpkin pancakes (paleo)

My friend Mary started a small farm venture last summer, including lots of amazing squash. She gave me a huge one - i don't even know the name of it - and I finally cooked it up in preparation for my future pumpkin dessert making plans. I had plenty of puree, so I've been seeking out a couple of recipes to use it in. This morning I made pumpkin pancakes and they turned out delicious!  They are basically just pumpkin puree, eggs, a little coconut flour, and butter/coconut oil. The texture was really nice, a little more thin than fluffy, with a hint of pumpkin taste.

Here is my slightly modified version that made 6-8 pancakes:
4 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup pumpkin puree
1-2 Tbsp coconut flour (not necessary if using canned pumpkin, which is thicker)
2 tablespoons butter or coconut oil, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 Tbsp honey (optional)
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon cloves
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
pinch salt

1. Whisk the eggs, canned pumpkin, pure vanilla extract, and honey together. Mix the coconut flour, spices, and baking soda in a small bowl, and then whisk into the wet ingredients.
2. Mix the melted butter into the batter.
3. Grease a skillet and spoon the batter into the skillet to make pancakes of your desired size. When a few bubbles appear, flip the pancakes once to finish cooking.
4. Serve! I had mine with some blueberries heated up with a little coconut cream. Sauteed apples would also be good, or just butter and cinnamon.

Delicata squash with tahini dressing

Well, it seems that I like those single ingredient veggie sides lately...in the form of veggie tossed in oil and then roasted in the oven and sprinkled with salt. Yep - simple and tasty. And good as leftovers for lunch the next day.

In browsing Heidi Swanson's blog, I came across a really delicious looking delicata squash recipe - but it was complicated and required miso and harissa, neither of which I had, so instead I just stole her idea and simplified it. Did you know you can eat the skin of delicata squash? I didn't. But you can! And I think it looks so pretty to have these half moons of squash getting all roasted and brown in the oven. And geez, why peel a squash if you don't have to? Prep time for these is, like, 3 minutes.

Squash Prep
2 Delicata squash (totally not in season - these are from Mexico, alas)
2 T. coconut oil
smoky salt

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cut squash in half lengthwise, scoop out the seeds, and slice em up. Toss the slices in the melted coconut oil and spread them in one layer on a cookie sheet. Bake for 30 minutes*, flipping halfway through. Sprinkle with (smoky) salt.
*Note that I made some of these on one of those insulated baking sheets and they got not nearly so brown as the ones in my baking pan that was not insulated. So, go for the thin baking sheet/cake pan sort of idea here.

Tahini Dressing
Mix equal parts tahini, water, and lemon juice. Toss in some salt. You can also add in garlic if you can do the whole raw garlic thing. If it is too thick, add a bit more water. That is it! So good. (This dressing is really tasty on just about anything.)

Than just pour the dressing over the top and eat em up. I also had some as leftovers the next day, and ate them as a snack at work (plain and dipped in the tahini). YUM.

Curried Squash Soup

2 medium acorn or butternut squash

(or others of your choice: sugarloaf/dumpling etc to make that amount)

Cut in half, spray/coat lightly with oil and roast in oven for about an hour or until nice and soft. Scoop out and remove seeds. Set aside.

Next :

chop one medium onion

2 cloves garlic

peel and chop one apple

sauté the above in olive oil in a large pot (which will allow you to later add the squash and water) with the following spices:

1/2 tsp ground cumin

1/2 tsp ground coriander

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp ginger (fresh or jar)

1/4 tsp dry mustard

a few dashes cayenne

about 10 mins on medium heat.

Finally, scoop out the squash insides and add to the mixture in the large pot, along with:

1 cup orange juice, (fresh squeezed or not)

2 1/2 cups water

Cook until heated through, let cool before placing in food processor or blender for nice smooth texture.

These things can be added to taste:

Salt

Lemon juice or apple cider vinegar if soup is too sweet for you.

I enjoy serving it with bread.

GF Squash Waffles

Last fall, we were gifted with a big old squash. I don't know what kind it was, but we poked it full of holes and roasted it in our oven. It produced many, many freezer bags of golden mash that I'm still using today. I love my freezer.

This recipe = easy. And it's tasty. And it's gluten free:
2 eggs
2/3 cup cooked squash, mashed up
3 tablespoons melted butter
1 cup milk of your choices (I use almond milk. Just sayin.)
sugar to taste - omit if you're a syrup fiend
2 tablespoons of vanilla extract (I usually throw in a shot of almond, too), or to taste
1.5 cups GF flour blend of your choice
pinch salt
2.5 generous teaspoons baking powder
1 tablespoon wheat germ
spices you like: nutmeg, cinnamon, cardamom...

Heat up your waffle iron and pull out two bowls: one largish and one not so large. Beat the eggs in the largish bowl and add the squash, butter, milk, vanilla, and sugar. In a separate bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients. Pour dry ingredients into the egg mixture and, using a spatula, stir to combine.

You know how your iron works, so make your waffles accordingly and serve them with syrup, agave, berries, or whatever knocks your socks off.

Variation: throw some shredded cheddar in after you've poured batter on the iron. Thank me later.

Maple Pumpkin Pie with Candied Ginger

Eren and I first made this pie 8 years ago. Every time the weather turns cold we remember this recipe, and yearn for the fall that we lived in the same town and baked pie after pie. I think it is everything pumpkin pie should be: not too sweet, perfect custard texture, creamy, and very pumpkin-y. The maple adds this really nice richness without being too sugary, and the ginger is amazing. And we got to make it this weekend! Pie recipe is here at Epicurian: Ginger Maple Pumpkin Pie. The "pumpkin" we used was actually a kabocha squash that was a super rich dark orange color.

The crust we used was another Baking Illustrated recipe. Baking Illustrated is like the science version of cooking - they test every recipe (ever seen America's Test Kitchen? this is them) with different ingredients to come up with the fail-proof perfect one. According to science. Kind of fascinating.

Pie Dough for Prebaked Pie Shell (1 single 9" pie)
1 1/4 c. unbleached all-purpose flour, plus more for rolling
1/2 t. salt
1 T. sugar
3 T. vegetable shortening, chilled
4 T. unsalted butter, cold, cut into 1/4" pieces
4-5 T. ice water

Process flour, salt and sugar in food processor until combined. Add shortening and process 10 sec until texture is like sand. Scatter butter over flour mix and pulse to a course mixture (10 - 1 second pulses). Turn the mixture into a medium sized bowl. Sprinkle 4 T. ice water over mixture and use a folding motion to mix. Press down on dough until it sticks together, adding 1 more T. of water if dough is not coming together. Flatten dough to 4" disk, wrap in plastic and refrigerate at least an hour or up to 2 days. *I have made this crust without a food processor: grate butter into flour mixture with a cheese grater and cut it in using one of those cutter-inner tools.

Remove dough from fridge (if in longer than one hour, let stand at room temp until malleable). Roll the dough on a lightly floured work surface, or between two sheets of parchment to a 12" circle. Transfer to a 9" pie plate. Trim the edges to 1/2 beyond the pan and fold it under itself. Refrigerate until firm (40 mintues) and then freeze 20 minutes. (*Note, I don't have a 9" pie pan so I used a bigger tart pan - no prob. Also, I skipped the refrigerator/freezing step and all was fine.) Preheat oven to 375. Press foil to chilled crust (make sure to cover edge) and fill with pie weights or dried beans. Bake 25-30 minutes and carefully remove weights. Continue baking 5-6 minutes for a partially baked crust, or until golden brown for a fully baked crust (12 minutes more).

Using a partially baked crust, we filled it with the custard and baked it according to the pie recipe. Because of my odd pan, the edge was a little too low, so it could not hold as much of the custard. Alas. Still delicious.

Squash Tart and Roasted Veggies

Sunday, a delectable day to sleep in and clean and cook, was perfect to do something with the bits of random veggies from the garden (4 tomatoes, 2 eggplants, 2 squash). I also wanted to try this Squash tart, which involved roasting squash and garlic. So - I roasted it all, and now have these amazing delicious veggies for a sandwich, polenta toppings, or stir-fry, or I don't know what. I just cut the veggies up, olive oiled and salted them, and cooked them in an oven at 350 until they were done. My favorite was actually the squash, which I roasted in pieces for the tart. Also the garlic- omg! You just cut off the top of a garlic clove, drizzle it with olive oil and salt, wrap in foil and bake at 400 for 45 minutes or so. It smells amazing, and then you just squeeze out this amazing garlic puree.

Squash Tart (modified from ReBar - again!) *This is another rich dish...ah the cold weather. The roasted garlic is amazing in there - but again is so rich. I made some kale to eat with it, which helped cleanse the pallet a little!
1 pre-baked whole wheat tart shell (make sure to make the sides high on the crust, mine almost over-flowed)
1 small squash
1 T butter
2 shallots, minced
1/2 t salt
3 eggs
1 c heavy cream
1/2 c. light cream
2 garlic bulbs - roasted and mashed
1 1/2 T minced sage
1/4 t cracked pepper
1 1/4 c. grated smoked cheddar

1. Peel and seed the squash and cut it into 1/8" slices until you have just over 2 cups or so. Toss the squash with enough olive oil to coat and a pinch of salt. Spread the squash on parchment or foil and roast at 375 until tender - 15 minutes or so (if you roast longer you get crispier, more chip like pieces)
2. Heat butter in small pan and saute the shallots (I subbed onion) until golden. Set aside.
3. Lightly whisk the eggs in a small bowl. Add the cream, mashed garlic, pepper, and salt; whisk to combine.
4. To assemble tart: sprinkle cheese over crust, then shallots and sage. Arrange the squash slices in a single layer and pour the custard over the top. Bake for 20-30 minutes (until custard sets and top is lightly browned). Cool thoroughly.

butternut and spinach risotto

risotto is my go-to dish for fall--when i'm having friends over and know i can finish the bottle of wine i have to open to make it. the recipe is adapted from a cookbook composed entirely of risotto recipes--which i love. i decided to do butternut and spinach cause that's what came in the CSA box this week. next time, i'll steam the squash for a few minutes ahead of time. i had to keep cooking it longer than i should have because the squash was underdone at first, making the rice a little mushier than i would have liked. but tasty, nonetheless.

heat 4 c veg broth on low

saute, in a hunk of butter and some olive oil:
onion finely diced
garlic finely diced-about 2 cloves or so

add 1 1/2 c arborio rice and saute for a couple of minutes. add 1/2 c white wine and stir till liquid cooks off. add a ladle of broth and 2 c squash cut into small cubes. continue to add broth a ladle at a time, letting the liquid cook off before adding more. continuous stirring is also required.

add a few cups of torn spinach when you have about a ladle of broth left. keep stirring, add the last of the broth.

add 1 or so cups of parmesan, salt and pepper to taste and let it rest a couple minutes before serving. serve with more parmesan.