Stuffed Squash

This is a recipe that takes a lot of improvisation. What follows is simply tonight's version.

Bake a halved, scooped butternut squash, rubbed with a little oil and placed open-side down, in a 350º F oven for about 45 minutes or until mostly soft. Meanwhile, cook a cup or more of rice--just about any kind will do, but I like a medium grain brown rice.

Chop a 1/4 cup of almonds and toast them lightly in a small (cast-iron?) pan. When done, remove from pan, and saute a small chopped onion and half a chopped apple, until soft. A little coriander and salt are good here.

Today I added some dried cranberries and about a 1/4 cup of crumbled Wensleydale with Cranberry cheese. A sharp cheddar is also very good.

When the squash is cooked most of the way through, take out of and carefully scoop most of the soft flesh to mix with the other ingredients. (Leave some flesh in so the skin holds form.) Then spoon the mixed mix back into each squash half. Sprinkle extra cheese over the top, and return to the oven for ten minutes or so. The filling is just as good served alongside something else, however.

Menu for a Rainy October Sunday

Vegetable Curry

This is a mild curry I made up. Serve with rice, and a side of sour cream or plain yogurt.

Cut into bite-sized pieces:
onion
green beens
carrot
red cabbage
red pepper

Start onion and pepper sauteeing in canola oil. When these are soft, add:

2 Tbs garam masala
1 Tbs cumin
1 Tbs coriander
1/2 tsp dry yellow mustard powder
1/2 tsp chile powder
salt

After a few minutes, add the rest of the cut up veg, and some cooked, drained chickpeas.

Add a half-cup of orange juice, and let this mixture simmer until most of the liquid has gone and the vegetables are tender.

Tilapia in Lemon-Garlic Sauce

Marinate tilapia in the juice of one lemon, two cloves crushed garlic, and a bit of melted butter. Bake at 350º F until fish is white a flaky.

Pumpkin Bread

Wet:
1 cup oil
4 eggs
1 cup water
2 cups pumpkin puree (canned works well)

Dry:
3 cups sugar
3-1/3 cups flour
1-1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1-1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1-1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg

Mix wet ingredients in one bowl, mix the dry ingredients in another. Pour dry into the wet slowly, mixing the entire time. Bake for one hour at 325º F in three small loaf pans (or two regular bread pans).