winter squash black bean quinoa

 My garden was prolific last year and I'm trying to eat through it all!  Winter squash is especially urgent now as I caught some had started to mold so we need to eat through all the good ones.

Here is my latest venture, which I'm making right now.  I'm using buttercup squash (no need to peel, and great flavor) and any winter squash should work well.  I'm chopping on a small dice to fit in with everything else.  Each serving (1/4 of it) is 16 grams of protein, the recipe says, which is good for me and Friend will add a side of chicken or an egg. 

Ingredients

• winter squash, about 2.5 pounds
• 2 T olive oil
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 1/2 tsp paprika
• 1/2 tsp chili powder
• 1 tsp pepper
• 1/2 tsp salt
  
• 1 cup quinoa
• 2 cups water or broth
  
• can of black beans, drained and rinsed
  
• 1 lime to juice
• 1/3 cup cilantro, chopped
  
• 3 scallions, chopped
  

 Directions

Heat oven to 400 degrees.  Combine oil and spices in a large bowl, and then put in the squash and stir around to coat.  Place on sheet pan and put into oven for about 25 minutes.

Rinse quinoa and bring to boil with water/broth then to a simmer for 12-15 minutes.  Turn off heat and let it sit at least 5 minutes.

Mix cooked squash and black beans in bowl.  Add lime juice.  Fold in quinoa and cilantro and scallions.

chocolate chip cookie in a ramekin

Sometimes I want a sweet treat but even if I just buy one cookie, it's too much.  And to be honest, this is too much.  It's a lot.  I should plan to freeze or throw away half.  But, I didn't because I haven't been able to get my blood sugar consistently above hypoglycemic warning, so fuck it.  

From here, but halving the sugar (and still too sweet). 

• 1 T butter
• 1/2 T brown sugar
• 1/2 T white sugar 
• splash vanilla
• (cinnamon)
• 1 egg yolk
• 3 generous T of flour (white) (if using whole wheat, add a teaspoon of milk)
  
• 2 T chocolate chips  

Melt butter in ramekin.  Add sugar, egg yolk, vanilla, cinnamon, salt.  Mix in flour, then chocolate chips.  

Cook in microwave for 1 minute. 

persimmon muffins (no sugar added)

 This recipe for persimmon muffins was a guide, but I changed it up a lot to make it healthier.

First, make persimmon pulp.  I blended persimmons - fuyus, many that were overripe.  They were mostly just destemmed.  I would probably peel more in the future, depending on what I plan to use it for.  I then froze it into 1 cup portions in bags, so hopefully I can make more muffins or other goodness until next season. If these aren't good, I'll keep trying. 

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 cups (320 grams) whole wheat flour (pastry flour works well)
  
• 1 teaspoon (4 grams) kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon (2 grams) ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
  
• 1/2 cup yogurt
• 1/3 cup date paste
• 1 teaspoon maple extract or vanilla extract
• 3 large eggs
• 1 cup (300 grams) pureed persimmon about 2 medium persimmons
• 1 teaspoon (7 grams) baking soda
• 1 cup (120 grams) chopped walnuts (soaked overnight and drained to reduce canker sores if you're like me)
  

Instructions 

Preheat oven to 350°F.  Line the tin with baking cups or grease. Into a large mixing bowl, sift the flour, salt, cinnamon, baking powder, nutmeg, and ginger. Repeat the sifting process twice more for airy muffins. In a separate bowl, combine the yogurt, date paste, and vanilla or maple extract.  Whisk. Add the eggs, one at time while whisking vigorously. In another bowl, use a rubber spatula to fold together the pureed persimmon and the baking soda, just until mixed completely. Fold the persimmon puree into the wet ingredients, then fold the wet mixture into the dry. Mix just until the flour is combined. Add the walnuts to the batter and fold just until combined, or three stirs. Bake the muffins for 18-20 minutes, or until the muffin tops spring back when lightly pressed. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 5 minutes before eating warm or transferring to a cooking rack to cool completely.

no added sugar sweet potato pie

 Trying to keep my added sugar consumption quite low, I'm surprised at how little there is for this on-line without adding artificial sweeteners - which, yuk. 

So here is my first attempt at no sugar added sweet potato pie.

For reduced sugar, I took this pie with the sugar cut to scant 1/3 cup.  That breaks down to (with full 1/3 cup), about 8.3 added grams of sugar per slice.  That is not bad compared to almost everything else.  I took it to Thanksgiving and it was very good.

But I also want to lean into my date paste and what a great sweetener it is.  It's worked so well with muffins.  I need to remember how I made it because it's great tucked back in the fridge for months.  I also need to remember the whole wheat pie crust recipe I used for this pie.  (I froze one crust, as it made two.)

So here is how I made this sweet potato pie, and I will rework it until I'm satisfied.

• 1.5-2 pounds sweet potatoes cooked
• 2 T butter
• 1/3 cup date paste
  
• 1/4 c. milk (any percent, half & half, evaporated, etc.) (note: this is cut from 1/2 cup because the date paste provides moisture)
  
• a bit of salt
• 1tsp+ vanilla
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/4-1/2 tsp. nutmeg
• mace or cardamom or other spices
• 2 eggs

Bake sweet potatoes (about 3 medium) for about 55 minutes at 425 degrees.  Allow to cool and peel.

Blend sweet potatoes in a food processor.  Add butter and process some more.  Add the rest of the ingredients and process together.

Bake in uncooked pie crust at 350 for about 55 minutes. 

**

Verdict: DELICIOUS.  It was a little grainy, probably from the date paste that I had made in the food processor.  If it mattered (like taking to fancy company), date paste in the blender.  But I do not mind grainy in my pie (at all), so for me it's perfect!   The color wasn't even off, which I'd feared.  The date paste is a not very appetizing gray-brown, so I thought it would make the pie off-color, but it was like pumpkin pie, which people eat without complaint.)

white bean & spinach enchiladas

 I plan to make some white bean and spinach enchiladas today and I keep forgetting my plan, so writing it down and will update as necessary.  I picked up some green Hatch chili sauce from Costco and need to use it up, so this will be tasty as the enchilada sauce.  

They key for my goals is using white beans and a green (chard this time because I had half a bunch).  Various other vegetables would be great to add in to empty the refrigerator. :)

• tortillas (I'm in a hunt now for fresh tortillas and am thrilled to learn there's a tortilleria not too far)
  
• 1 can white beans, drained
  
• 1/2 pound spinach (frozen/thawed/squeezed dry or fresh/wilted), chopped
  
• 4 oz shredded pepperjack cheese
• tomatoes (a can of drained tomatoes would be good, thawed frozen, or fresh) 
  
• green onions, chopped
• poblano, optional
  
• cilantro, chopped
  
• cumin
• garlic powder, onion powder
  
• taco seasoning is also good 
• lime juice
  
• enchilada sauce
  

Mix together the beans, spinach, cheese, green onions, cilantro, spices, lime juice, cheese.  Heat the tortillas and fill. Cover with enchilada sauce.  Note: this time I was using chard and poblano, so I sauteed them with some fresh tomatoes until reduced, then added green onions, spices, and beans. 

Bake about 40 minutes at 350.  

I think I'll enjoy it with some spicy roasted sweet potatoes and maybe some curtido or sauerkraut.

tomato paste for canning

 Today I'm canning tomato paste.  These are all San Marzano tomatoes that I grew in my garden, and as I got overwhelmed with processing them in the summer, I just cleaned them and tossed them into Ziplocs in the freezer.  I pulled out a couple of bags last night and filled the pot and put in the refrigerator to thaw overnight.  Spoiler: they didn't really thaw, but they were thawed enough to be able to chop them.  

I'm using the official recipe from here, with some modifications.  Yield they say is about 4-4.5 half pints (though I'm putting into quarter pints and reusing other small jars). 

Tomato paste recipe

Ingredients

•  7 pounds tomatoes - paste variety
• 1/2 tsp citric acid or ** lemon juice
• 2 bay leaves
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 clove garlic

Instructions

• Prepare jars (4-5 half pints worth) and lids; keep warm.
• Clean tomatoes if not already done.  (Recipe calls for coring which I did not do.)
• Chop tomatoes.  I chopped them in half or quarters depending on size (they were small); recipe calls for 1/2-3/4 inch size.
• Bring to a boil, then slowly simmer until volume reduced by half (an hour or more).  Keep stirring regularly to keep from burning or sticking.
• Remove from heat and run through a food mill or a sieve.  (Recipe specifically says not to use food processor or blender but I"m not sure everyone follows that)
• Return to pot, add remaining ingredients.
• Cook slowly until reduced by half again (two or more hours).  Stir frequently and be careful of hot spatter.
• Remove bay leaf and garlic.
• Put into prepared jars, remove air bubbles, 1/2" headspace, clean rims, lid.
• Process for 45 minutes in half pint jars.  
  

 

kuri squash stuffed with wild rice and sausage

This is very tasty and satisfying.  From here.

Ingredients

• 1 red kuri squash, seeded and cut into quarters or eighths depending on squash size
•  olive oil, divided
•  salt & pepper
• 1 pound ground/bulk sausage
• 1 small yellow onion, finely chopped
• 2 celery stalks, finely chopped
• 4 ounces shiitake mushrooms, finely chopped
• 1 teaspoon dried rosemary, or 2 sprigs fresh
• 1 apple, finely chopped
• 1/4 cup pecans, roughly chopped
• 2 tablespoons raisins
• 1 cup cooked black rice, or other variety rice
•  

Instructions 

• Preheat oven to 375°F. Place the squash pieces onto a large baking sheet, drizzle with 2 tablespoons of olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast for 40-50 minutes, flipping each piece halfway through. Squash should be golden brown on all sides and fork tender when done.
• Meanwhile, make the filling by heating the remaining tablespoon of olive oil over medium-high heat in a large skillet.
• Add the sausage and cook until browned, breaking up with a spatula into small pieces.
• Add the onions, celery, mushrooms and rosemary. Stir to combine and cook until softened, about 5 minutes.
• Add the apples, pecans and raisins. Stir and cook an additional 1-2 minutes.
• Season to taste with salt and pepper then turn off the heat.
• Add the cooked rice to the skillet and toss to combine.
• Once the squash is done roasting, remove from the oven and transfer 1-2 pieces to a plate. Spoon the prepared stuffing on top of the squash and serve