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.