The grocery store I am addicted to has beautiful squash lately, lots of it. In the photo above, you'll see celebration (the small round one that's pale yellow and dark green), delicata (the long yellow squash with green stripes), kabocha (larger, round, and dark green), and red kuri (deep orange). I roasted the squashies simply with olive oil, salt, and freshly ground white pepper to see what taste and texture differences I could discern. Here's my verdict.
celebration: sweet, slightly tangy, slightly grainy in texture.
delicata: not very sweet, slightly bitter, smooth texture. My least favorite.
kabocha: sweet, creamy, very yummy and full-flavored. This one is very popular in Japan, and it's easy to see why.
red kuri: slightly sweet, rich, dense texture. My second favorite.
I'm left wanting to make two pumpkin-type pies, one creamy one with kabocha, and one dense one with the red kuri. Not so much the other two. I have a memory that kabocha is often braised with a mixture of soy, mirin, and (sake?) in Japan. Is this kinpura? I would love to try that.
Verdict: go find yourself a kabocha!
However, don't wait too long to cook it. My first one sat out for a couple of weeks and when I grabbed hold of it to cook it, my fingers literally sank into the top-the shell was that . . . soft from kind-of-nearly-maybe-rot. There are no words for this experience. Learn from my mistakes!
Ahem. Yummy food giveaway below, after the sorbet to cleanse your palate.
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Today I have a free product coupon good for a bag of melty, stretchy Daiya! To enter, please leave a post below, telling me your about what you want to do make with Daiya, how you pronounce the word Daiya, or anything at all. This giveaway is open to anyone who can get Daiya products. The coupons do not specify where they can be used, so enter if you can buy Daiya where you live!
The winner of yesterday's wonderful giveaway for The Conscious Cook is Candy Bean! Please send your name and address to me at miso...@yahoo.com. Congratulations!
Good morning! My favorite pumpkin is the butternut and yet I have not had any this season! Yikes.
ReplyDeleteDaiya cheese is by far my favorite. I look forward using it on pizza and nachos.
Oh, how I love Daiya! I love to make grilled cheeze sandwiches and nachos with it. yum yum yum. I have no idea how to pronounce it, though. I say die-yah, but I doubt that's right.
ReplyDeleteI love, love, love Diaya! I like making gluten free, vegan mac n cheeze with it! Thanks for another giveaway!
ReplyDeleteI still haven't tried Daiya! I would love to, though.
ReplyDeleteyeah, ever since I tried kabocha, it became my most favorite... but I agree that red kiri is a close runner-up. Some people were telling me recently that delicata was their most favorite squash of all, and I thought they were just plain nuts. I agree with you.
ReplyDeleteI've been reading about Daiya all over the place lately. I really need to try that stuff. When you're vegan plus gluten and soy and bean free you find just a few teeny weeny limitations on your diet LOL. I've heard mostly good stuff about it. Maybe I should order some?
ReplyDeleteI pronounce it day-ya, and I'd love to try it on some homemade pizza.
ReplyDeletePizza! Those squashes looks great!
ReplyDeleteI would love to use it to make cheezy enchiladas. :)
ReplyDeleteI'm in the "DIE-uh" camp, though I've often wondered if that's correct. I agree with saltandhumor - totally some enchiladas!!
ReplyDeleteDIE-AHHHHHHHHHH!
ReplyDeleteI LURVE Daiya. I pronounce it die-yuh. I use Daiya in so many of my dishes. My favorite is pizza but I also love this breakfast wrap (http://pixieanddustyeat.blogspot.com/2010/10/breakfast-wrap.html)
ReplyDeletegrilled cheese sandwiches, pizza, tacos, in salads..i absolutely love it! its pronounced die-yah
ReplyDeleteThe squashes look so yummy! We don't get such a variety around here! But, I am going to on a search and see if maybe I can find something new!!!! Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDelete