Squashies, Roasted, and a Daiya Giveaway

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!

Spaghetti Squash Autumnvera, and a Giveaway from Turtle Island

Today, a recipe. It started out as a primavera, but took a turn for the different. I suppose I should call it Spaghetti Squash Autonno, but that sort of sounded like tuna, and I somehow like the sound of autumnvera.


Spaghetti Squash Autumnvera

½ c raw unsalted cashew pieces
1 medium to large spaghetti squash
1 shallot, finely diced
1 c spinach leaves
2 roma tomatoes, finely diced
1 clove garlic, microplaned or minced
½ t sage
½ t salt
¼ t pepper
½ c cooked winter squash (I used kabocha)

Soak ½ c cashews in water overnight. Drain, place in a blender, fill water just to over the cashews and whizz for a few minutes, under very creamy. (This is a Tal Ronnen method.) Set aside.

Pierce the spaghetti squash with a knife in five or six places, and bake at 400 degrees until it is very soft, maybe an hour. Set aside to cool enough to handle. You could bake it the night that you soak cashews to be ready to go the next day. Cut the squash in half and remove seeds and slimy center. (You can also do this before baking; just cut the squash in half and scrape out the pulp and seeds.) Scrape the squash strings into a bowl and fluff with a fork. You may want to use your fingers to pull through and further separate them.

Sauté the shallot until translucent and soft. Add the tomato, spinach, and garlic. Cook down until the spinach is wilted and there is no water visible. Add the sage, salt, pepper, cashew cream, and winter squash and warm for a bit. It will be thick. Add the spaghetti squash and stir to mix, and heat gently for a few minutes. Serve warm.

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Today's giveaway is brought to you buy the generous people at Turtle Island Foods! Two lucky winners will win a coupon good for a Tofurky pizza (have you been curious?), and three others will win a coupon good for almost any other Turtle Island product (Yum, Jurky! Peppered Slices!). To enter, please leave a post below, telling me your about your favorite Turtle Island product, or a turtle you saw once, or anything at all. This giveaway is open to anyone who can get Turtle Island Foods products. The coupons do not specify where they can be used, so enter if you can buy Turtle Island/Tofurky products where you live! If you've already won a bigger giveaway from me this month, please consider not entering again so that lots of people have a good chance!

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I have used the random.org widget, but no luck yet on getting it to post the way I want. I will keep on working on this. The winner of yesterday's generous giveaway, Quick and Easy Vegan Celebrations by Alicia Simpson, is Bobbi Nummers! Please send your name and address to me at miso...@yahoo.com. Congratulations!