Crocktober: Acorn Squash Stuffed With Walnuts & Dried Fruit

Happy October, everybody! Welcome to my most favorite month. (December is more fun, but I look forward to Autumn weather all year round).

My Great Aunt Lois lived in upstate New York. As a kid that seemed like light years away from Cape Cod, but fortunately we saw her at least every 4th of July at my grandparents' house, about an hour from where my sister and I grew up. We didn't get to New York to visit her very often - only a couple of times that I can clearly recall - but I remember a few things about those visits quite well. For one, she was as sweet-yet-sassy a person as you could ever hope to meet, and she made a stuffed acorn squash that tasted practically like candy, stuffed with nuts, raisins and brown sugar. As a kid, they were the best-case-scenario of vegetables, and pretty fun to eat besides.

My Aunt Lois passed away about two and a half years ago, and while my Mother tells me that there is a written recipe for her acorn squash around, she told me that about ten minutes before I took mine out of the crock pot. Anyway, I'm certain that I didn't make these quite the way she would have. Still, I like to think she would be happy that I tried. For one thing, I'm sure hers were baked instead of cooked in a crock pot, but I'm still pretty sure that just about anything can be cooked in a crock pot. Sure and also fairly determined, to be fair. So bust out the crock pot already, it's Fall.

I cooked one acorn squash in my 2 quart crock pot. In a bigger machine you could do two or three at a time. You'll want to be sure that your squash stays upright, so you probably wouldn't want to do one little squash in a big 5-quarter or anything, though you could probably do it "open-faced," so to speak. The good news (for people with a big slow cooker but maybe not a lot of people to feed that day) is that this stuffing would also be super yummy in a butternut squash.

For an extra flavor boost, toast the walnuts first. Toasted walnuts are a great thing to have on hand for fall and winter recipes, anyway, so you might as well toast a bunch at once. I found out a bit late (ahem, MOM) that hers also had diced apple in there, which sounds fantastic and I will definitely do next time.

Since I made this for myself as a main dish, I added about 1 tablespoon of ground flax to the stuffing for extra protein, but this is totally optional. A little bulgur wheat, pearl barley, or soft whole-wheat breadcrumbs would also lend it more substance - just keep in mind that bulgur and barley will both expand significantly once cooked!

Ingredients:

1 acorn squash

2 tablespoons butter, softened

2 tablespoon brown sugar (I used dark brown, but I'm sure light is fine too)

1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans (I used walnuts)

1/3 cup raisins, dried cranberries, cherries, chopped apricots, or a combination (I used mostly raisins with a Trader Joe's mix of some dried cranberries and dried pomegranate seeds)

Apple juice or cider, about a cup and a half (I used 100% juice)

1 tsp cinnamon (I also sprinkled a little on while I was eating it...)

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1/4 tsp allspice

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp ground black pepper

Directions:

1. Cut the lid off the squash, starting about an inch below the crown (the widest part, near the top) and save the lid. Scoop out the seeds and stringy guts. (The skins can be super tough. If yours is resistant, microwave the squash for a couple of minutes before cutting into it. And if you start the cut a little too high on the squash like I did, you might have to cut away a little of the flesh to get to the chamber). Cut the point off of the bottom so that it will stand up; just enough to create a flat spot.

2. In a mixing bowl, combine spices, butter and sugar, then add in nuts, fruit and a teaspoon or two of the cider or juice and spoon the mixture into the squash, packing slightly. Rest the lid on top. (Don't worry if you have a little extra stuffing. Put it in your oatmeal tomorrow. Voila!)

3. Spray the inside of the crock insert with nonstick cooking spray. Place squash inside, and pour in about a cup of juice or cider around (not in) the squash.

4. Cover and cook on low for 5-7 hours or on high for 2-3 hours. When the flesh is fork-tender, carefully remove the squash and serve. (Mine was perfect after 6 hours on low).

This is so, SO good. I can say that because it wasn't my idea. SO delicious. Definitely sweet though - you've got to be in the mood for it. But it's so tasty, so seasonal, and so freakin' adorable in its little acorn-shaped package. And obviously, you can cut back on the sugar and make up for it with spice.

There are probably a zillion different ways you could go with this idea, if you weren't so into the sugar-and-spice route. Rice with a little sage would also be a great base for a stuffing, or browned ground turkey, and with a little goat cheese sprinkled on top... Yum. So many possibilities. Why do I suspect that I'll be eating a lot of squash this year?

Quote of the Day: "Autumn is a second spring where every leaf is a flower." ~ Albert Camus

Veggie Week: Arugula & Alfalfa Sprout Salad with Chickpeas, Walnuts & Strawberries

The leftover alfalfa lurking in my refrigerator leftover from this heavenly sandwich endeavor conspired with the peak of strawberry season (at least here in Philadelphia) to inspire this salad. I won't lie, I bought two 1-lb boxes of beautiful strawberries at the store this afternoon, and currently there is exactly one box residing in my kitchen. But when they're this good, why resist?

Look at all that delicious biodiversity.

This salad is just as the title describes it, with just the sliced yellow and pale green parts of a green onion tossed in. I made a vinaigrette with canola oil (yep, I forgot to get olive oil at the store) and lime juice with a dash of salt and pepper. 


And about 3/4 lb of strawberries for dessert.


Quote of the Day #2: This special feeling we have towards fruit, its glory and abundance, is I would say universal... We respond to strawberry fields or cherry orchards with a delight that a cabbage patch or even an elegant vegetable garden cannot provide. ~ Jane Grigson

Whole-Wheat Shells with Walnuts & Goat Cheese

This dish had me at "walnuts."

In short, this recipe is quick, easy, delicious, (mostly) healthy, and deceptively sophisticated. And did I mention economical? A big "thank you" to Good Housekeeping for this one.

This recipe can be adjusted for the number of people you're serving just by punching in the number, a feature I am generally much too impressed by. The numbers below are for 4 people. I roughly halved these for Brady and I, but things started to turn into weird fractions, so I kinda eyeballed everything.

Ingredients:

Salt & Pepper

1/3 cups walnuts, chopped

1 large clove garlic, chopped

2/3 tbs. olive oil, or about 1 1/2 turns of the pan

2/3 box of medium whole-wheat pasta shells

2/3 pounds frozen peas

4 ounces goat cheese, softened

Directions: 

1. Heat covered 6-quart pot of water to boiling on high. Add 2 teaspoons salt. 

2. In an 8- to 10-inch skillet, combine walnuts, garlic, and oil. Cook on medium until golden and fragrant, stirring occasionally. Stir in 1/8 teaspoon each salt and freshly ground black pepper. 

3. Add pasta to boiling water in pot. Cook 1 minute less than minimum time that label directs, stirring occasionally. Add peas; cook 1 minute longer. Reserve 1 cup pasta cooking water. Drain pasta and peas; return to pot.

4. Add goat cheese, 1/2 cup cooking water, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper. If mixture is dry, toss with additional cooking water. To serve, top with garlic-and-walnut mixture.

The garlic and walnuts gave this a really rich, nutty flavor and the goat cheese became a creamy, effortless sauce that wasn't overwhelming or heavy. You could definitely use a flavored goat cheese, like garlic & herb, but I used plain. The peas are definitely a must for color. Yum!

Quote of the Day: A piece of spaghetti or a military unit can only be led from the front end. ~ George S. Patton

Easter Wrap-Up

This photo caused a few family members to have flashbacks to Gourmet Magazine. I'm afraid the reference was somewhat lost on me, but I definitely get the vintagey feel part!

If you read my last post, you know that I was a bit apprehensive about the honey oatmeal bread that I brought for Easter with Brady's relatives yesterday. I had never made it with 100% whole wheat flour before, and I was a little afraid it would come out dry and heavy. Well, I was gloriously wrong!

The muffins that I had thrown together also came out much better than expected. I combined a very general online banana nut muffin recipe with the tried-and-truly fantastic Jacked-up Banana Bread from Smitten Kitchen. The resulting recipe:

1 1/4 c. whole wheat flour
2 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. soda
3/4 c. rolled oats
1 egg, beaten
3 tbsp. oil
1/2 c. milk

2 heaping tbsp. honey
1 c. mashed ripe bananas - about two bananas
1/3 c. chopped walnuts

1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
Pinch of ground cloves

Combine flour, baking powder, salt, spices, soda and oats. Add egg, oil, milk, honey, vanilla, bananas and nuts. Stir only until dry ingredients are moistened. Fill greased muffin cups 2/3 full. Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes or until done. Makes 12-18 muffins.

I used my little silicone muffin cups on a jelly roll pan, which yielded 14 muffins. One became sadly decapitated (and immediately eaten) in the cooling process, making a perfect baker's dozen. 

These came out moist and tasty, and somehow much more delicious than I was expecting. We had some for breakfast, and a few even made it to the bread basket at Easter dinner.

If the bread looks lumpy, that's because it's braided.

Perhaps more importantly, they received high praise from Brady's grandmother, who could not have been sweeter. Come to think of it, everybody was very complimentary about both the muffin and the bread.

My first feeding-other-people-things-I baked experience was a big success! I have to admit, it felt pretty grown-up.

Everything was even more delicious than it looks. But the best part was the goodie bag that Brady's Aunt Kathy packed up for us!