154: Stuffed Squash

Stuffin stuff again...just thought this would look really cute, and it does.

Cooking for myself can involve a bunch of moving pieces. I only had one little winter squash left from my share this week, and I had the idea of making a nice mustard green and bulgur stuffing. But not being sure I'd like it and not wanting to be stuck with a ton of this specific stuffing for the rest of the week, I made a batch, cooked up my greens mixture separately, and mixed about what I needed. Now I have some leftover greens and bulgur to use up in vastly different ways if I'd like. It's a good technique to use for other grains as well.

Ingredients:

Bulgur:

1.5 cups veggie stock

1 cup bulgur

Greens:

2 small onions, diced

3 cloves of garlic, minced

1 portobello cap, chopped

1 bunch of mustard greens, stemmy bits removed (and nommed while cooking), chopped

~ veggie stock

~ salt, pepper

And last (but not least) 1 winter squash, cap removed, seeded (like a jack-o-lantern)

I started my squash (and cap) in a 350 degree oven, turned upside down. Meanwhile I brought the stock to a boil then poured over the bulgur (which was hanging out in a heat proof bowl). Covered and let that sit while I prepped everything else.

Sweat my onions (in a dry pan with a little salt), then added garlic and portobello. Once those had cooked sufficiently I added my chopped greens and mixed until they wilted. Deglazed with a bit of veggie stock, seasoned as needed. Mixed a small amount of bulgur in and adjusted the seasoning again.

By that time my squash had been in about a half hour, so I took it out, flipped it over, poked a bunch of fork holes in the flesh of the squash, then added my stuffing, popped the cap on, then threw it in the oven.

About a half hour later (a little longer, probably) I took my adorable squash out and nommed. It was good, though I have some reservations. There's something texturally a little meh to me about this kind of squash. I love how smooth butternut gets when roasted, this just felt a little...mealy? Though maybe it needed longer.

It also needed more seasoning, and I realized that while adorable, this style of containerizing the squash is very difficult to eat (though obviously easier once I'd cut it in half). I also would've liked more stuffing- the ratio was a little off. Next time I'd cut it half pole to pole, then mound it in. Actually (per my experimenting), I'd probably just harvest the squash and mix in with the stuffing, but yeah, this was totally adorable and worth it for the one.

153: Honey Mustard Squash

I've been on a bit of a mustard kick lately, so when I saw this recipe I thought I'd give it a shot with my Winter Squash. Cut them in half, seeded, and mixed up the butter, honey and mustard per recipe instructions. Mine needed longer than the hour to get nice and roasty but they were good. I'd probably use more mustard next time though- or try out stone ground instead of dijon.

I also toasted up the seeds with a little salt. Easy snack to just throw in the oven while the squash is already doing its thing in there.

All in all a lovely reminder of why I love fall.

Delivery 15

Bright Lights Swiss Chard - 1 bunch

Winter Squash - 2

Orient Express Eggplant - 2

Sage-1 bunch

Mustard Greens - 1 bunch

Bok Choy - 1 bunch

Shallots - 4

Cabbage - 1

Potatoes - 2 pounds

Peppers - 2

Hot Peppers - take if you like

Bok Choy

Not my favorite, but happy to have greens again. May give this away (I know one of my roommates is a fan) or will do something simple. Like a stir fry or roast. Here's a little roundup.

Chard

Have a dinner, so may remake that dip I forgot to take pics of. Also this comic is lovely and has a few ways of cooking the veg (and I'm starting to get a little obsessed with Dirt Candy). It'd also be a good mix with the squash and sage. Here it is creamed from smitten kitchen- a preparation I haven't tried yet.

Sage

Excited, as it means I get to buy chicken liver again. Liking the looks of this recipe, especially that it includes a recipe for shallot jam! I may have a little thyme in the fridge as well. Beyond that: a huuge roundup of recipe ideas. Also: biscuits.

Shallots

The aforementioned shallot jam, but otherwise using in everything, as shallots are so tasty.

Orient Express Eggplant

I'm considering something beyond Baynan Bharta. I think it's time for a longer break until I can taste the original. I have a cool recipe for jam from the Dirt Candy cookbook, or maybe babaganoush. Here's a stir fry, and a few from Macheesmo. More roasty from Bon Appetit.

Cabbage

Peanut Slaw from Cook's Illustrated (via Martha). I'm continuing to run low on ideas haha. Also the swap table was ENTIRELY cabbage, which was fairly hilarious. Here's a roundup (these are my favs, skimming). Also: fritters.

Potatoes

I have a ton of recipes from potato's earlier appearances in deliveries. Here's some bread (tired Kelly is a carb-craving Kelly)

Squash

Roasty toasty. These are most likely carnival squash. These would be good stuffed. Oh hey here's a pinterest board of recipes! Fav, skimmin: stuffed with spaghetti (sucker for an egg yolk!). Here's a preparation for acorn that I'd totally try out with this.

Peppers

Happy I remembered spicy peppers this time- not 100% sure what the big peppers are, but will probably just dice them and throw them into something.

Mustard Greens

Yay! So happy to see this guy again. I love this spicy green, may just do a raw salad. Here are a few from Martha. Here's an Indian dish! Salad with bulgur, another with garlic mayo, and another Indian preparation to round out the ideas.