All Kinds of Squash

Wednesday, my sister, my husband, and I went to my third pumpkin patch this season. We went again, to Bob's Corn. There wasn't much to pick from; there were probably only a few hundred pumpkins left. After I exclaimed, "this is the one!" on at least seven separate occasions, to seven separate pumpkins, I went back to my first love. It was a good size, and the gradiation from orange to green was gorgeous. Candace's pumpkin was orange covered in green veins. Mikey's was also green and orange, and huge!

We came back to Slasher, popped dinner in the oven, and started carving.

Spaghetti Squash with Pine Nuts, Sage and Tempeh
Serves 6

for the squash:

1 spaghetti squash

1/4 cup pine nuts

3/4 cup grated grana padano, or parmiggiano reggiano

3 tablespoons chopped sage

2 tablespoons melted butter

salt and pepper to taste

Candace's Tempeh:

one package tempeh

1 tablespoon minced garlic

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1 teaspoon fish sauce

1 teaspoon mirin

1 teaspoon seasoned rice vinegar

1 tablespoon olive oil

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Halve the spaghetti squash lengthwise, and take out all the guts and seeds (save those seeds and roast them!)

Place cut side down on a baking sheet lined with foil or a silicone baking mat.

Pop into the oven and let cook for 50 minutes.

Meanwhile, toast the pine nuts. Place the pine nuts in a dry skillet over medium-low heat, and toss until fragrant and lightly browned. Make sure to stir frequently so as to cook evenly and not burn any of them. Don't skip pine nuts in this recipe! They are expensive, but they taste fantastic, and they are fantastic for you.

Cut the tempeh into little thin rectangles. Bite size. Exact size is up to your preference. Mix together the garlic, soy sauce, fish sauce, mirin, and rice vinegar in a shallow dish. Toss the tempeh in, and stir well. Let marinate at room temperature until the squash is done cooking, stirring every 15 minutes or so.

Gently scrape the flesh from the squash with a fork, perpendicular to the grain, to shred it into pasta like strands. Place all the spaghetti squash in a bowl and toss with the pine nuts, cheese, butter, sage, salt, and pepper. 

Heat the olive oil in a large skilled over medium high heat until rippling. Add the tempeh. Cook until warmed through, and to desired doneness. I like it crispy! 

Pile the spaghetti squash on a plate, and top with the tempeh. Serve with a big, fresh salad, and there's dinner :)

My sister and I's pumpkins. Mine is in the background and hers in the foreground.

Our finished pumpkins on our creepy front steps :) From left to right: husband's, mine, sister's

 Happy Halloween weekend!

Not just another pumpkin recipe

When I made Pumpkin Loaf, and Pumpkin Pie, I had leftover fresh pumpkin puree. When I made Zucchini Bread, I had leftover zucchini. Something clicked... and it was delicious...

Pumpkin-Zucchini Bread

3 eggs, lightly beaten

2 cups sugar

1 cup pumpkin puree

1/2 cup melted butter

1/2 cup applesauce, unsweetened

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

3 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

1/4 teaspoon allspice
1 cup shredded zucchini
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

1/2 cup mini chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease and cinnamon-sugar 2-9x5x3 loaf pans.

Mix together the eggs and sugar. Add the pumpkin, butter, applesauce, and vanilla. 

In a separate bowl, combine the dry ingredients: flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and allspice. Gradually add to the pumpkin mixture, and mix well. 

Stir in the zucchini, walnuts, and chocolate chips. Pour into prepared pans. Bake for 45-50 minutes, or until a tester inserted into the middle of each loaf comes out clean. Cool in pans for 5-10 minutes, then turn onto wire cooling racks.

Yum:)