What To Do With Cool-Weather Veggies, Part 1

We’re back in the saddle with our Ambrose Farms CSA, and I’m loving having to figure out how to use all these fall and winter vegetables again! I’ve had massive successes, and some massive fails. Who knew crowder peas need to be shelled? Not this gal. Which made for an unpleasant surprise in a soup... a razor sharp crowder pea shell that will never soften, no matter how long you cook it in the crockpot. Anyway, the random and weird seasonal veggies keep rolling in, and of course I refuse to waste any of them!

Last Friday night, I had plenty of time on my hands while hubby Ed was at work, and because I didn't have to get up at 6 a.m. the next morning. When Ed works the late shift in the ER, I try to take him a healthy dinner. He works at a small hospital that’s not exactly forward thinking, so unless he wants to eat Spam from the gift shop or Cheetos from the vending machine, he will wait as late as he needs for me to bring dinner. I made quinoa earlier this week and he loved it. It was MUCH easier than I thought it would be, so I looked for another recipe. I found a great one from Vegetarian.com and modified it to fit what I had around. The quinoa by itself looked kind of lonely, and suddenly it dawned on me: Stuff the squash that have been sitting on our counter for the past rqo weeks with the quinoa??? YES.

This may sound like it was complicated, but if I’d known from the beginning I’d be stuffing these roasted squash, it would have taken me a grand total of 30 minutes. That’s it! Half an hour, one pot, and one piece of tinfoil. (I don’t know about you, but if recipes involve multiple pots I immediately stop paying attention.) So here is the recipe for roasted winter squash with spinach and pesto quinoa. Lots of words, lots of flavor but easy to make!

QUINOA STUFFED WINTER SQUASH

Ingredients: 

1 winter squash

1 TBSP of margarine

1 Cup of Quinoa

2 Cups of veggie stock (or water)

2 handfuls of baby spinach

1 TBSP of pesto

Juice of 1/2 a lemon

Salt and Pepper

Yields: 2 Servings (with one extra serving of quinoa)

Prep Time: 2 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Instructions: 

SQUASH: Preheat the oven to 400. Cut squash in half, remove seeds. Spread the margarine directly on the squash. Place them cut-half down on tinfoil over a cookie sheet. Bake for 25 minutes.

QUINOA: Bring the veggie stock with salt and pepper to taste to a boil. Cook the quinoa for 15-20 minutes, until almost done. When there is almost no liquid left, add the spinach and cook until the quinoa is done. Stir in the pesto, lemon juice, and salt and pepper if more is needed.

Remove the squash and place on your serving plates (use an oven mitt, DUH). Spoon the quinoa onto the squash. Serve and impress your family and friends.

Happy Vegging!!!