Maple-Brown Sugar Roasted Acorn Squash Stuffed with Roasted Apples, Walnuts, and Cinnamon-Sugar Crumb Topping

This yummy looking treat was Brett and I's Christmas morning breakfast. It was super easy to make and filled our apartment with the warm, mapley, and cinnamon-spice smell that is quite fitting for the season. I am not generally one to do anything special or nice for brunch as I am usually satisfied with something simple and I save my energy for our evening meals, but occasionally it is nice to make something special, and what better occasion than Christmas?

This recipe also features some Missouri grown bounty. Local, easy, seasonally appropriate, AND yummy, you can't ask for much more than that from a brunch, can you?

That's enough blabbering by me, check out this bad boy.















The local booty legend (aka revealing my sources):
no asterisk = grocery store
+ = local produce from The Root Cellar
++ = The Peace Nook (will denote whether product is local or just from the Nook)
* = farmer's market
** = CSA
*** = Container or Community Garden
**** = the non-profit buying club, Blue Planet or Purcell Mountain Farms

Maple-Brown Sugar Roasted Acorn Squash with Roasted Apples, Walnuts, and Cinnamon-Sugar Crumb Topping
Serves two.

The Squash:
1 acorn squash, halved, seeds and stringy bits removed *
4 tbsp pure maple syrup
1 tbsp brown sugar

The Filling:
2 apples, peeled and chopped +
1/4 cup walnuts, chopped +
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tbsp brown sugar
2 tbsp pure maple syrup
dash nutmeg

The Topping:
4 tbsp whole wheat pastry flour
2 tbsp raw organic sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
2-3 tbsp Earth Balance

Preheat the oven to 400.

Pierce prepared acorn squash a few times with a knife. Fill seed cavity with maple syrup and brown sugar. Make sure the syrup coats as much of the squash flesh as possible.

Roast for 35 minutes.

Meanwhile, peel and chop apples, and chop up the walnuts. Toss them with the cinnamon, brown sugar, maple syrup, and nutmeg.

Stuff half the filling into each half of the squash and roast for an additional 35 minutes.

While the squash and filling are roasting, combine flour, sugar, and cinnamon. Using a fork or knife, cut in the Earth Balance until everything is all crumbly.

Top the squash with the crumble topping and bake for an additional 10 minutes.

Let cool for a few minutes (if you can stand it), and enjoy!

If I get the itch to do something more "in depth" for brunch over the winter, this might be my go-to meal.

'Til next time.

Muffins and Spicy Anasazi Bean and Quinoa Stuffed Acorn Squash

Yesterday, I made Happy Herbivore’s Apple Crisp Muffins. I was originally planning on making her Sweet Potato & Maple Muffins earlier this week, but the yam I baked was eaten before I got home from work the next day (Brett didn’t know they were for the muffins). Anyways, I pretty much always have apples around, so it all worked out. These are fantastic! They really do taste like an apple crisp. I’ve already had three since I made them yesterday! Now my pictures aren’t as pretty as HH's, I overfilled the muffin cups, so they kind of spewed out a bit, but they are still oh so tasty!

Now, the only thing I don’t like about muffins is my pan. You see, muffins stick to it like nothing else, so you either use muffin cups or grease the hell out of the tin (which is still no guarantee), I don’t like either of these options, but as of late have chosen to avoid greasing the pan, but feel bad about all the muffin cup papers that I have to use. I am thinking of not making muffins anymore, and just making breads, since my bread pan is glass and doesn’t have a sticking problem and doesn’t require me to waste lots of paper. Anyone know if you could make a loaf out of this recipe? I’m wondering if it can be done to other muffin recipes or if the proportions would be off…

Anyways, for dinner I made Spicy Anasazi Bean and Quinoa Stuffed Roasted Acorn Squash. This meal was hearty, healthy and super tasty. I have been mulling over other things to stuff acorn squash with since the last time I made it as most of the recipes you find are sweet and acorn squashes are much more versatile than that. No one should be surprised that I ended up with a Mexican inspired idea, and that yams, hot peppers, and guacamole make their way in to the meal. I will make a guacamole tag as well, I make it at least once a week, it’s one of my favorite foods, and so simple too. Anasazi beans are really good; they are a traditional Native American bean that is used in Native American (of course) or Mexican dishes. Pinto would work just as well in here though. We had chips and guacamole with this, but ended up not eating the chips and just putting the guacamole on the squash.

Here's a picture of the Anasazi beans before the were soaked and cooked, they are lovely beans dry, but really don't look like anything special once cooked. Brett said they reminded him of cows dry, it almost made me feel bad for eating them. :-(

Spicy Anasazi Bean and Quinoa Stuffed Acorn Squash

1 roasted acorn squash

Stuffing:

1 cup quinoa

2 cups water

2 cups anasazi (or pinto) beans cooked

1 small can of black olives, drained

1 can of diced tomatoes with green chilies, undrained

1 yam/sweet potato, cubed and roasted

1-2 roasted jalapenos, sliced

1/2 roasted red bell pepper, sliced

2 cloves garlic, minced

chili powder

cumin

Mexican oregano

chipotle chili powder

salt

cayenne (optional)

splash veggie broth

simple guacamole

blue corn chips (optional)

Rise quinoa in a wire mesh strainer.

Bring water to a boil, add quinoa and reduce heat, simmering for 15-20 minutes or until all liquid abosrbed.

In a large skillet, heat a tablespoon or so of water and cook garlic until soft.

Add the rest of the ingredients until heated through.

Stuff into roasted acorn squash halves. Top with guacamole.

'Til next time.

Roasted Acorn Squash Stuffed with Barley, Mushroom and Spinach Pilaf with Sweet Roasted Yams

What a title!

So last night, not sure how many of you were aware, there was a total lunar eclipse. If you saw it, I hope you enjoyed it as much as Brett and I did. It was bitterly cold here, around 10 degrees, but we toughed it out. I think the best part of all was how the shadow of the Earth made the Moon look. It was the first time I had ever been able to perceive the actual spherical shape that the Moon has. It normally looks like a one dimensional circle, and with the shadow, you could see the dimensions. Very cool, it was a bit of a humbling experience, seeing it like that, realizing how much it affects us (tides and such) and we affect it. I wish I could have gotten a picture, but it probably wouldn’t have been the same.

Anyways, dinner last night was really good. I had been eyeing a Vegetarian Times recipe for Barley, Shiitake, and Spinach Pilaf, and was trying to come up with a way to make a meal out of it. Well, I ended up switching around the mushrooms and stuffing the pilaf into a roasted acorn squash, I also served it with a side of Sweet Roasted Yams, a recipe I made up as I went along. A note though, this recipe is probably very time consuming if you try to make it all at once. I had Brett make the barley during the day while I was at work, and he started roasting the squash when I was on my way home. Having the ingredients prepped ahead of time made this a fairly quick dinner. Secondly, the ‘side’ of yams really is more like a dessert than a side, but that’s ok, right? You can find the original recipe that this meal was adapted from here.

Now, I must say, both Brett and I agreed that this picture doesn't really do the meal justice.















Roasted Acorn Squash Stuffed with Barley, Mushroom, and Spinach Pilaf
Serves 4

1 cup pearled barley
3 cups vegetable broth or water
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 onion, diced
2 1/2 cups portobello mushrooms, sliced
small package of white button mushrooms, sliced
4 cups loosely packed fresh spinach
2 tbsp. shoyu (or other soy sauce)
2 tsp. Asian sesame oil
1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper
1 acorn squash, roasted

To roast the squash:

Preheat oven to 400.

Cut squash in half, scoop out seeds. Brush lightly with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake, cut side down for 40 minutes.

Add barley and broth or water to medium saucepan.

Bring to a boil. Cover and simmer over medium-low heat until tender, about 1 hour.

In large nonstick saucepan, heat a few tablespoons of water over medium heat. Add onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft.

Add garlic, portabella and white mushrooms and cook, stirring often, until soft. Add barley, stirring often, until barley is heated through. Add spinach in batches, covering pan with a lid to steam. Remove from heat. Season with shoyu, sesame oil and cayenne pepper.

Stuff in to a halved acorn squash.

This makes a lot of food. We had it served in the squash for dinner, and I brought the leftovers to work, with a couple of whole wheat tortillas for lunch.

Super Yummy Sweet Roasted Yams
1 large yam, peeled, washed, and diced
4 tbsp maple syrup
1 tbsp brown sugar
2 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1-2 tbsp agave (optional)
1 tsp coconut oil

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Put coconut oil in a baking pan and place in the oven so the oil can melt.

Toss diced potatoes will the rest of the ingredients.

Bake, uncovered for 35-40 minutes until yams are soft, stirring a couple of times while baking.

All and all it was a very good dinner and a very good night.

‘Til next time!