Stuffed Acorn Squash

Spring really seems to have arrived here in Connecticut! I actually have been able to go outside without a winter coat, and have had to turn on the air conditioner while driving around in my car. I am extremely excited about this development! We have a couple of 40-something degree days this week, but the rest of the 10-day forecast is in the 50's, with a couple of days reaching 60!! I know it's mundane to talk about the weather, but hey, if I'm excited about it, I assume others are too!  Now, this dinner is not spring-like at all, but it is still worth sharing! This is from week 3 of the Whole Living Action Plan (I have one left to share after this before I get back to our regularly scheduled programming).

I love squash! Acorn, butternut, spaghetti, delicata... They are all good to me. This stuffed squash is a really good, hearty way to make squash a main dish. It would be wonderful to have in the fall (or winter, spring or even summer if you want to turn on your oven), and I think it would make a fabulous vegetarian/vegan main dish for Thanksgiving!!

Stuffed Acorn Squash
Serves 2

Ingredients:
1 acorn squash, halved and seeded
3 Tbsp plus 1 tsp extra-virgin olive oil, divided
Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 large onion, diced
1 tsp fresh sage, chopped
1 tsp fresh thyme
1/3 cooked white beans
1/3 cup cooked quinoa
1 cup kale, chopped
2 Tbsp toasted* hazelnuts, chopped

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with tinfoil. Brush the cut sides of the squash with 1 tsp olive oil. Season with salt and pepper. Place on baking sheet, cut side down, and roast for 30 minutes. Remove from oven, flip squash over, and set aside.
2. While the squash is roasting, heat 1 Tbsp of oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. Add onion, and sauté, stirring frequently, about 6 minutes, until tender. Add the sage, thyme, beans, quinoa and kale to the onion, and cook about 2 minutes, until the kale is wilted. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
3. Stuff each half of the acorn squash with half of the quinoa-bean mixture. Roast about 15-20 minutes, until golden.
4. To serve, top each acorn squash half with 1 Tbsp hazelnuts, 1 Tbsp olive oil, and a squeeze of lemon.

Source: Whole Living, January/February 2013

*To toast hazelnuts, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place hazelnuts on a baking sheet, and roast for 10-15 minutes, until golden brown.

Kale and Coconut Salad

I've had this recipe on my radar to try ever since I saw it on a couple of my favorite blogs- first Shutterbean and then Joy the Baker.  After seeing many bloggers posting recipes from Heidi Swanson's cookbook Super Natural Every Day, which this recipe is from, I had to buy it myself.   I guess you could call it peer pressure- but the good kind, not the jumping off a cliff kind.  After going to the farmer's market today, and buying a ginormous bunch of kale, I knew that tonight was the perfect night to finally try out this recipe.  I already had the coconut from some granola I made a few weeks ago, and the other ingredients are all pantry staples for me.... it was just meant to be!  Perfect for a night when my meat-loving boyfriend is at work, and it's just me at home, left to my own devices.... which also includes watching episodes of "Friends" back to back to back, menu planning for next week, and general laziness!  Hey, I already did my workout this morning, so that justifies being lazy for the rest of the day!  I guess this is what constitutes a wild and crazy Friday night when you're 29 1/2 :)

This turned out to be everything I wanted it to be.  Crunchy, chewy, salty, and just downright tasty.  I loved it and could easily have eaten the whole batch in one sitting.  Darn you portion control!!  I had some brown rice in my freezer that I heated up to go with this (seriously one of the best things to do ever- precooking long cooking grains in big batches and freezing for later), and squirted on a touch of sriracha (thanks Joy the Baker for the idea!), and it was sooooooo good.  I didn't even use half of my kale for this salad, so I envision lots of this salad in the next few days- I could easily eat it for every meal.

Kale and Coconut Salad
Serves 4

Ingredients:
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 tsp sesame oil
2 tbsp shoyu, tamari or soy sauce
3 1/2 cups lightly packed cups kale (3.5 oz/100 grams)
1 1/2 cups unsweetened large-flake coconut (3 oz/85 grams)
1 cup uncooked farro, brown rice, quinoa or other whole grain

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Cook your grain according to package directions.
3. Trim the stems of your kale, remove the large ribs, and chop.  Mix the kale and coconut together in a large bowl.
4. In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, sesame oil, and soy sauce.  Pour about 2/3 of it into the bowl with the kale and coconut, and toss well.
5. Spread kale and coconut mixture on a large baking sheet, and bake for 11-18 minutes, stirring once or twice.  Bake until the coconut is golden brown. and the kale is crispy. 
6. Remove from oven, taste, and if desired add more of the leftover dressing.
7. Serve on top of your grain.

Enjoy!!

Source: Super Natural Every Day