Yeeks. Christmas traffic.
We were let out of work early today, and I was very thankful because it meant I didn't have to choose between doing my last remaining shopping tonight in the dark or tomorrow morning in all the madness.
Today was quite bad enough. It was vicious out there. It's not just that there are -- in the immortal words of the Boston radio announcers of my youth -- too many cars and not enough concrete. People are out there being Not Nice to each other: cutting in front, blasting past stopped cars at 55 mph so no one who's stuck in the traffic jam can get out of their lane, not letting people in line ahead of OR behind them (whatever happened to taking turns like ladies and gentlemen?), sticking like glue to the next car's back bumper. Yeesh. Glad I got home safely.
On the good side, I think I have now bought everything I need for the next week, including computer printer ink, cat food (the immediate impulse for the shopping trip), nuts to eat on the airplane, and baking powder that is less than fifteen years old in case I actually do get to bake cookies tomorrow.
I'm actually cooking part of Christmas dinner this year, after not doing it for a while, so I have a giant bunch of chard taking up half the bottom shelf of my refrigerator, and not one but two baking pumpkins. (Actually Kabocha squash.)
Many years ago when I became a vegetarian, there arose the problem of what to use for a Spectacular Seasonal Entrée. While I admire the high-mindedness of vegetarians who have rejected the obsolete patriarchal or capitalistic (take your pick) attitude that meals must have a "main dish," I still feel the need to have one.
I love winter squash, so that was a good candidate. The only thing that bothers me about other people's winter squash recipes is that they all seem to take a hearty squash that is already rather sweet and make it sweeter, adding brown sugar, cinnamon and so forth (though I haven't seen it with marshmallows yet). My attitude is: look for some contrast. So I invented my own recipe, rich with onions, yogurt and grated sharp cheese. Very yummy, and I've missed it in recent years, so I'm glad to have a chance to do it again.
---------------
And since I know that if anyone mentions the word "recipe" in an online journal they WILL get asked for it:
Cheese & Onion Stuffed Kabocha
Find a Kabocha squash about 10-12 inches in diameter. Scrub it thoroughly, cut off the top to make a lid, and hollow out the insides.
I will note that it's a bit hard to find ones that big these days. Also note that Kabochas do not keep as well as one might like, so if you buy one early, be careful not to bruise it, stick it in the back of the fridge sitting on a towel and check it every week or so. I bought my most recent one six weeks ago and it's fine.
In a mixing bowl, mix together:
- 8 ounces of cheese, grated (preferably sharp)
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup yogurt
In another bowl, mix the dry ingredients:
- 1 cup flour
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon dry mustard powder
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
Chop 2 onions into 1/2 inch dice. If you feel like going to the extra trouble, sauté them until slightly caramelized in a bit of olive oil. Toss the onions in the dry ingredients. Add the dry ingredients and onions gradually to the egg-cheese-yogurt mixture to make a sticky dough (it should be like a wet biscuit dough, too sticky to roll out).
Put the squash in a greased casserole dish. Pack the dough into the squash; it should not fill the whole cavity, since it will rise as it bakes. You will probably want to bake the lid of the squash separately. Extra stuffing can be baked separately too.
This takes about 2 to 2+1/2 hours to bake all the way through at about 350 degrees, depending on your oven. (Yes, it really does take that long.) If you're concerned about it drying out too much, put a pan of water on the oven floor. Reduce the heat or put a tinfoil "hat" over the top if it seems to be browning too much on top. The stuffing will be moist, but a skewer stuck into the middle of the stuffing should still come out clean when it's done all the way through.
Serve cut in wedges; scoop the squash and stuffing out of the shell on your plate.
Other types of dense, sweet, heavy fleshed winter squash can also be used. Kabocha has an ideal combination of texture, flavor and a good-sized hollow in the middle. I don't recommend using a pumpkin, even though that's where the evolution of this recipe started -- even the best of them are not nearly as flavorful and some are almost tasteless (ask me how I know).
Leftovers mashed up make surprisingly good sandwiches ;)
Today was quite bad enough. It was vicious out there. It's not just that there are -- in the immortal words of the Boston radio announcers of my youth -- too many cars and not enough concrete. People are out there being Not Nice to each other: cutting in front, blasting past stopped cars at 55 mph so no one who's stuck in the traffic jam can get out of their lane, not letting people in line ahead of OR behind them (whatever happened to taking turns like ladies and gentlemen?), sticking like glue to the next car's back bumper. Yeesh. Glad I got home safely.
On the good side, I think I have now bought everything I need for the next week, including computer printer ink, cat food (the immediate impulse for the shopping trip), nuts to eat on the airplane, and baking powder that is less than fifteen years old in case I actually do get to bake cookies tomorrow.
I'm actually cooking part of Christmas dinner this year, after not doing it for a while, so I have a giant bunch of chard taking up half the bottom shelf of my refrigerator, and not one but two baking pumpkins. (Actually Kabocha squash.)
Many years ago when I became a vegetarian, there arose the problem of what to use for a Spectacular Seasonal Entrée. While I admire the high-mindedness of vegetarians who have rejected the obsolete patriarchal or capitalistic (take your pick) attitude that meals must have a "main dish," I still feel the need to have one.
I love winter squash, so that was a good candidate. The only thing that bothers me about other people's winter squash recipes is that they all seem to take a hearty squash that is already rather sweet and make it sweeter, adding brown sugar, cinnamon and so forth (though I haven't seen it with marshmallows yet). My attitude is: look for some contrast. So I invented my own recipe, rich with onions, yogurt and grated sharp cheese. Very yummy, and I've missed it in recent years, so I'm glad to have a chance to do it again.
---------------
And since I know that if anyone mentions the word "recipe" in an online journal they WILL get asked for it:
Cheese & Onion Stuffed Kabocha
Find a Kabocha squash about 10-12 inches in diameter. Scrub it thoroughly, cut off the top to make a lid, and hollow out the insides.
I will note that it's a bit hard to find ones that big these days. Also note that Kabochas do not keep as well as one might like, so if you buy one early, be careful not to bruise it, stick it in the back of the fridge sitting on a towel and check it every week or so. I bought my most recent one six weeks ago and it's fine.
In a mixing bowl, mix together:
- 8 ounces of cheese, grated (preferably sharp)
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup yogurt
In another bowl, mix the dry ingredients:
- 1 cup flour
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon dry mustard powder
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
Chop 2 onions into 1/2 inch dice. If you feel like going to the extra trouble, sauté them until slightly caramelized in a bit of olive oil. Toss the onions in the dry ingredients. Add the dry ingredients and onions gradually to the egg-cheese-yogurt mixture to make a sticky dough (it should be like a wet biscuit dough, too sticky to roll out).
Put the squash in a greased casserole dish. Pack the dough into the squash; it should not fill the whole cavity, since it will rise as it bakes. You will probably want to bake the lid of the squash separately. Extra stuffing can be baked separately too.
This takes about 2 to 2+1/2 hours to bake all the way through at about 350 degrees, depending on your oven. (Yes, it really does take that long.) If you're concerned about it drying out too much, put a pan of water on the oven floor. Reduce the heat or put a tinfoil "hat" over the top if it seems to be browning too much on top. The stuffing will be moist, but a skewer stuck into the middle of the stuffing should still come out clean when it's done all the way through.
Serve cut in wedges; scoop the squash and stuffing out of the shell on your plate.
Other types of dense, sweet, heavy fleshed winter squash can also be used. Kabocha has an ideal combination of texture, flavor and a good-sized hollow in the middle. I don't recommend using a pumpkin, even though that's where the evolution of this recipe started -- even the best of them are not nearly as flavorful and some are almost tasteless (ask me how I know).
Leftovers mashed up make surprisingly good sandwiches ;)