Squashed

In my personal opinion, the kabocha is the unsung hero of squashes. It's tastier than any squash out there. It can be roasted, pureed, sauteed, tempura'd, etc. It's always good. If you haven't tried kabocha, do so now. Actually, you probably have and didn't know it. Kabocha is the squash used in vegetable tempura dishes at japanese restaurants. If you didn't know, now you do.

This is the giant kabocha space ship that sat on my counter for days and begged "eat me!"

And so . . . I did. Today's recipe was inspired by a recipe in Self magazine, 2008. I maintain that you could slather a kabocha in paint thinner and it would still be delicious. But that's just me.

The first step is to slay your kabocha squash. This is where a good knife is just as important as it is dangerous. Just close your eyes and tell me when it's over.

i don't wanna!

It's really not that bad, but does take some elbow grease. Good thing i'm ripped. (?)

before

after

Cumin Spiced Roasted Kabocha

1 WW PP+ per cup of squash

Ingredients

• The hugest kabocha you can find, or two small, insides scooped out, peeled, and sliced
• 1 tbsp EVOO
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 2 tsp brown sugar
• 1/4 tsp paprika - any kind

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 375
• Toss kabocha in EVOO
• In a spice grinder or in a mortar and pestel, crush bay leaf with sea salt
• Combine sea salt/bay mixture with cumin, sugar and paprika
• Sprinkle over oiled kabocha and toss until coated all over
• Spread on a baking sheet and bake for one hour, or until edges are golden and kabocha is soft
• You won't be able to flip the kabocha, so don't try -  it doesn't get crispy. Just tender and delish.

The cumin flavor is not overpowering and the balance of sugar and salt is perfecto. Kabocha is already sweet, but the brown sugar really complements the natural sweetness and doesn't compete with it. Also, this whole bay leaf/sea salt business is a winner and will likely find its way into my kitchen again.

If you need an awesome recipe to go with the kabocha, you will have to come back in a couple days! It's finals season in lauren land, so naturally i'm procrastinating by doing everything BUT studying. What the heck is that about? Off for a bike ride ...

How Bout Dem Apples

We have an apple problem.

Well, not really, since both apple trees that are invading (welcomely!) our back yard are owned by two different neighbors. But when the wind blows, the apples fall. Let me show you:

Unfortunately the birds and raccoons and opossums and such get to most of them before we do, but the ones we get to salvage are SO tasty. However, even if every member of this household, including the pets, ate an apple a day, we couldn't keep up with the apples that fall over the fence. So I had to cook.
Here was my critieria: I want to be able to eat a lot of it, and not blow my diet. I want it to be sweet. I want to eat it for breakfast. BOOM: Slow cooker spiced apple sauce. Win.

Slow Cooker Spiced Cider Apple Sauce
0 WW PP+ woot woot


Ingredients

• 5-7 apples depending on size, washed, cored, and sliced with skins still on
• lemon wedge
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 2 whole cloves
• 2 whole all spice thingies
• 1/4 c. spiced cider

Instructions

• Place all apples in the slow cooker - fill it to the brim!
• Squeeze lemon over the top and rub around to keep top apples from going brown too fast
• Add in cinnamon in both forms, allspice, cloves, and pour over cider
• HOT TIP: remember how many all spices and cloves you put in so when you dig em out later you know how many to look for!! If you've watched enough Top Chef or Chopped, you now what a di-sas-ter it is to let someone bite in to a clove or all spice thingy.
• Cover for 8 hours on low heat or 4 hours on high heat
• Let cool and dig out cloves, all spice, and cinnamon stick
• Keep in the fridge for a week or so!

I have eaten this twice in less than 14 hours now. Once with oatmeal - I didn't even need to sweeten my oats! And once plain, warmed up, as dessert. It would be great as a spread on toast, or with a cheese pairing (i.e. bleu or camembert or something stinky and soft). It was great alone, too! Hot or cold, it's delicious. And I know where it was grown and what went in to it. Isn't it weird how applesauce in a jar is so light in color when this applesauce is so dark brown? That's not all just because of the cinnamon, people. Strannngggeeee.

Go steal some apples from your neighbors and make yourself a crock pot full of applesauce.

Fro Yo Fail

Or not...

So I got an ice cream maker for my bday - yay! So excited to make fro yo and sorbet and okay, ice cream. But with non fat milk. Mostly.

Anyway, I gave her a whirl this weekend, but it was a partial fail. Only partial because it became frozen eventually, but a fail because it did not work out as planned. I know where I went wrong. I made a 1.5 batch without considering the size of the ice cream maker, so I totally overloaded it, and I only froze the base for 12 hours instead of the recommended 1-2 days.  Anyway, the recipe, once it finally did freeze overnight, was AMAZING. I don't know why they don't make this in stores.... It was a lot like tart fro yo, but more citrusy.

Vanilla Citrus Nonfat Fro Yo
1/2 c = 4 WW PP+


Ingredients

• 2 cups nonfat plain yogurt
• 1 cups vanilla nonfat yogurt
• 1 c white sugar
• Juice of 4 lemons, 2 limes, 1 orange - the goal is 1 cup
• 1 tbsp zest from said fruits

Instructions

• In a sauce pan, combine sugar and juice
• Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer until all sugar is dissolved
• Cool for several hours
• When ready to make ice cream, mix fruit syrup, yogurt and zest in a large mixing bowl until well combined
• Put in ice cream maker for 30 minutes
• Stick in freezer for another 30 minutes to set for scoopability
• Serve! 

great with berries and sponge cake...

I can't wait to keep experimenting! I want to try lower sugar recipes, or some with alternative sweetening like agave. Any ice cream maker tips are welcome!