Stuffed Acorn Squash

So I made my own version of Stuffed Acorn squash last night.

I started out with a 6-grain rice mix that I got at H Mart - I think there was red rice, brown rice, black rice, and a few different types of barley. I cooked a 1/2 cup in the rice cooker with 2 cups of water on the brown rice setting. That always takes forever so I started that in the early afternoon.
When it got close to dinner time I chopped up a portabella mushroom and about 1/4 of an eggplant that I had left over in about 1/4" dice.
At that point I looked up a recipe (because before that I was just winging it based on what I had on hand) online. From those, I decided to add pecans for flavor, texture, and a bit of protein. I also added some frozen cranberries. I mixed all of the rice, veggies, etc together and added salt and pepper to taste - but probably about 1/2 tsp of salt and 1/4 tsp of pepper. I had every intention of adding other herbs, but I forgot. I liked the way it tasted in the end, so all was not lost.

I cut the acorn squashes (I had 2) in half length-wise and spooned out the guts. I put them in the oven in a lasagna pan at 450degF for about 10 or 15 min based on one recipe I read which said to roast them for about 20-30min. Then I decided I needed to put the filling in and have it cook for a bit, so I pulled the squashes out of the oven and added 1 tablespoon of butter and then the filling to the holes. I ended up with way more filling so I cooked that in a baking dish. The filled squashes cooked for about 40 min more. I took them out one more time to sprinkle a bit of mozzarella cheese on top - to make them more appealing to Ebon. I let the cheese melt then pulled them out for good.

I really liked how they turned out - flavor and texture wise. The rice mix was hearty and a bit crunchy, the cranberries were an added plus, as the burst of sour was a surprise for the tongue. The butter definitely helped, so don't forget that step. I couldn't get Ebon to say if I should make them again or not, but he finished the whole thing, which I wasn't expecting. Overall I would call it a success.


1/2 cup rice/grain mix
Water to cook
portabella mushroom cap 1/4" dice
1/4 large eggplant 1/4" dice
1/3 cup peacans chopped
1/2 cup cranberries (fresh or dried)
salt and pepper to taste
acorn squash
butter
cheese

Muffins!

I made Lemon Cranberry Muffins yesterday. My alterations were to use some lemon juice and olive oil in place of the butter and lemon zest. I also used an entire (12oz?) package of cranberries that I had bought in the fall and froze. Probably a bit too many cranberries because I think they were a bit sour. The lemon flavor didn't come through as much as I would have liked - the zest was definitely needed.
I added some turbinado sugar on top hoping that it would be a crust of sugar, but I didn't add enough, so there was a bit of crust, but not what I wanted.

I would make these again, but I'll try to follow the recipe the next time :)

Indian food fail

I made a slow-cooker version of Baigan Bharta last night. I had very high hopes, but it just didn't turn out right.This time I followed the recipe. The only thing I did differently is I didn't allow the eggplant to sit overnight with the spices. I don't think that would have made a difference. It came out with little flavor, I had to add a ton of salt and a bit extra of the garam masala.

After this debacle I looked how Baigan Bharta is normally made and the eggplant is roasted and there is usually some tomatoes in it. That makes a lot more sense in terms of the texture and flavors that I was missing. I won't make this recipe again.

Broccoli Cheddar soup

I made this last night:
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/food-network-kitchens/almost-famous-broccoli-cheddar-soup-recipe.html

It was pretty good. I was lazy and didn't use a carrot. I also used milk instead of 1/2 and 1/2