Butternut Squash Fest & Spinach Gratin

Tonight for dinner I made butternut squash gnocchi with Happy Herbivore’s butternut squash “cream” sauce. The gnocchi were pretty good…perhaps a wee bit bland but I always find gnocchi bland. I always find that gnocchi is all about the sauce you put on top of it. That being said, the “cream” sauce was pretty good. I think next time I would fiddle with the spices. It pretty much tasted like a thick butternut squash soup. Which I don’t see anything wrong with, I could drink butternut squash soup by the gallon.

I also made Provencal spinach gratin from Mediterranean Vegan Kitchen. I added some leftover basmati rice to this dish, so I guess so much for an authentic dish. I found it a wee bit bland, but I really liked the textures. I think a splash of lemon juice would perk this up.

East Indian Yummyness & New Cookbooks

Last night for dinner I wanted to use up some cauliflower in the fridge so I made aloo gobi from Madhur Jaffrey’s World Vegetarian. It’s the first recipe I’ve used from that book and man is it good…the spices are perfect! I wouldn’t change a thing.

To go with itI made chana masala. That recipe was okay…a wee bit too much lemon juice for my liking. I am incredibly picky with chana masala dishes…I have yet to find a recipe that i loved enough to make twice. I served these dishes along with baked samosas that I bought from a guy at the local farmer’s market months and months ago (frozen of course) and basmati rice.

As a total aside, yesterday my new cookbooks arrived! I was given an Amazon gift certificate for participating in an online survey so what better way to spend it then with new cookbooks? Yes, I JUST bought Veganomicon…and I don’t know why I waited so long, I have a huuuge list of recipes I want to try from that book alone. I haven’t had a chance to look at the other ones yet.

Sesame Spinach

What do you do when you have a giant bag of spinach in your fridge and you’re worried you won’t be able to eat it all before it goes bad? Well you can saute it up and voila…giant handfuls of spinach suddenly become about 1 cup cooked. Let’s just say I think i got my dose of vitamins for today. I KNOW I got the idea for this dish from someone’s blog…but I cannot for the life of me remember where/when.

I really need to cook more during the daylight so that my pictures aren’t taken under my harsh oven light. Oh well. Keep in mind I hardly ever measure anything when cooking…I just “eyeball” things until the look right.

Sesame Spinach:
1. Spray a nonstick skillet with cooking spray and heat over med-high heat.
2. Add 1 tsp minced garlic
3. Add a few big handfuls of fresh, rinsed spinach. stir frequently. spinach will shrink…a LOT.
4. Add 2 drops sesame oil and 1 tsp. soy sauce. continue to stir.
5.Remove from heat and sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds. I ate this warm, but I think it would be scrumptious cold too.

Roasted Butternut Squash & Garlic Broccoli Spears

Mmmm…I ate dinner about 2.5 hours ago and I still have that food afterglow. That’s what squash does to me…I love the stuff. I could probably eat it everyday.

Roasted Butternut Squash (Adapted from Allrecipes.com)

• 2 tbsp. olive oil
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tbsp. minced fresh parsley (or 2 tsp. dried)
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 large butternut squash, peeled and cubed

1. Preheat oven to 400 F. In a large bowl, combine the parsley, oil, garlic, salt and pepper. Add squash and toss to coat.

2. Transfer to a baking dish. Bake, uncovered, at 400 degrees F for 50-55 minutes or until squash is just tender.

That’s my bf’s plate…He put parmesan cheese on his. Because he can’t eat delicious, unadulterated veggies. *sigh* But that is a rant for another post. My squash had a mishap and didn’t look so nice, so his plate was the one to be photographed.

I had some broccoli in the fridge that was on its way to spoiling, so I cooked that up, too.

Garlic Broccoli Spears (Adapted from Allrecipes.com)

• 1 lb. fresh broccoli spears
• 1 tbsp. lemon juice
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• salt and pepper to taste

Place the broccoli in a saucepan with a small amount of water. Cover and cook until crisp-tender. Drain broccoli and toss with remaining ingredients. Serve immediately.

Curried Onion Rings

There I was, staring in my nearly-bare fridge, trying to figure out what the heck I was going to have for dinner. Half an onion kept staring at me defiantly. So I accepted it’s challenge. Warning, if you don’t like onions, you’re probably not going to like this. And if you don’t like curry, you’re definitely not going to like this. This recipe was adapted from one in Sensational Vegetable Recipes.

Curried Onion Rings
* 1/2 onion, sliced into rings
* 1 tbsp olive oil
* 1 1/2 tsp curry powder
* 1/4 tsp brown sugar

Heat olive oil in skillet. Add onions and curry. Saute until onions are tender. Mix in brown sugar and serve.

It was a bit too sweet for me, but I can see how some people would like it. Next time I make it for myself I’ll probably use half the sugar, as I prefer more spicy than sweet.