Easy Roasted Delicata Squash Recipe

This is a recipe that anyone can do. Yes you. You can make this. It's so simple and yet so delicious. Winter squash is an excellent, easily digested carbohydrate that's packed with antioxidant-rich carotenoids like beta-carotene, alpha-carotene, lutein, beta-cyrpto-xanthin, and zeaxanthin. 

I planted winter squash starts, including four delicata squash plants, in many of my garden beds last spring. Squash can be one of the easiest vegetables to grow, as long as it gets enough water early on in the growing season. Just plant organic starts or seeds in nutrient-rich soil that gets plenty of sun, water often, and watch them grow! We're pretty much out of the delicatas we grew but we still have a box of kabocha squash, carnival squash, sugar pie pumpkins, and spaghetti squash sitting in our house…..all from our garden! Winter squash is such a sustainable form of carbohydrates. Just think of the kind of agriculture it takes to grow grains compared to something like squash! I've come to rely on this food more and more for sustained, clean-burning energy. 

Serve this simple recipe as part of your Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner. Sprinkle it with fresh parsley and pomegranate arils after it comes out of the oven for a beautiful presentation! Roasted winter squash also essential to use during phases 2 and 3 of our Elimination Diet. You can vary the recipe and use ground cinnamon and nutmeg in place of the black pepper, and use coconut oil in place of the olive oil for a simple dessert. I also like to add a drizzle of pure maple syrup as well to this when making it for dessert. 

Butternut Squash, Kale, & White Bean Soup

There is nothing more nourishing than a bowl of warm vegetable bean soup on a chilly autumn evening! This simple soup can be made in about 30 minutes, perfect if you are crunched for time on a busy weeknight. I like to keep small containers of cooked beans in my freezer so I can pull them out and whip something up in a hurry! You could of course use canned beans, and if you do, the best brand to buy is Eden Organic. They use BPA-free cans and also cook kombu seaweed in with their beans, which helps to make them more digestible.

If you are not yet in the habit of cooking beans from scratch, here is what I do: after the kids go to bed I will sort through a couple of cups of dry beans (usually about 4 cups) and pick out any rocks or clumps of dirt, then rinse the beans in a colander. Then I place them into a large glass bowl and cover them with a few inches of warm water. Be sure to add enough water! Whenever I ask Tom to soak beans or nuts, he never adds enough water and in the morning they will have all expanded and be exposed to air. He's learning, slowly. ;-)

Chipotle Chicken & Rice Stuffed Squash

I think I'd be missing the blogging boat if I didn't post a stuffed squash recipe this Autumn! This recipe veers away from the usual wild rice or quinoa mixed with nuts, cranberries, apples, and herbs. Not that those combinations aren't perfectly comforting and festive this time of year....but I was thinking of something a little spicier.

I was snuggling my 5 year old daughter after school yesterday and at the same time was trying to think of something for dinner. We are in desperate need of a large grocery shopping trip but before I embark on one of those adventures I like to use up whatever ingredients might be lurking around our pantry and refrigerator. I had a cooked chicken breast in the fridge from a whole chicken I cooked into soup the other day and a pot of brown rice on the counter. The peppers I purchased at last Saturday's market and the kale was from our garden.

I like to use Bionaturae Strained Tomatoes any time I would generally use tomato sauce. This is because it comes in glass and not a can. Canned tomatoes are still lined with plastic and can leach potentially dangerous chemicals, such as BPA, into the tomato product. Though it is still debatable how much of these chemicals are actually present.

Butternut Squash Casserole with Sage and Shallots

Here is a vegan alternative to the traditional Thanksgiving turkey....a casserole with the flavors of Turkey. Poultry seasoning, sage, shallots, beans, squash, and apples all slowly cooked to perfection in the oven. The vegetable stock and arrowroot provide a thick sauce that holds the flavors. Served over wild rice and topped with a cranberry sauce, you have yourself a great meat-free Thanksgiving main dish!

This recipe was inspired by a phone conversation I had with a friend of mine. She was looking for meat-free Thanksgiving recipes, like casseroles with beans and squash, and asked if I had any recipes. For hours after our conversation and while cleaning my house, this recipe slowly evolved in my mind. I made it a few days later and it was good, but tasted a little flat when served without the Cranberry Sauce. It needed something acidic to balance the flavors. I thought about using tomatoes, vinegar, or citrus but wanted to keep those out in order to create a recipe that didn't consist of any common allergens (citrus and tomatoes are common).

Granny Smith Apples! Yes!

I added two peeled, chopped apples to the casserole and made it again today using Cranberry Beans instead of Cannelini beans. It was delicious! I served it with my Whole Grain Flatbread recipe for dinner this evening.

I should mention that my kids didn’t like the casserole….unfortunately. They usually will only eat squash if it is made into a puréed soup. I don’t know why they are picky with this vegetable, but they are. Luckily I had also just made a big pot of lentil soup which they happily devoured!

Please note that these photos were taken with my first batch of casserole. The second batch (the following recipe) has more of a saucy casserole feel from the apples which practically fall apart during cooking.

Spicy Butternut Squash Stew

The other night Tom began preparing dinner by making his favorite Quinoa Black Bean Salad (recipe in the cookbook). I usually like to serve it along side some steamed winter squash for a light meal. But it was chilly out and I was craving something a little denser, with more, salt, spice, and fat! I had a flash picture in my mind of what I wanted. I always try to keep ingredients stocked in my pantry so I can create a recipe on a whim. And luckily I had everything I needed.

Since Tom had everything prepped for the quinoa salad I asked him to peel the squash. While he was busy with that and the kids were all happily playing I began with the rest of the stew. I started cutting an onion. And then heated my large, heavy-bottomed (11-inch) stainless steel skillet over medium heat. I tossed in some whole cumin seeds and toasted them for about 60 seconds. Then added the oil and onion, more spices, some chopped jalapeno pepper, the chopped squash, a can of fire roasted tomatoes, and some sea salt and water. After it had simmered for a while the whole house smelled like a Mexican restaurant.

We all sat down to a candlelit dinner and enjoyed our simple, yet very satisfying meal of Quinoa Black Bean Salad and Spicy Butternut Squash Stew with sliced avocados on the side.

Spicy Butternut Squash Stew

2 to 3 teaspoons whole cumin seeds

2 to 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 large onion, chopped

6 cloves garlic, crushed

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

pinch cayenne pepper

1 large jalapeno pepper, seeded and diced

2 medium butternut squash, peeled, seeded and chopped

one 14-ounce can fire roasted crushed tomatoes

2 cups water

sea salt to taste (2 teaspoons or so)

Heat a large skillet or pot over medium heat. Add the cumin seeds and toast for about 60 seconds. Then add the olive oil and onions and saute for about 5 minutes or until soft. Add garlic, oregano, cinnamon, and jalapeno. Saute for a minute more. Then add the squash, tomatoes, water, and salt. Stir, then cover and simmer for about 20 to 30 minutes or until squash is tender. Taste and adjust salt or seasonings if necessary. Source: www.nourishingmeals.com

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