Cinnamon squash and tomatoes for pasta

About two weeks ago I had a hankering for something different, some type of comfort food. I wasn't sure what I wanted. I looked around the kitchen and I could see some tomatoes left from the garden, I figured I would cook up something different with them, but I wasn't certain what. Then I recalled the butternut squash I picked up at the market a few days earlier. In in the last couple of years I have been using squash a great deal more when I cook, then I had in the past, and I have found it quite versatile as it mixes so well with many different things.

Taking stock

So it had been decided, I would start with chopping the elongated part of the butternut squash I had on hand. First I cut off the long end. Sometimes I use a vegetable peeler to peel my squash but I was feeling like using my knife yesterday, so I cut off the upper piece of the squash were there are no seeds of the bottom part for starters. Then I cut it up in slices so I ended up with little discs of squash. With the discs having a flat side it made it easy to keep them still on the cutting board and trim off the tough outer skin.

Once I had done that I sliced those discs into thin strips no more than a quarter of an inch thick, in most cases I tried to cute them thing, size has everything to do with cooking time. Once I had my squash cut up, I measured it and I found hat I had about three cups. I put this chopped up butternut squash in a bowl and liberally sprinkled it with ground cinnamon, I added a dash of cayenne or two and about a quarter teaspoon of turmeric. Then I mixed it all up so every single slice of squash was coated with a fine layer of the three magical ingredients.

That done I measured out three portions of linguine. I usually measure this long type of pasta as one serving being measured between my forefinger and thumb formed into a circle at about the size of a beer bottle cap.

I then cleaned three cloves of garlic and chopped it up as fine as I could, as it would be going in to cook with my thin pieces of squash. I threw this into my big frying pan with about a table spoon of olive oil, Cinnamon adds such an interesting taste to squash and things like pumpkin, not to mention the other spices I decided to add in as you will soon see.

Ingredients – about 350 calories per serving

Butternut squash – three cups

Cayenne pepper – to taste

Cinnamon – about a tablespoon

Garlic – three cloves

Cherry Tomatoes – quartered – three cups

Turmeric – quarter teaspoon

Cooking mediums

Extra Virgin Olive Oil – 1 tablespoon

Water – as you would for any portion of pasta

Enriching flavour

One thing I learnt many years ago that there are many spices that seem to let out their flavours when heated. Over the years I began to understand that there is an actual term for this his. It's called blooming, and usually involves a liquid medium of hot oil. What happens when you heat these spices they release their essential oils and in turn it bursts into a bouquet of flavours that you will find it hard to imagine. I also learnt that often ground spices can often be mixed with a bit of liquid and mixed into a paste before doing so but given that my squash has a bit of natural moisture in it, the cinnamon, cayenne and turmeric will nicely stick to all those pieces of squash! As the spices are bloomed and the squash lightly cooked, you end up with something that is quite magical in taste.

Later after my tomatoes were in and when everything was just about cooked I would add my more gentle spices like oregano and parsley, if you put these in two early their flavour simply disappears.

I decided that I would only cut up about three cups of tomatoes, so after each cup was filled I tried to make estimates of which size tomatoes I should pick out in order that I come to three cups of tomatoes as well. After each cup of tomatoes I would toss them in to join the pool party with the squash, and always sure to mix it all up. Once all my tomatoes were in with the squash I cooked them and mixed them on medium high heat for about 6-10 minutes more, making sure that the squash was cooked and that the tomatoes had released much of their fluids and the saucy mixture had reduced.

By the time my linguine was ready, al dente, I knew that I would have something that was a little out of the ordinary in terms of flavours and tastes, but whatever I make I eat. There is simply no reason to throw food out unless it is rotten, though if it is compostable, it goes on the compost pile and not in the garbage. Besides there hasn't been anything that I have made since the time I was in my early twenties and in university that I would consider inedible. With my linguine drained I threw it into into the frying pan tossed it with my admixture of tomatoes squash and various spices. I had cooked enough for three good servings or two very large servings, so I plated my serving and enjoyed the labours in the kitchen. I had my second part for dinner, after having returned from a bit of a walk on a miserable day – I enjoyed those leftovers reheated. 

What's in it for you?

I realized that unless I contributed some value to the recipes I think up, very often at a whim, there really would be no reason to be putting in the effort to even records these recipes, with the exception it allows me to go back to the ones I like for inspiration. Hopefully in providing the values below, you will become more informed about different foods. As you may have noticed in the past, when I introduce some type of new ingredients I try to include addition sources in order that those visiting this blog can better understand what it is they are eating.

The values below are approximations based on each ingredients included in the recipe. The last four values are estimations of my recommended daily allowance based on my own personal dietary needs, and are here only to serve as a guide.

 

Calories	343
Carbohydrates	67.9 g
Fat	6.3 g
Saturated	0.7 g
Polyunsaturated	0.8 g
Monounsaturated	3.4 g
Trans	0 g
Cholesterol	0 g
Sodium	13.6 mg
Potassium	530.9 mg
Dietary Fibre	8.4 g
Sugar(s)	9.2 g
Protein	9.8 g
Vitamin A	327 %
Vitamin C	83.2 %
Calcium	10.9 %
Iron	19.7 %

While I love to cook, I don't claim to be a chef, nor do I have an formal food preparation training or education, my personal experience of cooking for myself and friends over the years has been my teacher and has taught me the following: if you like to try new things it makes it very easy to take up cooking. You must be willing to be your own guinea pig quite often, if something doesn't work out live with it. I grew up in an environment that was void of many spices that we have available to us if we are not intimidated on trying something new.

I probably never used raw ginger in cooking until I was away from home for a few years. I even went as far as having my own batch of sourdough starter in the fridge that I would have to feed regularly and to have on hand to whip up home made cresent rolls to serve to friends who had dropped by for tea or coffee. I figure if you can read instructions, have an idea of what your own tastes are, you can cook up anything that is tasty.

Not your standard breakfast: Lentils, roasted garlic and broiled avocado

I was up before the sun this morning and I had a hankering to do something different in the kitchen. I could hear the rain beating against the window pane and I knew that I had no desire to head outside until it got a little lighter, but would have to get out and get in some exercise. This is something I have to do no matter what. I let my exercise regiment slip in the last three month and it is beginning to show. So I headed of to the kitchen, and by the time I walked down the hall, I knew I wanted something warm with garlic, and not just garlic but it would be roasted. Roasting softens up its flavour, and boy does it ever smell good.

I wanted something a little different than oatmeal but I didn't want it to take a great deal of time. Knowing that I was going to have to roast my garlic in the oven for just over half an hour, put me in a constraint that what ever I was going to make with my roasted garlic had to be ready in at about the the same time as my garlic or maybe a little sooner. I first turned on the oven to preheat it to about 425 degrees Fahrenheit.

I looked at the empty yogurt containers on the counter. Well they may have been empty of what they originally contained now they contained an assortment of different pulses-legumes, nuts, seeds and rice. After shaking a few of the containers around I knew what it would be. Yes it may seem kind of strange that I would have labels on these containers, but just by shaking them I can tell what the contain. Chickpeas and Black turtle beans sound a lot different than Lima beans or Navy beans, and plain green lentils sound different than finer du Puy lentils which also happen to be green. However, each of these does have its own cooking time, so beans were out of the question, so I settled for some green lentils of the Eston variety. There were still a few things that would make up my breakfast, but before telling you about the cooking procedures I'll let you see what it was that I cooked up.

Ingredients -Approximately 698 calories – one serving

Avocado – two small

Basil – five leaves

Garlic – five cloves

Lentils – Green Eston, 1 half a cup dry

Olive oil – Virgin light, 1 tablespoon

Water – cooking medium for lentils

I measured out half a cup and covered them with water and put them on the front burner on the stove and cranked up the heat to high. By the time the water had come to a boil I had cleaned five cloves of garlic, picked about six leaves of fresh basil from my herb pot on the counter, put them together with a bit of olive oil drizzled over them in a little contain I made from a four inch squared piece of aluminium foil, sealing all the spots so that the garlic and basic could roast in their own juices. Once my little packet was all sealed I put it in a three inch cast iron pan, and slipped it into the oven.

I slice two Haas avocados in half, removed the pit, brushed a little bit of olive oil over them and sprinkled each half with a dash of pepper. I placed the four halves of avocado with the fleshy part facing up in a six inch cast iron skillet, and before placing that skillet in the oven I raised the oven rack so that the avocados would be within about six inches of the broiler element in the oven. With about ten minutes left for the garlic to finish roasting I placed my avocado slices under the broiler and then went to tend to my lentils. They were still a little to hard for my liking but I knew that another five to seven minutes they would be just right for plating and to cool off just a bit. To be topped off with my roasted garlic and avocado slices. 

Broiled Avocado, roasted garlic and lentils. Somehow a tomato snuck on to the plate! 

Before enjoying this unusual breakfast I let the avocado cool off just enough so I could scoop the wonderful lightly peppered flesh out with a spoon to top off my lentils. The bright green looked lovely, and had I some red peppers to roast together with my garlic it would have made for a nice contrast of colours.

What's in it for you!

The values below are approximations based on each ingredients included in the recipe. The last four values are estimations of my recommended daily allowance based on my own personal dietary needs, and are here only to serve as a guide.

 

Calories	698
Carbohydrates	44 g
Fat	58 g
Saturated	8 g
Polyunsaturated	2 g
Monounsaturated	10 g
Trans	0 g
Cholesterol	0 g
Sodium	284 mg
Potassium	60 mg
Dietary Fibre	23 g
Sugar(s)	2 g
Protein	12 g
Vitamin A	8 %
Vitamin C	59 %
Calcium	11 %
Iron	23 %

Most of the times when I whip something together like I did this morning and was able to write it up quickly, was because there was simply some inspiration to try something different. Cooking should never be a task or something that you don't enjoy, you learn to embrace it and to push your comfort zone a little bit. It is only in this way that you will discover new and healthy foods.