Roasted Kabocha Squash

On this lovely Ohio snow day (Our 7th this year- what?!  At first I enjoyed these snow days but they're beginning to stress me out.  There is too much to teach and learn, and so little time!  Anyway, I digress...), as I was browsing through photos I've taken of recipes for this blog, I discovered some photos I had taken of kabocha squash and realized I never posted them!

A few years ago we were buying squash at Meijer when we discovered a type we had never seen before- kabocha.  It looks like a small, green pumpkin.  We took it home, looked up some ideas for preparing it online, and proceeded to make the BEST squash we had ever eaten.  When roasted in the way I will describe below, it is salty, rich, creamy, and downright addicting.  Be careful not to eat too much though... although the skin is perfectly edible, I have found out the hard way that eating too much of it is rather rough on the digestive system.  Just sayin'. 

I've noticed that every kabocha squash I make has a slightly different flavor, and some turn out a bit drier than others, some creamier than others, and so on.  However, every time it has turned out DELICIOUS!

Roasted Kabocha Squash

1 kabocha squash (I can reliably find it at Meijer)
2 T coconut oil (or olive oil)
coarse salt

Preheat oven to 400 degrees and line 2 baking sheets with foil.  
Wash the squash.  Cut the stem end off.  Cut the squash in half down the middle.  Scoop out and discard the seeds and pulp.  Cut the squash into moon shaped pieces (approx. 1 in thick on the skin side, as pictured above).  
Melt the coconut oil on a heatproof plate (or just pour olive oil onto a plate). Rub one slice of squash in the oil, then rub another piece of squash onto the first to distribute the oil onto both pieces.  I know this sounds strange, but this is the method I've used since I starting make this squash and it works really well!  Really, just get some oil on the squash however you want!  
Place the squash slices onto the foil lined baking sheets and sprinkle with salt.  
Roast at 400 degrees for 20 min., then remove from oven, flip the squash, and bake for about 15 min. longer. When it's done, the squash should be soft enough to easily cut or pierce with a fork.  Enjoy!  Store in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.  In my opinion, it's just as good cold as it is freshly roasted!  

Baked Doughnuts For Everyone!

I hope those photos got you interested!  What you see above are almond joy doughnuts... some of the BEST doughnuts ever from a cookbook called Baked Doughnuts for Everyone.  I borrowed it from the library awhile ago because Rem requested doughnuts for his birthday in December.  That's when I made my first recipe from the cookbook: maple glazed doughnuts.  They were DELICIOUS!  After that I went on a doughnut hiatus, but I woke up today with a strong urge to make doughnuts again, and almond joy doughnuts sounded too good to resist.  I thought the maple glazed ones were good but these were even better.  Soft, pillowy, coconutty doughnuts with a sweet chocolate glaze.... and can you believe ALL of the doughnuts in this cookbook are gluten-free?  Ashley, the author of Baked Doughnuts for Everyone, also writes an incredible blog filled with gluten-free recipes called The Edible Perspective.  Check out the blog The Edible Perspective  for more great gluten-free recipes or buy/borrow the book Baked Doughnuts for Everyone.

Now if we have another snow day from school this week, I may or may not try to bake my way through the rest of the book...

P.S.  Thank you, dad, for the doughnut pan you got me for Christmas!  It is certainly coming in handy!  

Cilantro Lime Cauliflower Rice

Although cauliflower rice is often considered a great paleo substitute for rice, it is also just a delicious side dish in it's own right!  We love eating this version with taco meat or grilled chicken, guacamole, and salad.  

Cilantro Lime Cauliflower Rice

1-2 T coconut oil
1 large head (or 2 small heads) cauliflower
1 small red onion or 1/2 large red onion, minced
1/2 c fresh cilantro, chopped
juice of 1 lime

In a large skillet or dutch oven, heat the coconut oil on medium heat, then add the onion and saute until the onion begins to brown a bit.  Meanwhile, get out your food processor and use the grating attachment to "rice" the cauliflower.  It fills up the food processor pretty fast, so you'll need to do this in batches.  Once the onions are browned, add the riced cauliflower and cook 10-15 minutes or until soft.  Add lime juice, salt, pepper and cook 2 minutes more.  Then remove from the heat and stir in the cilantro.  Serve hot!

Apple Pie Bites

Very reminiscent of apple pie lara bars, these bite-sized treats are easy to make and satisfy any sweet craving!

Apple Pie Bites

1/2 c walnuts
1/2 c almonds
1/2 c cashews
10-12 medjool dates (the big, soft, chewy kind that still have the pits- but take the pits out!)
3/4 c dried apple slices
1 T cinnamon
1 T apple butter or applesauce

Process nuts in food processor until coarsely ground.  Add remaining ingredients and process until the mixture comes together and the nuts are finely ground.  (The mixture shouldn't be too wet or dry, but easy to roll into balls).  Roll mixture into balls (I made mine into balls that were about 1 1/2 inches in diameter) or press into a pan to make bars.  Store in the refrigerator or freezer.  You can eat these straight from the freezer, as they don't completely harden.  Enjoy!

Mexican Chicken, Rice and Beans

(Fair warning: this recipe is not paleo (it contains rice and beans), but it is gluten-free).  

This dish is inspired by my mom, who is an awesome cook and a master at throwing together crockpot recipes that always taste amazing.  Most of her crockpot recipes are not written down, and they're rarely the same each time she makes them, but she has made a dish like this one several times, and both Rem and I loved it every time!  

This one-pot meal is super delicious, EASY, and very filling.  It's great for when you're craving Mexican but don't want to take the time to prepare every component separately.  If you don't tolerate or like beans, you could easily add more veggies (peppers,  in their place or just leave them out.  I would imagine you could also replace the rice with riced cauliflower.  You could also change it up to make this an Indian dish rather than Mexican by swapping the spices below for turmeric, cumin, coriander, garlic, ginger, and curry powder, and swapping the beans for chickpeas.  Let me know if you try out any variations on this recipe!    

Mexican Chicken, Rice and Beans

2 1/2 lb uncooked chicken breasts or thighs, fresh (or frozen then thawed)

32 oz. can diced tomatoes, with juice

1/2 c salsa (I used Mrs. Renfro's habenero salsa- a super hot salsa!)

1 onion, diced

Sprinkle liberally over the top: 

cumin

garlic powder

pepper

oregano

Cook the above ingredients on HIGH in the crockpot for 4 hours (anywhere between 3 and 6 hours would work).

Then add:

2 cans drained and rinsed black beans

1 c uncooked basmati rice (I used Trader Joe's brand; you could use ANY type of rice for this)

Continue to cook on HIGH for 2 hours.  

Enjoy!

Sauteed Radishes and Onions

This recipe may sound odd, but it's my new obsession.  In our CSA box the past few weeks we've been getting watermelon radishes.  They look like this:

I'm not a huge fan of raw radishes, but I did some exploring online and found out that radishes can be sauteed and are very delicious this way.  I came up with this recipe to use those interesting new vegetables and I think I could eat it every day....

Sauteed Radishes and Onion

1 sweet onion
2-3 large watermelon radishes
2 T grass fed butter

Dice onion.  Cut radish into bite-sized pieces.  Add butter to a large skillet and heat on medium high.  Once the butter is melted, add the onion and saute until it starts to brown a bit.  Then add the radishes, as well as some salt and pepper, and continue to cook until the radishes being to soften.  Taste the radishes to see if you like them this way or continue cooking until they are even softer.  Enjoy!

Creamy Tomato and Shrimp Soup

Last weekend my sister came to visit me for a cooking and baking extravaganza!  We both love to bake, cook, and eat delicious food, so we had an amazing time going through our "to make" recipe files and choosing some new dishes to cook.  We cooked turnips with bacon, onion, and turnip greens.  We roasted spaghetti squash.  We baked banana cardamom bread, pear cobbler muffins, and brownie bites.  And we made the most delicious dinner: homemade sushi and this creamy tomato and shrimp soup!  It's sweet, spicy, and full of tender vegetables and shrimp.  The soup was perfect on the cool fall day when we made it, and as most soups are, it was great the next day as leftovers.  

Creamy Tomato and Shrimp Soup

Adapted from Food and Wine

1 T coconut oil
2 onions, chopped
2 green bell peppers, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
32 oz. can diced tomatoes
5 oz. can tomato paste
2 cups chicken stock
15 oz. can coconut milk (full fat)
2 lb. raw shrimp, thawed (we used medium, frozen, wild caught shrimp from Meijer)
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper (we didn't measure- just put in a bunch)
juice of 1/2 a lemon
1/2 c chopped fresh cilantro

In a large pot or dutch oven, heat the coconut oil over medium heat.  Add onion, bell pepper, and garlic.  Cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables start to soften and are fragrant, about 10-15 minutes.  Add the red pepper flakes, tomatoes, tomato paste, and chicken stock.  Let simmer for about 10 minutes.  Pour in the coconut milk, continuing to simmer for about 5 minutes.  Then add shrimp and cook for about 3-5 minutes more, or until shrimp are cooked through.  Just before serving, stir in the pepper, lemon juice, and cilantro.  Serve hot!  We ate it by itself but this would be delicious over rice or cauliflower rice.