Roasted Butternut Squash w Peas

After a few days off from finding interesting new veggies to try out, I finally selected Vegetable #5 for New Year Resolution #2. The choice today was Butternut Squash!  While I've tried butternut squash soup at restaurants and also in ready-to-eat versions available at the store, I had never cooked the squash itself, in any form. I considered making the soup as my "trial" recipe but didn't want to be that predictable. I opted for an easy oven roasted recipe and it was oh so worth it!

Butternut Squash

Total Prep Time: 20-25 minutes.

Ingredients: 

1. 1 butternut squash (peeled and diced into ~1 to 1.5 inch cubes). 
2. 2 tbsp Pure Maple Syrup.
3. 1 tbsp Olive oil (or less!). 
4. 1 to 1.5 tsp Cumin powder
5. 1 tsp Cayenne pepper (or more if you like it hot!).
6. 2 to 3 small bay leaves
7. 1/2 cup fresh frozen peas, thawed in a microwave for about 2-3 minutes.  
8. Coarse sea salt, to taste
9. Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Directions:

Preheat oven to 450F. In a large bowl, mix all the wet and dry ingredients really well. Add squash and toss well. Set thawed peas aside until the very end. Transfer the squash with spices to a large oven safe dish, so that there is only a single layer of squash. Roast uncovered for ~20-22 min at 450F, turning every 5-8 minutes to allow even cooking. Test squash with a fork after about 15 min. When squash is just done, add in peas, toss well and continue roasting for another 5 min, tossing once again, half-way through. Serve while its still piping hot, with Naan, or over brown rice.

The result is a sweet, melt-in-your-mouth and set it on fire concoction that you're sure to fall in love with. If you're not big on heat, the cayenne can be skipped completely. I ate it tonight with whole wheat Naan from Stone Fire Bakery which makes some great flat breads that are available in most grocery stores, including Walmart and Kroger. I tried the whole wheat version today (warning: The naan is not vegan!).

Nik's Reaction:  He ate most of my Naan and said "Mom, I don't love my peas!" .. Gee thanks, Son! :)

Baked Vegetables in White Sauce

Baked veggies in white sauce was a constant at Mom's dinner parties. As kids, when all the other "special" dishes were spicy and/or too fancy for us kids, we always looked forward to baked veggies. This dish is so simple and yet so wholesome. Sometimes, my uncle would add diced chicken to this recipe - making it a lot like a chicken pot pie, without the crust. I've adapted Mom's recipe here, which was rich in dairy, to a more vegan version.

 

I've also provided the dairy ingredients for those that  might be interested in an Ovo-lacto Vegetarian version.  

  

Prep Time: ~30 min from start to finish.

  

Ingredients:

1. 2 cups Mixed vegetables (I used corn, peas, asparagus, green beans & baby carrots)
2. 1 pack (12oz) Mori-Nu Silken Tofu (firm) Or: Paneer (fresh, un-aged, non-melting Indian cheese) Or: 2 hard boiled Eggs Or: Grilled Chicken - Diced or Crumbled. 
3. 1/4 cup Soy milk Or: Regular milk
4. 2 tbsp Whole wheat flour Or: all-purpose white flour. 
5. 1/8 cup Vegetable broth Or: butter
6. 1-2 tsp dried or fresh parsley
7. 1 tsp garlic salt, to taste.\
8. Freshly ground pepper, to taste. 
9. Salt and Pepper to taste. 
10. 1 tbsp Whole wheat bread crumbs Or: Bread crumbs, to sprinkle over the top.
11. 1-2 tbsp Daiya (mozza style) cheese Or: Mozzarella cheese (optional)

Directions: 

Preheat oven to 375F. In a large skillet on medium heat, add vegetable broth (Or butter) and mix in vegetables. If using frozen vegetables, let the vegetables thaw before mixing in the Tofu (Or Paneer or Eggs or Chicken) and all other ingredients (except bread crumbs and cheese). Toss well.  In a small bowl, combine Soy milk (Or milk) and whole wheat (Or all-purpose) flour, making sure that  there are no clots of flour. Turn off the heat and slowly add this runny batter to the vegetables, mixing well.  Once well tossed, the mix should be just a tad runny. If not, add an eighth of a cup of vegetable broth and mix-in with a spatula (mine was a little dry today but tasted great). Transfer portions into oven-safe baking dishes. I like to use small individual sized dishes. Sprinkle bread-crumbs over the top. And top off with Daiya (Or Mozzarella) cheese (optional). I made the kids' batch up as an all-vegan version and sprinkled a good portion of Mozzarella on top (pictured above). I kept mine low-fat and held the cheese (pictured below). Bake at 375F for 16-20 min, until the top looks golden brown. Serve immediately.

No Cheese Version!

Nik's Reaction: Ma-ma, can I have more cheese?

Alex's Reaction: A clean plate!

Bryce's Reaction: Can I be done (with an untouched portion on his plate!)? In his defense, he did oblige us by eating 5 bites ;-)  

Of home-cooked meals and family ..

Thanks Charu for a lovely meal!

Authentic home cooked Indian food ... aaah! It's a rare luxury since I moved to the United States. My own cooking has evolved to something far less traditional. An impromptu visit to my cousin's place this afternoon led to a lovely vegetarian meal (pictured above) ... !!

The Mixed Vegetable Subzi (cabbage, carrots and green beans) was fresh, crunchy, and just perfectly flavored with mustard seeds and green chilli peppers. Curried Black Eyed Peas, with tomatoes and onions and garam masala melted in my mouth. The Peas Pulao with fresh mint chutney tasted just like mom's. The Yellow Daal (lentils) was good enough to die for - warm and aromatic, flavored with cumin and fresh cilantro leaves. The pièce de résistance however was the fresh Whole Wheat Roti (also called Phulka)!!
 
Thanks Charu Sawhney for a lovely meal this afternoon (and the leftovers too!!) :-)