Sunday Randomness #38 Nutty Squash and Cereal Exclusivity

 Kabocha is also known as Japanese Pumpkin.

 It has a very hard rind and was tough to cut open to get out the seeds.

 We did one half with butter, pepper and salt and the other half with butter and cinnamon

 It turned out very well.  It has a nutty taste and is quite sweet on its own.  Next time we will probably use a baking dish and add some water and tent the dish while baking to help retain moisture.

Toasted Pumpkin Loops from Sprouts and Pumpkin O's from Trader Joe's.  Both claim to exclusively manufactured.  Both are made in Canada and they have the exact same nutrition information as well as ingredient list.  Trader Joe's Pumpkin O's look like they have more air holes and more glaze on the cereal but otherwise they look identical.  I bought them separately, hoping for two distinct pumpkin cereals but alas, they are like long lost twins.  So much for the exclusivity of the contract for manufacture.  I guess the very, very slight difference in air and glaze meets the terms for a possible non-compete clause.  In either case, the cereals are both good if a bit much on the sweet side with a distinct pumpkin taste along with mild spices.  We will probably look for them again next year but I don't know which brand we will buy since they are so similar.

Sunday Randomness #302: Jack faces off with a zucchini

 What is this thing and why is it on my chair?!?!?!?

 I'll just ignore it.  Zucchini is a squash too ordinary for me to give it much attention-especially when it was a gift squash. If we had grown it there might have been some reflected glory but we can't take any credit for this giant chair-stealing veggie.

Ball number 6 (the little orange thing nestled in my fur) and I are just taking a little break from playing.  Most of the time I fiercely attack and chase my multiple little rubber ball nemeses.  I'm really on a roll when I bat one down the stairs.

Yes, that is correct.  One should kneel before royalty.  I approve of your abject humbleness when faced with my regal bearing and demeanor.

Oven Roasted Vegetables

Oven Roasted Vegetables P.39 VV5th RS cookbook

1 med. zucchini
1 med. summer squash
1 med. red bell pepper
1 med. yellow bell pepper
1 lb. fresh asparagus
1 red onion
3 T. extra-virgin olive oil
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper

Heat the oven to 450 degrees.  Cut all the vegetables into bite-size pieces.  Place them in a  large roasting pan.  Toss with the olive oil, salt and pepper.  Mix to coat.  Spread in a single layer in the pan.  Roast for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally until the vegetables are lightly browned and tender.  (May take longer depending on how soft you like your vegetables.)

Cook's note:  We did not have the red onion which I think would have been a great addition but we did double up on the squash and we only used a few shakes of salt so you could definitely do salt and pepper to taste.  This was a really good easy recipe and we just mixed everything in a bowl and then roasted the veggies on a rimmed cookie sheet.

Delicious Acorn Squash from Pioneer Woman

Today we made Delicious Acorn Squash as featured by Ree Drummond, aka The Pioneer Woman back in October of 2008. The ingredients are very simple: acorn squash, salt, brown sugar, butter and maple syrup.

We used kosher salt from the Great Salt Lake, sold as Redmond Real Salt. Visit their site at: https://www.realsalt.com/ and look for their products in your local store. We think their gourmet all natural sea salt on broccoli tastes like you put butter on your broccoli only better. (And without all the fat of actually putting on butter!)

We made a total of six acorn squash halves using traditional green-skinned acorn squash which was starting to turn orange and one yellow-skinned acorn squash.
The squash "meat" is scooped out along with some of the delicious syrup. Mmmmm....... it was very yummy and earned an excellent rating.
This second picture is a close up of the delicately browned edges and the golden dipping syrup.
Find the recipe at The Pioneer Woman's site: http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2008/10/delicious-baked-acorn-squash/
Here's a great example of the ability to include more vegetable goodness in our lives.