Stuffed Acorn Squash

I hate winter. I don't participate in winter activities, I slip on the ice, I'm constantly late for things and I just don't like the cold. Well, today I am getting ready because we are starting to see snow... ugh. I doubt anything will stick, but the fact that it can snow at all right now makes me sad.

I think the only saving grace of the long Alberta winter is the fact that I haven't roasted vegetables, used a slow cooker or made soup in a long, long time. I am pretty excited to switch off of the summer dishes and start finding new things to make that will make me forget that it is getting colder. If winter was only 4 months long I maybe wouldn't mind, but I am going to try and not think about that right now. Right now, I am ready to make fall and winter foods.

Tonight, I am attempting to join a competitive swim team. I have worked out consistently in years and haven't swam competitively or even regularly in over 4 years now. I know this first practice and probably the next few weeks are not going to be fun, but I think it is way overdue that I get involved in something other than couch surfing.

I figured if I am going to brave the cold and the sleet to jump into a pool at 8:30 at night, I better make something heartwarming.

I was looking through my Candle 79 cookbook and found an amazing recipe for stuffed squash. It sounded fairly easy to make and wouldn't take a lot of work. On top of that, roasted squash is a perfect way to get into fall foods. I decided to adapt the recipe a bit so I could share it with everyone, so here is my version.

Stuffed Acorn Squash
* Serves 1-2 about 30-40 min to make
* Adapted from Candle 79 Cafe Cookbook

• 1 cup cooked brown rice (cook in broth)
• 1 Acorn Squash halved lengthwise and seeds scooped out
• 1 Tbsp oil
• 1 Tbsp maple syrup
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 small carrot, diced
• 1/2 - 1 stalk of celery, diced
• 5-6 mushrooms sliced 
• 2 cloves of garlic minced
• 1 shallot, diced
• 1/2 - 1 Tbsp soy sauce
• 1/2 tsp Siracha sauce
• 1/2 tsp ground sage
• 1/2 tsp dry time
• 1 Tbsp fresh parsley
• Salt and pepper

First have cooked rice ready or make your rice. I used broth in the water to give it some extra flavour. If you don't do this, maybe increase the soy sauce.

Now, pre-heat oven to 350 F. brush the squash with oil, maple syrup and cinnamon and place in oven to bake for 20-30 min or until tender. To know if it is ready, you should be able to pierce it with a fork, but not so soft that you go right through the skin.

Took a lot of work to get this thing chopped in half. Sharpen your knife!

Ready to roast

While the squash is cooking, add a little oil to a skillet. Once hot, add the celery, carrot and shallot and cook until tender and golden. Add in the garlic and cook 2 more minutes. Now add int he mushrooms and stir. Cook until the mushrooms are tender and release juices. Once this happens add in the soy sauce  Siracha and seasoning and stir to combine. Add in the rice and heat through. 

Make the stuffing in steps - First the base vegetables

Then the mushrooms and spices

then the rice

By now the squash should be ready. Take it out of the oven and scoop in the stuffing. Return to the oven for 15 minutes or so. let cool a little and add some parsley and serve!

Looks pretty good! Would be nice for a small dinner party

I posted this was a recipe for 1-2 people. I ate the whole thing and it was slightly more than I needed to eat. This would be great with some baked tofu or tempeh with it. The only thing I didn't like about this recipe was that it was hard to get all the squash out. In the future, I would plate it outside of the squash. The original recipe called for a gravy to top it, but I didn't think I needed it. If you want, add a mushroom gravy when serving.

I think sometime soon, I need to break out the slow cooker. Looking outside right now and all I want is a bowl of soup... definitely a sign that winter is around the corner.

Potato mushroom leek soup

I know when fall is ending and winter is around the corner when I start thinking about soup. I like soup, but only in the winter do I think about it. All week, I keep thinking of recipes I could put together for a good soup. I was planning to do this one yesterday, but realized I had not broth when I got home, so here it is today.

Shrooms and soup... perfect for a cold night

Soup is something that a lot of people grab from the can or tetra-pack. Once you have home made soup I don't know how you can go back to the canned stuff. It's just not that good. plus it is full of sodium and in a lot instances, animal products. Before I went vegan, I don't think I ever made a soup from scratch. It seemed like a lot of work and a lot of time. This just simply is not true. You can make an amazing soup in 30 minutes... and if you can stand it, 60 minutes will really get those flavours blending. 


Soup is a perfect one pot meal. When you make it yourself, you control the ingredients and the salt and fat levels. So load up your soup pot with whatever you are feeling. Tonight, I am feeling a craving for potato mushrooms and leeks. 


Potato, Mushroom and Leek Soup
Takes about 45-60 minutes, serves 4

• 1 Tbsp oil
• 2 large leeks, greens removed, halved and then sliced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tsp thyme
• 1 tsp rosemary
• 1 tsp sage
• 2 cups of mushrooms, any type (I am using oyster and cremini)
• 1 small pear, diced
• 1/2 cooking wine if you have it (I didn't..)
• 4 small red potatoes, diced
• 2 cups vegetable broth
• 2 cups water
• 1/2 cup milk (soy, almond, etc)

First get a large soup pot and heat oil on medium heat. Add the onions and garlic and cook for 5 minutes. Add the herbs and saute for another 5 minutes for until the onions are soft. Add the mushrooms and cook a little longer and a splash of water if things are starting to stick. Now add in all remaining ingredients, except for the milk. Bring it to a boil and then reduce to low. Simmer for 30-40 minutes.

Start with sauteing your onions and base vegetables. It will add depth to the soup

Next add the other vegetables..

Now add your liquid. You can always adjust later, so add just enough to cover everything

Lastly add in the milk and simmer another 10 minutes. And soup is ready! If you want you can take an immersion blender and blend out the soup a bit, or leave it chunky, that one is completely up to you. I tend to do a half and half. i think it makes a perfect consistency.

And last, garnish is you want. Or better yet, just eat out of the pot and save a dish

Next time you pick up a can of soup... think twice. For 10 minutes of work, and an hour of sitting around, you can make the perfect, personalized soup. Want to make it fancy? Add some sauteed mushrooms on top, or fresh thyme, cilantro, or toasted nuts (walnut, pine nuts I think would work well). 

This made a lot of soup, but I am planning to freeze it. Easily half this recipe if you don't want this much soup.

Vegan Risotto - Success!

This week, I am cooking up a selection of recipes from Vegan with a Vengeance a cook book by Isa Chandra Moskowitz. She is also the author of Veganomicon, a book which I use all the time and consider one of my most useful tools in figuring out the art of vegan cooking.

Starting off the week, I was planning for two recipes. Unfortunately, I can't find my agar agar, so I just have one for now. as usual, I took a few liberties in the recipe based on what I had, but I kept pretty true to the book this time since my last attempt at risotto was ho hum - See here for my first attempt

So here is the recipe:

Sun dried Tomato and Mushroom Risotto

• 6 cups of veggie broth - Make your own - Click here!
• 1 cup of shitake mushrooms (recipe called for dried, I used fresh)
• 3 Tbsp olive oil
• 2-3 cups of cremini mushrooms, sliced
• 1/4 cup of sun dried tomatoes
• 1 cup of shallots, chopped
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 Tbsp fresh thyme, minced
• 2 tsp fresh rosemary, minced
• 1/2 tsp fresh nutmeg, ground
• 1 1/2 cups of aborio (or other short grain) rice
• Salt and Pepper
• Nutrition yeast (not in the recipe, but I added it)
• Black truffle oil (I didn't have this, but I bet it'd be good!)

First things first, if you are going to use you're own broth, make it the day before (or a few days before) so that you are now cooking all day. Prep all the ingredients and get two pots: one for the broth and one for the risotto. Pour the veggie broth into one of the pots and bring to a simmer. If you have dried shitake mushrooms, put them in the broth to rehydrate. Remove and let cool then coarsely chop them.

Next, add the oil to the pot for the risotto. Add the shallots and cool for about five minutes. Add the cremini mushrooms and the sun-dried tomato and cook for seven more minutes or until the moisture is rehydrated in the pan. Now add in the shitake mushrooms, garlic, thyme, rosemary, and nutmeg and a pinch of salt and cook for a few more minutes. Add in the rice and stir really well to combine or about two minutes.

Now, get the music or a good podcast on because you are going to be stuck in the kitchen for a bit. Start ladling in the broth, one ladle or cup at a time. Stir until it is almost all dissolved (the book says that takes about 5-6 minutes) and then add another ladle. Repeat until all the broth is absorbed. This should take about 30 minutes, and mine was just over that.

Serve with the truffle oil or stir in about an 1/8 cup of nutritional yeast.

I served mine with BBQ tofu and some steamed collards. You know, this recipe is really similar to my last risotto recipe, yet so different. I guess it is the difference between my recipe experiments and a professional. Using a homemade broth I think was a really good move. In fact, if you use a store-bought broth, you may want to consider using 4 cups broth and two cups water. I would be worried that it would be too salty otherwise. Use your best judgement.

As for the recipe, this was an easy to follow and tasty recipe. It has such an earthy taste with all the mushrooms, I think my only change next time might be to add some carrot and celery with the onions. I think that would had a bit of depth and a bit of colour.

If anyone out there tries this with the truffle oil, let me know what you think? I may have to go splurge for some if it is worth it! Isa promises that it is.