Conquering Veggables #6.2 - Acorn Squash

Sooooo... didjya read my post about butternut squash?? Because the acorn squash is very similar! As in... the exact same. It's all about getting the right cutlery to really show that squash who is the BOSS. (Hint: it should always be you.)

Cut. Slather. Bake. Eat. Repeat!

Tops & bottoms cut off, seeds out

Slathered in olive oil and s&p goodness

My mom also has an excellent recipe for stuffed acorn squash - I think there's couscous, crasins, and italian sausage involved. Now that I'm not so timid I'll have to get that from her for next fall. (It's too spring-y now for me to think about winter meals. Unless there's suddenly some raging sale on acorn squash. In which case it is ON!)

¡Buen Provecho!

Conquering Vegetables #6.1 - Butternut Squash

One veggie conquered, nine more to go!

Thank goodness my friends Kassie and Rick decided to try being vegan for a month. It forced me to think about what I was cooking and definitely encourages the incorporation of more veggies. Like, lots of veggies. I'm no an expert on being vegan - I catch myself wondering if an egg baked in an avocado has any animal products - but I'm getting a little more adventurous because of it.

So one night I attempted roasting a butternut squash for a dinner with friends. This one wasn't vegan - it used butter and parmesan cheese - but it was damn delicious. The most intimidating part was learning how to cut open a giant butternut squash. This is easily overcome by searching YouTube for "How to cut a butternut squash." I found dozens of tutorials, but I liked this one the best. (This is the original site - I haven't taken a good look, but it all looks delicious!)

Taking what I learned from the original attempt (which, again, WAS DELICIOUS) I switched some of the ingredients - olive oil instead of butter, and I didn't mess with the bread crumb mixture this time.

So - step one, cut the damn thing open. You can see in my picture I eventually got fed up and just broke the two halves apart at the thin end. (And yes, I too giggle at the shape of the butternut squash.)

Step one-and-a-half - turn the oven on to 350-400ish. You might want to look that up.

Step two - smother in olive oil & salt & pepper. Just smear it all on there and shake the S&P to taste.

Step three - Bake! Place face down on a cookie sheet (I line mine with tin foil). It takes about an hour, or until you can jab your fork in and it doesn't stick.

Step four - Let it cool. The skin will probably be all bubbly and a little burnt, but generally the squash isn't. Once it's cool enough that you can handle it w/o burning yourself, the skin will peel right off!

Step five - slice and dice, and eat!

I put cubes of butternut and acorn squash on a spinach salad with crasins, black beans, and drizzled it with this vegan salad dressing which is kind of expensive but reeeeeeally delicious.

Ta-daaaaa! A completely veggie meal that I enjoy!

Chiggity-check #6.1!

Vegetables... yeeeeahh, about that...

I tend to eat my words when I speak in absolutes, but I'm not too worried whenever I talk about vegetables. I can only list four off of the top of my head that I will willingly eat:

1. Mushrooms

2. Corn

3. Tomatoes

4. Sweet Potatoes

And I just learned that corn is starting to be considered a starch. And tomatoes are technically a fruit. And mushrooms taste like whatever they're cooked with. So, I like sweet potatoes.

I'm fixin' to change that - one veggie at a time.* (*until I get to ten. Then I stop.)

My goal over the next few years (and especially in the winter months when fruits are way too expensive) is to learn how to cook 10 veggies in a way that is both healthy and delicious. This generally means I can no longer rely on my old faithful way of cooking them - covered in cheese or butter.

Now would be a great time for you all to leave links to or instructions for your favorite veggie delights.

Also, as a clerical note, this is taking the place of #6: Scuba Dive. More on that in a later post.

Flower girl dress

First photo of the flower girl dress I made for my cousin Heidi's wedding. I am so proud of how good it turned out! More to come soon!

I turn squares into dresses and look good doing it.

I have really gotten interested in this sewing business.

In fact, I really like it!

I can absolutely, positutely, not-half-assedly check off #8, to make a dress I will actually wear.

I made this dress:

Turns out I didn't take a good picture of my dress that night.
This is it - just take that green fabric down to my knees.
(... I'm on the left.)

for my birthday this year. And it looks cute 'n all, but at the time I was not all that excited to wear it again. Partially because I was cheating and hadn't really finished it - the zipper didn't match up, I didn't actually hem it, and it fit funny in the bodice.

I cast it aside, but was nowhere near giving up. I am simply amazed, every time, when this long stretch of folded fabric becomes something wearable. I found another pattern and some beautiful fabric from bon bon and made this cuteness:

[Picture coming soon, lo siento!]

I wore it to my cousin L's baby shower and her sister (another cousin, of course) complimented me, saying it was cute. When I blurted (with pride!) that I made it myself, she absolutely inflated my ego and asked if I would make the flower girl dress for her wedding in September. How do I properly illustrate bursting with sunshine and happiness in a blog? It's basically that I felt like this:

but all of that colorful wonderfulness was inside. Pictures will be up soon, but I haven't felt this proud about an accomplishment in a long time. I look at it and beam. It's hanging up in my loft just so that I see it when I wake up and affirm that I am freakin' awesome.

PLUS I have turned birthday dress into a kind of Franken-dress; adding pockets, taking in the sides, and basically trying anything new on that dress. And I like it enough that I wore it to work, so we have us a checked-off #8 !