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Wednesday 19 August 2009

Squash tomatoes & stew

Morning all.

What a beautiful bright sunny morning it is! According to the radio station this morning, it is going to be the hottest day of the year so far for us (definitely for southerners at any rate!). Shame I'm at work, but ah well, at least I'm not looking at rain through my window.

There's no stew in this post, but there is squash and tomatoes! Hey, 2 out of 3 ain't bad.

This week I bought a butternut squash and it turned out to be a right bargain. At £1.30, it has featured in a meal for me & my friends on Monday. Butternut Squash Couscous with spicy tofu, roasted asparagus and grilled courgette. The couscous was soooo good, I was wishing me & my friends hadn't finished it off so I could have had some for lunch yesterday. The recipe is at the end of this post. Sorry for crap pic, I was hungry and had hungry friends at my table too, so didn't have time to get a decent pic.



I had loads of leftovers so last night I made some soup with it. Sorry for the crap pic, I took it after I transferred it to a tupperware to bring to work with me today (and it was about 11pm!). Despite the rubbish pic, this tastes great and it was really easy. I already put it on Sparkpeople so I could just add it into my day planner, so if you want the recipe, it's here.


This was actually the first meal I made with the squash (told you it was a bargain!!). It was roasted BNS & aubergine, with soft polenta and mushroom gravy. I know it looks like it's all gravy but there is actually loads of squash hiding under there. And the polenta was soooo good. It's become one of my favourit things lately.


That's 3 things I've done with the squash already - there's still another cup or so left! So I guess I'm having it roasted for dinner tonight! :-)

Last night's dinner was just a quick mish-mash. A seitan sausage, some steamed green veg and corn on the cob and some roasted sweet potato & tomatoes from my garden! YAY.

Here's a pic of the first crop of tomatoes. My chilli plant has also given me some chillis! I'm so excited to use them in something, I dunno what yet though.


And because sometimes you need fast trashy foodz! Friday when I got home from work I wanted something easy & quick before I met my friend for the gym. So I had a Redwoods Food burger with ketchup, mustard, gherkins and tomato. Easy, fast, trashy & awesome.

The fixings....

Assembled.... YUM.

I kinda wish I took a pic of my smoothie this morning cuz it was so awesome. A frozen banana, a cup of chocolate soymilk, a tbsp of protein powder and a dash of cinnamon. YUM.
Lastly, here's the recipe for the couscous. I think the same seasonings would work great with quinoa or brown rice, if you're gluten-free, but obviously the cooking method would have to change.

Roasted Butternut Squash Couscous
2 cups of butternut squash
1 tsp olive oil
1 smallish onion, diced finely
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1¼ cups (310ml) veggie stock
1 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp ground coriander
Pinch of red chilli flakes (optional)
3/4 cup dry couscous
Salt & pepper to taste

Method:
Start by preheating the oven to 200°C/400°F.

Peel & chop the squash into bitsize chunks, put in a roasting tin and spray with a little olive oil and a scant dusting of salt & pepper. Roast for 20-25 minutes until tender.

Saute the onion, over medium heat, in the olive oil for a good 7 minues or so then add the garlic and cook a further 2 mins or so. Add the stock and spices and turn down the heat. Leave the stock to simmer for 10 minutes.
Put the couscous in a large bowl and pour the stock over it. (You may need to add some more water, you should have about the same amount of couscous as liquid, by volume.) Mix it well and cover the bowl with a plate or clingfilm. Leave for at least 5 minutes.

Fork through the couscous to fluff it up then add in the cooked squash, mix well with a fork and check seasoning.

Makes 3-4 servings.
Laterz
xXx

16 comments:

  1. Everything looks amazing, Sal! You always seem to be making exactly what I want to be eating!!! I need to take the Eurostar over to your place some time :)
    We're breaking records over here today, too...but I love the heat!

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  2. It's really way to hot today, yuch! I love butternut squash, I'm going to have to pick one up next time I go shopping and try out some of your delicious looking ideas.

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  3. Yum!! I love butternut squash!!

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  4. mm... couscous for dinner it is!!!

    ... oh yeah... and thanks for adding farenheit temps for me.... HAHAHA!!!

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  5. Damn, that gravy plate has me salivatin' right now. I could eat gravy on anything! Probably even ice cream...

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  6. That burger looks great and you've reminded me to start making polenta more often!

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  7. Mmm, butternut couscous...! I'm totally making this, but with kabocha instead of butternut squash, and quinoa instead of couscous. Thanks for the inspiration!

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  8. Squash is rocking. I'm always happy to see "Autumn" 'cos I know there'll be Squash in the market and on the veg patch if I'm lucky (remember my humungous Squash from last year??).
    I fly into the UK later today. I'm going oop north though and have been told to pack jumpers and wellies! I am actually looking forward to the cooler weather, though knowing me, I'll be fed up with it by Monday and I'll be ready to come back here!
    Ah...the British occupation with the weather!

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  9. all your food looks so delicious! i definitely need to make that butternut squash couscous though, i haven't had couscous in waaaay too long! thanks for the recipe
    <3

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  10. the squash, polenta and mushroom gravy looks incredible! that's one super squash!

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  11. I've been on a bit of a soft polenta bender myself lately! Yum! (Plus, drowning food in gravy is the best :P)

    I love all your butternut pumpkin reciopes! It's one of my fave foods too!

    Yay for home grown veggies! I love cherry tomatoes. They're too adorable!

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  12. Ha ha, so strange that you should post this! I made stuffed squash the other night, with couscous, mushrooms, walnuts and breadcrumbs. It was delish! You just can't go wrong with squash, it's so versatile!!

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  13. All of this looks wonderful, as usual. Isn't food from your own garden the absolute best? I have to say I'm almost looking forward to fall, just to start eating squash on a regular basis again.

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  14. Those are some really delicious looking plates! Butternut squash couscous sounds very, very delicious.

    Oh, and we had such a hot week too! I am glad it finally cooled down.

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  15. oooh, i'm gonna have to try your roasted butternut squash couscous, Sal - i think i'll use millet to make it gluten-free. i've already printed off your recipe. thank you, thank you! it was hot this past week as well - although i think it's supposed to be cooler this week - i can't take all this damn heat. i get so crabbyfaced! ahahahahhaaa! that's awesome that you use sparkpeeps - i do as well. i love it the most! polenta is one of our favorites lately as well - and i love your plate of mish-mash! hot damn, it all looks amazing, Sal! such tasty summer eatz! w00t!

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  16. I love butternut squash, too, but tend to use it in only a couple of ways, so I'll try some of your ideas. I keep meaning to try polenta, but never have, so I think it's time I did! Thanks for all the great ideas!
    BTW, the weather's been rain, rain, rain here (central Scotland) but we've had a bit of sun yesterday and today.

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