Falling for Pumpkins (and Squashes)

When I moved to USA I was shocked when the fall season arrived. Everything was pumpkin. Pumpkin everywhere. I couldn't understand the pumpkin obsession. I hated pumpkins and squashes. In my country we have a few types of the vegetable and some very traditional recipes using it, but to be honest I never had them. The few times that I had squash at home I hated it.

I've been thinking about all the things that I (used to) hate about food. Gladly I've been changing it gradually. When I was a kid my mom tried to feed me sometimes with healthy food, and I used to hated it with all my body. I don't blame her. When she was a kid she didn't have access to sweet treats, frozen meals or fast food - everything was too expansive or it wasn't created yet. 

Growing up in the 90's made me a kid that loved instant ramen, hot dogs, French fries, all kinds of fast food, cookies from packages and potato chips. Plus all the soda I could have. My mom knew how to cook and even tough she didn't like this chore sometimes she was very creative about it. But most of the times she was pretty basic. Until we had internet. I have memories of her printing recipes to do for Sunday lunch. Back in the time healthiness wasn't a concern for the world - no tips of how to hide vegetables into delicious recipes. Times have changed! 

Last year I decided to buy a pumpkin and do something with it. I went to Union Square Farmer's Market and bought a Kabocha. I almost lost some fingers trying to open it. And it was SO big! I did a soup full of bacon - you can't go wrong with plenty of bacon, right? Also I added a very generous amount of liquid smoke. I really like the smokey taste.

Unfortunately I had to throw a lot of squash away since it was on my fridge so for long and I wasn't so sure about the taste of it. But now the good part: I am more conscious about my shopping habits and I didn't;t buy a big squash. This year I started with the Delicata squash. I bought, had no idea of what to do with it until a good friend gave me this very easy t do idea: roast it until very tender and do a spinach and blue cheese cream to put on top. I had some leftovers smoked sausages from another meal and added them on it as well. Check the final result here and follow me on Instagram!

I really liked the flavor of this squash so I decided to buy it again. And today I felt it was the day. Nothing much again. Just roasted with olive oil and salt and pureed. See the dish here.

But the reason I am doing this post is because I wanted to share my #zerowaste tip for the squash. I think roasted pumpkin seeds are not a surprise. I never did at home and today I took my chances. I did my homework and found this recipe. A-MA-ZING!

Here are some pictures of the recipe process. Guys, you should TOTALLY do this at home!

Delicata squash roasted seeds: yummyness!

1: Soak the seeds in water and rub them a bit to remove squash.

2: Separate clean seeds in another bowl.

3: Place seeds in a large pan with cold water. Bring it to simmer for a few minutes. Rinse and repeat if necessary (until all the squash if off the seed).

4: Place seeds in a tray with parchmeant paper and spray a little olive oil and salt.

5: Roast in the oven at 325F (160˚ celsius) for about 10 minutes or until golden.

6: Enjoy the seeds! 

Eat Your Veggies

I think everybody grew up listening this catch: "eat your veggies, dear". Our moms (and dads!) used to try to make us eat this health food, and sometimes they failed miserably. I've been thinking about this specially because I know I was a terrible kid - super picky about my food. I wanted hot dogs and French fries all the time. Worse: I wanted chocolate sandwich cookies, Coke and chips for life. I could live on this for many days, for sure.

I have this memory of my mom doesn't letting me get off the table until I finished my green beans. Of course that nowadays I just hate it. But I must admit that I haven't tried this yet. I am 28yo and still afraid of some vegetables. In the same time I have to congratulate myself because since I started cooking for real my eating habits has changed a lot. In the past years I've added much more vegetables to my diet and I am trying to embrace everything, to try everything more than once to see if I really like something.

That's the secret: try it. More than once. Cook things using different methods and seasonings. Try a new recipe using that ingredient that you don't like so much. Start by doing it with things that you love, like bacon or cheese. 

A few years ago I tried to eat broccoli. I know that for some people this green vegetable isn't appealing at all. I used to see it on cooking shows and fell disgusted by it. Many years ago I did a recipe with vegetable meat (soy) and broccoli, and my boyfriend hated it - he only told me this years later. Poor thing. Today I know that I can do an awesome broccoli.

My favorite way to do it? Roasted! Like most vegetables Roasting is my favorite cooking method for sure. It's so democratic - almost everything turns up good when roasted. I think thats because this method brings the best of the ingredient. When you do this right, it can bring the most moist, succulent, smokey flavor. Also you can play with the seasoning: change as you like it. 

For this broccoli I used:

INGREDIENTS

• 1/2 broccoli bouquet
• 1/3 cup olive oil 
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• dried oregano (to taste)
• red chilli flakes (to taste)
• 1/4 lime juice
• 3 garlic cloves

HOW TO DO IT

First I washed the broccoli florets. In a bowl mixed all the ingredients and then placed the florets. Let it marinade for about 5 minutes. Pre-heated the oven at 350 F (180º C). In a sheet pan did put some parchment paper and sprayed olive oil. Then I placed the florets. I poured the rest of the marinade on the broccoli because I didn't want to waste that amazing flavor. I placed the sheet pan on the oven for 15 minutes. And that was pretty much it. Almost zero work for a delicious broccoli.

Here are a few suggestions of marinades for you to try and also some vegetables suggestions:

MARINADES

• lime + garlic + olive oil
• orange + Sriracha + olive oil
• teriyaki sauce + sesame oil + rice vinegar
• balsamic + garlic + dried oregano + olive oil
• ginger + lime + olive oil
• taco seasoning + lime + olive oil
• garlic + hazelnut oil + rosemary

VEGETABLES TO TRY

• zucchini
• tomatoes
• peppers
• potatoes
• radishes
• asparagus
• green beans (I'll try it, I promise)
• artichokes 
• squashes
• onions
• brussels sprouts
• cauliflower 
• okra
• etc...

Think about a vegetable that you don't like, then try it at home! Season it, put in the oven and try! If you don't like this way, try another. And if after a few attempts you didn't like either way, that's ok. At least you tried. To finish, here's my dish for the day: white rice, a simple salad (green leaf lettuce, onion and radishes seasoned with lime, oregano, salt, pepper and olive oil), grilled flounder and the roasted broccoli :)