I guess I’ve been on an quinoa kick and whipped up another delicious dinner with the funky red quinoa stuffed into a kabocha cup. I don’t know why but I’ve also been on an egg kick lately. When nothing else sounds good, I think of a nice runny egg or two on top of something. Strange? I guess I’m getting my choline fix. Or egg whites, oh yes egg whites, I’ve been microwaving those up a lot too. Not sure what it is about them, but I am loving them at the moment! Let’s see what this creation entails
Kabocha is surely one of my favorite squash varieties to cook up. I will even turn on the hot oven in the middle of summer for it. Oh yes, it’s that good! It’s very similar to an acorn squash, but a tad bit sweeter, just not as sweet as a sweet potato. It almost has a creamy like consistency with little fibrous threads. Even though it is tougher than steel to cut into when raw, the skin is actually really tender to eat after roasting and adds some more fiber. I found Melissa’s site for kabocha’s nutrition facts although the macros are not in the right order. Seems to be right though.
I always seem to have quinoa hanging around and then add whatever I have in the kitchen to it. Simple!
This time I added some frozen chopped spinach, a couple sautéed chicken sausages from TJ’s, cranberries, pine nuts, parmesan and various seasonings like garlic powder, all-purpose, salt, and pepper.
Once you can actually break that steel-like skin and cut it up, you can scoop out the seeds. I’ve never tried roasting those before.
I roasted mine at 375 F for about 40-45 minutes. I like to sprinkle them with a bit of olive oil and seasoning and then cover them with foil to help keep them moist. If they don’t stay moist, they won’t soften no matter how long they roast. I’ve found this out the hard way!
While those are cooking I simmered 2 cups of quinoa with the frozen spinach in 4 cups of water. Once that was done, everyone else went into the pot.
Then simply scoop the quinoa mix into the kabocha cup Voila!
I topped mine with some more parm and pine nuts.
It kind of looks like a Pac Man, doesn’t it? hehe and it likes to eat quinoa
This was great for leftovers too.
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I got some other goodies in the mail that I want to share with you!
Mitzi the Nutrition Expert sent me some McCormick spices to experiment with since I won her giveaway. I adore herbs and spices so I’m excited to get cookin’! I have my eye on the curry powder for a dish later this week.
Another gadget I’m excited to use is the Cherry Chomper! haha isn’t it cute? Big thanks to Heather for sending it my way. I am loving the cherries at the farmer’s market so this will be great. I could imagine that kids would go crazy over this too. Well, I am a kid at heart 😉
Well, that’s about it from here, it’s almost the weekend! Yay! My friend is having a margarita inspired party this weekend and I hope to get another bike ride in 🙂
Any foods you’ve been on a kick with lately?
oh my – this looks like a perfect dinner to me!!! LOVE LOVE LOVE quinoa!!!
Comment by Lisa (Bake Bike Blog) — August 5, 2010 @ 3:32 pm
Beautiful dish! One of my favorite wintertime creations is acorn squash stuffed with rice, white beans, and walnuts so I bet I would love this meal:)
Comment by BroccoliHut — August 5, 2010 @ 4:08 pm
I love how crazy versatile kabocha is.. I usually have it for a sweet snack or in a protein shake or smoothie, but have also made a couple great casseroles with it. This mix sounds wonderful too!
Comment by Alyson @ Nourished Fitness — August 5, 2010 @ 4:22 pm
Funny you ask – I’m all about the quinoa lately! And also avocado – I’ve always been a fan but I’m eating one almost everyday. 🙂
Comment by Dorry — August 5, 2010 @ 4:43 pm
Dorry, oh man, I could just eat avocados by the spoonful!
Comment by Kristen :) — August 5, 2010 @ 8:43 pm
Cute gadget and nice spices. McCormick is actually from my hometown (ok, like right next to it, but not that far at all), and the factory smells so good. One of the girls in my internship did a rotation there for our advanced practice rotations.
Comment by Melinda — August 5, 2010 @ 7:03 pm
Melinda, How neat would that be? It’s not the best bread choice, but we actually live somewhat near the Wonder bread factory and smell wonderfully nutty and aromatic yeast brewing and bread baking all day. It’s almost like heaven 🙂
Comment by Kristen :) — August 5, 2010 @ 8:42 pm
You are the quinoa master! And I looove any type of squash. Foods I’ve been on a kick with… almond butter? Does that even count anymore? haha
Comment by Megan @ The Oatmeal Diaries — August 6, 2010 @ 5:32 am
this looks so delicious Kristen! love how you used the sqaush….have a good weekend 🙂
Comment by kalli@fitandfortysomething — August 6, 2010 @ 8:27 am
I have been on a HUGE egg kick for the past several months. I do the egg whites in the carton because eggs give me gas (ha, what doesn’t?!). I love to top them with cheese, veggies, and nutritional yeast. It’s my favorite quick dinner! I’ve also been known to add quinoa to my eggs, but I’ve never tried the red quinoa.
Your creation with the kabocha DOES look like pac man!! Too funny.
Comment by The Candid RD — August 6, 2010 @ 4:18 pm
This looks absolutely deeelicious! I love making quinoa. It is on top of my list for favorite grains!
I am excited for the party this weekend!
Comment by Kristen (swanky dietitian) — August 6, 2010 @ 4:33 pm
Haha! I loved your pac man comment. Very true. 🙂 I’ll have to try a kabocha sometime – and quinoa. (I know, I STILL haven’t tried it!) I’m right there with ya on the eggs… I don’t think we’ve ever gone through so many eggs in our house before! Avocados have been a favorite lately too, especially on grilled sandwiches (I really like Oroweat Double Fiber bread with Smart Balance Omaga-3 spread to get the crispy, grilled outside on the bread) with roasted turkey, grilled roma tomato slices (sprinkled with Italian seasoning), and of course – cheese. Melty cheese…mmm. 🙂 I’m excited to see what you make with the curry seasoning!
Comment by Missi — August 6, 2010 @ 5:32 pm
Missi, I’m gonna have to get you some quinoa girl! lol mmm that sounds so good, I need to get some smart balance 🙂
Comment by Kristen :) — August 7, 2010 @ 2:27 pm
Missi, oh yes and eggs have 115mg of choline (one large) which is very important in fetal development, particularly the brain. AI for pregnancy is 450mg and 550mg for lactation 🙂 Other sources include: 3oz beef steak-110mg, 3oz salmon-100mg, 1c broccoli-60mg, 1oz wheat germ-50mg
Comment by Kristen :) — August 8, 2010 @ 7:59 am
@Kristen 🙂, Awesome! That’s good to know! Makes me feel like I’m in tune with my body’s needs. 🙂 I also randomly wanted some steak Friday – maybe my body’s really trying to get that choline? 🙂 I believe brain development is one of the top things going on with my baby right now. I’ll keep eating eggs! 🙂 And, I will not turn down quinoa. lol I’ll have to make you a sandwich. 😉
Comment by Missi — August 8, 2010 @ 3:03 pm
Missi, so cool how are bodies ‘know’ like that? Steak is also a great source of iron, which moms-to-be need 27mg 😉
Comment by Kristen :) — August 8, 2010 @ 3:34 pm
Hey, great blog! I have a bit of an obsessive nature to me, so once I find something I llike I sort of go nuts over it! Right now, I am all about Mexican food! I love it!! A few weeks ago I was all about Greek, great stuff!
ps- where did you get the Cherry Chomper? I think I must have one!!
Comment by Shawn — August 7, 2010 @ 12:29 pm
Shawn, oh yes, Greek is the bomb, can’t get enough of that stuff! The cherry chomper is from http://www.talismandesigns.com/ 🙂
Comment by Kristen :) — August 7, 2010 @ 2:26 pm
I have never been able to find kabocha where I live and so want to try it! your quinoa dish sounds amazing. hope you have fun chomping away at those cherries 🙂
Comment by Heather @ Get Healthy with Heather — August 7, 2010 @ 8:34 pm
Lately I’ve been about anything I can cook on the barbecue. Especially grilled mushrooms and zucchini. Fast AND yummy! Also, we vacationed in the U.S. in June and I fell in love with Fage yogurt. SO. GOOD. Not available in Canada, though 🙁
Love quinoa, too! This recipe looks great. Have never looked for kabocha, but have a feeling it might be hard to come by where I live.
Comment by Joanne @ Mostly Fit Mom — August 8, 2010 @ 6:53 am
Quinoa is SO great. The runny eggs… less so. I remember being in France once and having my delightful pizza served to me with a (mostly) raw egg on top, just passed under the broiler… I tipped the plate, poured it off, and then set about eating. 🙂
Comment by S @ extremebalance.net/blog — August 10, 2010 @ 3:39 pm