Toasted squash seeds

On the left are acorn squash seeds. On the right are pumpkin seeds. Both are amazing.

I made some squash for dinner the other night, and pondered at the seeds as I cleaned it out.

“Gosh” you must be thinking, “Is this the gluten-free radical or the squash-radical?” I have been posting about squash a lot. But, dear reader, squash is wonderful. And good for you. It is like some sort of miracle food.

So are the seeds. Pepitas, or roasted pumpkin seeds, have lots of fiber and vegan protein. When I made a jack-o-lantern of sorts on Halloween, I made pepitas following this tutorial, so as to not waste the deliciousness. I tossed them in olive oil, salt, and Italian seasoning. They were amazing.

So when I was cutting open an acorn squash that same night I wondered, why don't we eat seeds from other squash besides pumpkin?

That is why I ended up roasting squash seeds.

I started followed the pepita tutorial from Pioneer Woman (basically how to clean and dry the seeds), but made changes. With the squash, I tossed the seeds in melted butter, brown sugar, cinnamon, and a little salt. I roasted them for about 8 minutes at 400, which was a little too hot, but I didn't want to wait to remove dinner from the oven. You can make these at the same time you are making the actual squash!

These were really good. I don't plan on wasting squash seeds again.

 Pumpkin innards

Italian-seasoned pepitas

 With the squash seeds, I dumped a couple spoonfuls of brown sugar, a little salt, and some cinnamon on top of the cleaned and dried seeds.

Then pour on about two melted tablespoons of butter. To make it vegan, use coconut oil or vegan "butter."

I mixed everything together on the parchment paper with my hands.

After baking.

So tasty!

Curried Pumpkin Soup

A wonderful, seasonal soup.

I love pumpkin-flavored everything. Normally this time of year, I would be getting pumpkin-spice lattes, pumpkin bread and muffins, and anything else pumpkin-flavored at the store or coffee-shop.

But this is my first fall with food allergies. And neither the bread nor the lattes are necessarily safe for me to have. Last month, I drank a soy pumpkin-spiced chai tea that made me sick for a couple days. I was told later that chai sometimes has gluten in it. Today I went up to the counter at Starbucks and asked if there was gluten in their pumpkin spice flavor. Thankfully, the barista knew that there was, so I did not order that. My fall is not ruined by the lack of pumpkin spice, however!

I made a big batch of pumpkin puree (following this tutorial) and with it I have been making my own pumpkin baked goods. The best thing I've made so far, though, is curried pumpkin soup. It is delicious, filling, and just happens to be gluten free and vegan (unless you use chicken broth). It has just the right touch of coconut and curry flavors. My squash-ambivalent spouse liked it a lot, too. I consider that a success!

Curried Pumpkin Soup

2 Tbs olive oil

3-4 peeled garlic cloves

1 medium carrot

1 medium yellow onion

2 cups broth or water (chicken is good, use vegetable to make it vegan)

1 pound pumpkin puree (a 15-ounce can of puree is fine)

½ can of coconut milk

1 ½ tsp curry powder

½ tsp salt

½ tsp black pepper

a sprinkle each of nutmeg and cinnamon

Heat the olive oil at medium in a saucepan. Roughly chop the garlic, and saute in the oil for about three minutes. 

Briefly saute the garlic

Give the onion and carrot a rough chop, and add them to the saucepan. 

Carrots and onions

Stir the vegetables for about a minute, then add the broth (or water) to the pan. Bring it to a boil on high heat, then reduce heat to medium. Simmer the broth for 20-30 minutes, until the onion and carrot are soft.

Turn off the heat, and let the pan cool at least five minutes. Add the vegetables and broth to a blender, but avoid filling the blender more than half full. You may need to do this in batches. If you are using homemade pumpkin puree and you have not previously run it through a food processor, add it to the blender too. Blend the contents until the soup is as smooth as you prefer.

This was probably a little too full, as I have heard that blending hot food can cause explosions if the blender if full. That is one reason to let the soup cool a bit.

Pour the blender contents back into the saucepan. If you have a compulsion not to waste the food on the sides of cans, blenders, etc. like I do, swish a little bit of water around the blender to help remove the pureed vegetables and pour it into the saucepan.

Add the coconut milk and spices to the saucepan. Heat over medium for 10-15 minutes to allow the flavors to mingle. You may want to add a little bit of water to the soup if it is too thick at this point.

Mixing in the coconut milk. You can use lite coconut milk if you are worried about calories.

 I had to add probably a half cup of water to make it my desired consistency.

It is a delicious soup. Make it now!

Winter Squash Muffins (gluten-free)

-->

Even though I'm sad that the nice weather seems to have gone, I am pretty excited for fall. Autumn in the Pacific Northwest is generally a cold and rainy season, and soon enough, we will be dealing with 34 degree rain. So I am not particularly looking forward to rainy fall weather. No, I am mostly looking forward to the food. As much as I am going to miss summer produce, I love squash and root vegetables! The Man and I walked past a big display of squash a couple of days ago, and I had to buy one, even though I had no idea how I was going to cook it.

I supposed the easiest answer for most squash is to turn it into soup, or cut it in half and bake it for dinner. But I didn't really feel like doing that. We aren't quite far enough into autumn for squash dinners at our house yet. Probably the most famous of the winter squash is pumpkin, and any baked good with pumpkin is one of my favorite things. Therefore, I decided to make squash muffins! It certainly isn't the weirdest baked good I have made (Guinness cupcakes and yam bread for instance. Warning: those are not gluten-free).

These muffins tasted pretty dang good, and had a nice flavor that reminds me of Thanksgiving, or Halloween. Use any squash you like the flavor of, pumpkin and butternut would be great. As always, make sure all ingredients are gluten-free, and free of any potential allergens (dairy, soy, etc.) for you or those you are cooking for!

Adapted from this recipe.

-->

Winter Squash Muffins

Dry ingredients

1 ¼ cup GF flour mix*

½ cup almond meal

½ tsp xanthan gum

½ tsp salt

1 ½ tsp baking soda **

Other ingredients:

1 ½ cups of squash puree (12 oz or 340 grams. Canned pumpkin puree would be fine)

1 stick (½ cup) of softened butter or vegan margarine (½ cup of vegetable oil would also work)

¾ cup brown sugar

¼ cup molasses (spray the measuring cup with oil first if you don't want a big mess)

1/3 cup nondairy milk (almond or coconut are awesome)

2 eggs

1 tsp cinnamon

½ tsp nutmeg

½ tsp ginger

1 tsp vanilla

*I used a 2:1:1 mix of sorghum, millet, and quinoa, respectively. Use the flours you like!

** I actually used just one teaspoon of baking soda, but these muffins were flatter then I would have liked. I think increasing the soda to 1 ½ tsp would fix this.

There is a nice guide to making pumpkin puree here that would work for any winter squash. I don't have a food processor, so here is how I made mine!

 

I used a Red Kuri Squash/Hokkaido Pumpkin.

-->

Cut the squash in half. Scoop out the seeds.

 Cut the halves into smaller pieces, and place on a baking sheet. Bake at 350 F for about 45 minutes, until the squash is fork-tender. Remove the squash from the oven, and allow it to sit until cool enough to safely handle, about 30 minutes.

-->

 Before baking.

After baking. The squash will now be squishy.

--> Scrape the flesh off of the squash rind, and place in a bowl. Squish the flesh with a fork. Alternately, use a food processor.

 Preheat the oven to 350 (again).

-->

In a large bowl, combine the dry ingredients and whisk together to incorporate ingredients.

  

 Add the other ingredients, and mix together until the batter is smooth. There will be some lumpiness if the squash was squished with a fork.

 Fill the cups of a muffin tin until about ¾ full. These don't rise very much, so they could be filled a little bit higher.

Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes.

Makes 15 muffins.

 These were very good. The muffins were a little dense, but that made them slightly custard-like in texture. As with many gluten-free baked goods, they improved after they cooled down.

Butternut Squash soup

I have been absent for about two months. I am sorry, and I don't have a good excuse besides that it is my senior year of college and I am a biology major. Or maybe that is a good excuse. Hmm.

Anyway, butternut squash soup! It is made of win. And squash.

You know it is November when you are filling out your ballot and making this soup (not at the same time).

I adapted this recipe from the crockpot lady, mostly because I had to make dinner between two classes today, and didn't have time to use a crockpot. But she is fabulous and you should read her blog if you own a crockpot, or even if you don't.

Obtain a butternut squash, cut it lengthwise (this is difficult, you;ll need a hefty knife) and put it in a roasting pan in a 375 degree oven for 35 minutes, or until the flesh is soft.

Meanwhile, cut up two apples (fuji or something similar is best, I used granny smith and the soup was a bit too tart for me) and a medium onion into 1 inch pieces (no need to be precise).

Let the squash cool until you can handle it safely (I did not, hence the potholder. Don't be impatient like me.) Then scoop out the flesh.


Put the onion, apple, and squash into a stockpot and and 32 ounces of broth (chicken or vegetable) in the pot. Season with 1/2 tsp pepper, a pinch of salt, and a sprinkle of nutmeg. Bring the pot to a boil, then turn down heat and simmer the covered pot for 25 minutes.

Let the soup cool slightly, and then blend in small batches until the soup is as pureed as you like it. Reheat if necessary, then serve.

This is Free_the_Radicals attempt at fancy food photography. Though the sprinkle of nutmeg and drizzle of olive oil is delicious.

This was quite tasty, though a bit too tart. I think next time I will either use one apple, or two small fuji's. But still good!