Recipe: Kabocha Squash Curry

Have you ever seen a kabocha squash?  They are pretty cool.  They are a Japanese pumpkin, and if you cook them right, you can eat the skin.  It's nice and healthy, rich in vitamins and even some iron.  I tend toward the anemic, so anything with iron is good in my book.

I had some leftover Yellow Curry Sauce from Trader Joe's, so I wanted to make a curry with my squash.  Kabocha Curry is fun to say.  That's a good enough reason, right?

I served it with some Harvest Grains blend, cooked with a little Penzey's Bangkok Blend, which I love.  It has ancho chili peppers, garlic, ginger, tellicherry black pepper, galangal, crushed red pepper, lemon grass, cayenne pepper, paprika, cilantro and basil.  You could use a mixture of whatever you have on hand of the above, but it is certainly a lovely blend.

Kabocha Squash Curry

1 small kabocha squash
1 tsp Penzey's Bangkok Blend (or your favorite Thai seasoning blend)
1 Tbsp oil

2 Tbsp coconut oil
1/2 onion, diced
1 c frozen roasted potatoes (I used Trader Joe's Roasted Potatoes with peppers and onions - the peppers and onions come in a separate package.  If you do not have these, you can roast cubed potatoes along with the squash)
1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 c Yellow curry sauce
2 c water

Preheat oven to 425 F.  Cut the squash in half and de-seed, then slice into thin crescents.

Lay out onto a parchment lined baking sheet, coat lightly with oil, then sprinkle with spices.

Bake for about 20 minutes, until tender and cooked through.

Melt coconut oil in a large heavy bottomed pot over medium heat.  Saute the onion until lightly browned.  Stir in the potatoes and cook until thawed and softened (about 6 minutes).

Chop up the roasted squash into cubes, and add the chickpeas along with the curry sauce and water.

Stir to coat and stew for about 20 minutes, or until thickened, stirring occasionally.

Serve on top of rice, lentils, or your favorite grain blend.

Disclaimer: Though I used Trader Joe's products, this blog is not sponsored by Trader Joe's. All opinions are my own (or the kids')

Wacky Worldly Waffle Wednesday: Thailand

The Boy requested a Wacky Worldly Waffle Wednesday dinner tonight, and we decided upon Thailand for inspiration.

I had some Satay Peanut Sauce from Trader Joe's, and some chicken drumsticks, so I started there.

The kids and I adored this!  We all gobbled it up, and I can't wait to have leftovers in my lunch tomorrow.

Thai Curry Waffles with Satay Chicken Drumsticks and Coconut Milk Zucchini

Satay Chicken Drumsticks

1 jar satay peanut sauce (I used Trader Joe's brand)
5-6 chicken drumsticks

Thai Curry Waffles

2 c pancake/waffle mix
2 egg whites
1 c coconut milk
1/4 c Thai Yellow Curry Sauce (from Trader Joe's - use slightly less if using a more concentrated curry paste)
1 Tbsp coconut oil
1 Tbsp lemongrass paste (I have this awesome paste in a tube) - could subsitute lime juice

Coconut Milk Zucchini

1 small zucchini
1 Tbsp coconut oil
1 tsp Penzey's Bangkok Blend
1/4 c coconut milk

To make the chicken, marinate the drumsticks for 8 hours or more in the satay sauce.  I started this in the morning before going to work.  Cover with saran wrap and refrigerate.  When ready to cook, preheat the oven to 450 F.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and put a baking rack on top.  Place the chicken on the rack and bake ~40 minutes, or until internal temperature is 165 F.

My lemon grass herb blend paste

Meanwhile, mix the batter for the waffles.  Preheat waffle iron and cook according to your waffle maker's instructions.

Yum

Cooking down the coconut milk

While you are making the waffles, slice the zucchini into thin slices (about 1/8" thick).  Preheat a saute pan and melt the coconut oil.  Sprinkle the zucchini with the Bangkok blend and saute for 2-3 minutes.  Deglaze the pan with coconut milk and allow the coconut milk to cook down until thickened and nearly absorbed into the zucchini.

To serve, place some of the zucchini on top of a waffle and top with a drumstick.  Enjoy.

Disclaimer: I love Trader Joe's and Penzey's, but they do not sponsor this post or this blog. All opinions are my own (or that of the kids)

Dinner By the Girl: Mexican Chicken in Almond Sauce

For her birthday, my sister (who works at Penzey's Spices) got The Girl a little box of spices and a cookbook - The International Cookbook for Kids.

The cookbook is really fun - it has recipes for all courses from Mexico, Italy, China, and France.  The Girl pored through the cookbook and decided that for her first dinner cooked from it, she would make Mexican Chicken in Almond Sauce.

She made this almost entirely by herself - though I gave her some tips with the knife skills in cutting her onion.  I made some Spanish rice pilaf to go with it (just from a box).  It was a winner all around!

She can't wait to make her next recipe.  I am looking forward to seeing what she will choose.

Mexican Chicken in Almond Sauce
(Modified from The International Cookbook for Kids)

3 1/2 lb chicken, cut into pieces (we got chicken that was already cut up - we'll work on butchery later)
2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
1/2 tsp ancho chile powder
1/2 c hot water
1 small white onion
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1 15-oz can diced tomatoes
1 Tbsp lime juice
1/2 c vegetable oil
1 tsp ground cinnamon
3 whole black peppercorns
1/4 tsp ground allspice
1 c whole roasted almonds
2 c low-sodium chicken stock

Rinsing the chicken

Rinse the chicken pieces in cold water and pat dry.  Place in large bowl and sprinkle with 1 tsp of the salt and black pepper.

Peel and cut the onion into slices. Drain canned tomatoes. Mix a pinch of the ancho chile powder with the hot water.

Heat a 4-6 qt heavy bottomed pan on low heat.  Add enough oil to just coat the bottom.  Add the onion, garlic, cinnamon, peppercorns, allspice, almonds, and the remaining chile (not the chile put in the water).  Cook for 8-10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add the tomatoes and the water with chile-laced water.  Blend with an immersion blender, removing to a bowl if needed to get the whole thing blended.  (You can also use a standard blender, but we like the immersion blender.)  Remove the puree from the pan if you have not already done so.  Add the chicken stock and the remaining 1 tsp salt and mix well.

Turn the pan to medium and heat the rest of the oil.  Add the chicken, a few pieces at a time, and brown on all sides.  Remove the browned chicken to a clean plate.  Drain off all but 1 Tbsp of the oil.

The sauce

Add the blended ingredients to the pan and cook, uncovered, for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Add the chicken pieces and the lime juice.  Spoon the sauce over the chicken.  Cover the pan and cook on low heat for 35-45 minutes, or until internal temperature is 165 F and the chicken is all cooked through to the bone.  Serve hot with the sauce.

The finished meal

Lunches for an Outing: Boston Museum of Science, 3-1-14

We love the Boston Museum of Science!  If you live anywhere at all close, I can't recommend it enough.  We have a membership, and intend on renewing it for next year.  We spent the day there yesterday, and had such a wonderful time.

Wall of food!

There's a temporary exhibit that we could have spent so much more time at - Our Global Kitchen: Food, Nature, and Culture.  (I will have some pictures of this later - my camera died).  It was fascinating.

Another temporary exhibit features molecular gastronomy, which I have seen all over the Food Network, and as a scientist, I would love to try it.. but those molecular gastronomy kits are expensive!  It is called Innovation in the Art of Food, and made me really want to try oil "caviar" and carrot foam...

We went to a show in the planetarium all about moons (this was outstanding, and worth the trip in and of itself), and also an IMAX show about the South Pacific and coral reefs.

On top of all of that, we saw tiny cotton-top tamarin monkeys, a porcupine, a fantastic lightening show, the live butterfly garden that always makes me feel like I am communing with my father (who was an amateur lepodopterist) ... and the kids spent a really long time watching their favorite, the perpetual motion machine.

The Girl and my fabulous mother enjoying their lunches

But we also needed to eat.  So, I did what I do, and I packed us lunches.

I made some nice fresh oatmeal bread (from a King Arthur Flour recipe), and we had sandwiches with hummus, spinach, turkey, Cabot cheddar cheese, and Penzey's sandwich sprinkle, along with carrots and cucumber with some hummus (The Girl just had some carrots, as she is not a fan of cucumber), some apple slices and nectarine slices, and a couple lemon Savannah Smiles Girl Scout cookies for each of us, each in an Easylunchbox.

We are looking forward to going again, and I think next time, we will also pack dinner.  The cafe is ok, but expensive and doesn't have many options (since we stayed for an evening show at the IMAX theatre, there was only one dining option left open, and a cheeseburger and fries cost me almost $9...) If I am going to spend money at the museum, I would rather spend it in the museum store, instead of on something I could do myself.

I don't know when we will go down next, or where our next outing will be to, but packing lunches makes it more affordable to do fun things, so pack away!

Lunches: 2.21.14

Next week is school break!  For this Friday, I made quick lunches for the kiddos.

Sandwich: 30g, apple: 8g, fruit jelly: 5g

The kids have essentially the same lunch.  The Boy has a sandwich thin with turkey, spinach, hummus, and some Penzey's Sandwich sprinkle.  He also has apple slices, and a fruit jelly.  He has a granola bar for snack (not pictured, 27g).

The Girl also has a sandwich thin with hummus, turkey, spinach, and Penzey's Sandwich sprinkle, along with apple slices, and a fruit jelly.  She also has a granola bar for snack (not pictured).

Family Lunches: 2.20.14

Happy Thursday!

The kids and The Hubby all have essentially the same lunch for Thursday.

The sandwiches have a secret weapon today - my sister got me some Penzey's Sandwich Sprinkle.  She says it makes sandwiches magical.  I'll try it on my own sandwich and report back... it certainly smells divine.

Sandwich: 30g, banana: 28g, apple slices: 6g, fruit jelly: 5g

The Boy has a turkey and spinach sandwich with Cabot cheddar cheese, hummus, and Sandwich Sprinkle, on a sandwich thin, along with a small banana, apple slices, and a fruit jelly.  His snack is a yogurt (not pictured, 12g)

The Girl has the same thing as The Boy.  Her snack is a yogurt and a mixed fruit cup (not pictured).

The Hubby has a sandwich thin with hummus, turkey, spinach, Cabot Cheddar cheese, and some Sandwich Sprinkle, along with a small banana, apple slices, and a couple of Thin Mints.