Here is the Acorn Squash I Made....

I recently came upon a stuffed acorn squash recipe that I just had to try. I collect so many recipes and the recipe is so old, I don't even know where it came from. It was such a very easy recipe.  Last year all I had was butternut squash, and pumpkin, can't forget to try some acorn squash to cook on its own. My Mother would could a filled acorn squash for me when I lived at home.


AUTUMN SQUASH BAKE 4 Servings
Cut 2 Acorn squash (about ¾ pound each) in half. Remove seeds and fiber.
Place cut side down in baking pan with 1/4 inch of water in bottom. Bake in a 350°F oven 45 to 50 minutes, or until squash is tender and can  be pierced with a fork.
Meanwhile, combine ¼ cup Butter or margarine, ½ cup Dried tart cherries, 3 tablespoons brown sugar and ½ teaspoon Ground cinnamon. Heat on top of stove or in microwave oven until butter melts.
Fill center of each squash half with equal amount of cherry mixture. Mix some of the cooked squash with the cherry filling.
Serve immediately or eat one and put the rest in the refrigerator for later.

I found it quite a treat. A dinner in itself.

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Why Alton Brown was Right About Cucumber Water

This picture may not look like very much, but this is my homemade cucumber water. The thought came to me recently when I was listening to the Alton Brown Podcast.  Alton confessed his love for lemonade to quench his thirst, but his true love of cucumber water.

I became very curious of cucumber water since I have drunk lots of glasses of lemonade, and wanted to see what makes cucumber water so special.

Cucumber water is actually crisp and refreshing to drink. If you want you can stick in a piece of cucumber and a piece of lemon, and some ice cubes. You can even add mint. I keep my water in the refrigerator when I am not chugging away.

There are a many recipes for cucumber water on the internet.

I have a water container in the refrigerator so that I always have cold water. I took a medium sized cucumber and scrubbed it well, and took off about half the skin and cut it into slices. I then took the pieces of cucumber and put them into a cheesecloth type piece of fabric and stuck that into the water container, and placed the cover back on top and placed it in the refrigerator. You can throw out the cucumber the next day.

Within an hour my water tasted like cucumber. I was drinking more of it than regular water.

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Pacific Foods All Natural Vegetable Lentil and Roasted Red Pepper Soup

This is the second in my trial of Pacific Foods soups. I picked it up because  I have always loved eating lentil soup. I remember growing up and my Mother serving lentil soup. We would often have Progresso.

The description Pacific has for this particular soup is Our Vegetable Lentil and Roasted Red Pepper soup bursts with flavor.  We combine the rich flavors of fire-roasted red peppers with tender lentils, vine-ripened tomatoes and black beans, for a soup that's high in fiber and loaded with protein.  Healthy, hearty and delicious: you'll be more than satisfied.

Here is the soup. You can see the lentils, corn, roasted red pepper and black beans in the soup. It is a simple hearty soup as it is described. I would definately purchase this soup again. This soup reminds me of the soup I had growing up.

This soup, like the Thai Sweet Potato Soup I recently had comes in a 2-serving box. One serving of this soup is 150 calories.

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Pacific Natural Foods Thai Sweet Potato Soup

I am a big Butternut Squash Soup fan and have made it as well as purchased the soup. Sometimes the best way to find new things to make is to purchase the meal (whether at a restaurant or in the grocery store) and try it. This time I decided to try Pacific Natural Foods Thai Sweet Potato Soup.

According to the Pacific website this soup's description is Tasting our Thai Sweet Potato soup is like discovering the soul of Thai cooking.  Sweet potatoes and winter squash are combined with South Asian flavors of coconut, lemongrass, lime, red chili pepper and ginger for a mouthwatering treat that will not only awaken your tastebuds, but your sense of adventure.

This soup is very spicy and enjoyable. It has little bits of sweet potato and winter squash floating in the soup. You can also see bright little flecks of red which are the chili pepper. If you want to cool down the spiciness you can also add something such as oyster crackers.

Here is the nutritional information I found on the site

The one thing I would change about this particular soup is the size of the box. I personally feel the size of the carton is too small. I would rather have a larger box for 4 servings.

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Straight From the Grocer's Freezer...

Has anyone ever tried Diana's Banana Babies?

Turkish Zucchini Fritters and Ellen Foster

I finished the book Ellen Foster by  Kaye Gibbons. It was really a touching story about a girl who lost her parents and her family didn't really care about her. So she tries to find a new family where she will be loved. It was an easy read, only 125 pages. I wanted to read the book after I had seen the movie on Lifetime television.

I am now reading the book Silas Marner by George Elliot. This is a classic which I should really enjoy.

I find many interesting recipes on a site called Recipezaar. I always like to try new recipes and I came across a very interesting zucchini recipe --  the exact name is Kabak Mücveri (Turkish Zucchini Fritters).  Here is the link to the original recipe.

KABAK MÜCVERI (Turkish Zucchini Fritters) RECIPE #127269
Fritters are very popular in the Middle East. They are eaten hot or at room temperature as a vegetable side dish or a meze. It couldn’t be simpler to make, but you can dress it up with optional garnishes of black olives, tomatoes, or hard-boiled egg. The perfect use for small, sweet new zucchini. Serve alone or with a creamy garlic-lemon yogurt sauce for a perfect complement to any spicy or grilled foods that call for a cooling accompaniment.

1 lb zucchini      
½ cup kasseri cheese, grated or feta cheese, crumbled
½ cup chopped green onions (spring)    
4 eggs, slightly beaten 
1 small yellow onion, grated    
1 cup all-purpose flour
½ cup fresh dill, chopped    
fresh ground pepper
4 tablespoons fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped    
olive oil, for frying 
6 servings Change size or US/metric
35 minutes 15 mins prep    
Grate the zucchini and place in a colander; sprinkle with salt and let drain for 30 minutes; squeeze out moisture and pat with paper towels.
Place the zucchini in a bowl and add the green and yellow onions, dill, parsley, cheese, flour and salt and pepper to taste; mix well.
In a large sauté pan over medium-high heat, pour in oil to a depth of ¼ inch; when the oil is hot, drop the batter by heaping tablespoonfuls into the pan (or form into small patties), allow space in between fritters; fry for 2 minutes on the fist side, then turn to brown on the second side for about 3 minutes; using a slotted spatula transfer to paper towels or newspaper to drain; repeat with remaining batter.

To start the first thing you need is zucchini.

You grate it and drain it and dampen it with a paper towel.

Here is the product all mixed together.

Then you fry them. You either drop them from a spoon or make patties. I dropped them from a spoon.Here is my finished product.

These are really tasty warm. What I liked was that you can eat them at room temperature. According to the recipe you can serve these with a yogurt sauce, but I thought they tasted great the way they were. I think they would be great for picnics and school lunches.

Get out, it's going to be a beautiful day,


Cassandra