Dinner for One + Roasted Curried Butternut Squash

When I'm eating alone, I get creative. It's probably a good thing that I rarely eat alone.

If left to my own devices, I'd be eating a lot of popcorn, apples, bananas, & carrots, with some chocolate dipped marshmallows thrown in for balance.

Yeah...

This meal, however, was a healthy mish-mash of foods. I'm really into orange lately. Maybe my beta carotene levels are down? Or maybe it's just fall & pumpkin season.

Don't forget the wine. When you're peeling & cubing 1 mini pumpkin & 2 small butternut squashes, you get thirsty.

See how my meal progressed? Toast with Dijon mustard, carrots, roasted yellow tomatoes + eggplant, & pumpkin seeds....

...turns into toast with Dijon mustard topped with roasted yellow tomatoes + eggplant, carrots, & roasted butternut squash.

It was completely worth the effort of preparing the squash. That stuff is like candy! I just can't stop eating it. It's melt in your mouth creamy & has just the right salty/sweet ratio.

Those pumpkin seeds sure did grow fast!

Roasted Curried Butternut Squash

Serves 2-4

1 large or 2 small butternut squash

1/2 tsp sea salt

1/2 tsp curry powder

1/4 tsp cumin

Preheat oven to 400*F. Spray a large baking sheet with cooking spray. Peel & remove pulp from butternut squash, saving seeds for roasting seperately. Cut squash into small cubes, about 1/2"-1" in size. Spread on prepared tray in an even layer with all cubes touching the tray. Sprinkle with sea salt, curry powder, & cumin. Bake for 15 minutes. Stir & bake another 15 minutes. Stir again, checking for burning. Squash can be eaten when it's soft (check by poking with a fork - if it goes in easily, squash is done). If you prefer your squash to be a little crispier on the outside (like I do), leave in oven for another 10-15 minutes. Serve warm. Leftovers can be refrigerated for about 4 days & reheated as needed.

Picky Eater

If you just met me, you'd never believe that I used to be an extremely picky eater. Ok, maybe you would... 


As a child, my mom was very conscious of making sure our family ate healthy. I never had a hot dog until one of her friends found out and gave me one because "all children have to eat hot dogs." It was always a trial for my parents having a picky eater for a daughter because they both love everything.

They're are always telling stories about us eating out. Sometimes the only thing I would eat was broccoli. Once, when I was very young, I sat on my godfather's lap and ate all the onions from his plate.

When I got a little older, I started wanting everything plain. Bare noodles (which I do still love!) were my favorite. Traditionally, we had pasta on Thursday and Sunday nights. After Dad drained the noodles I would bring my plate to the kitchen and get my portion. Then he'd mix the rest in with the sauce for them.

Mom's rule for my eating was that I should try everything she and Dad were having. The only exception was when they had a very spicy meal. I couldn't even take black pepper! On those occasions she either separated out my portion before adding the spice or she made me something simple instead.

It was only after going to college and then moving out on my own that I really developed my taste buds. I started trying new foods and loving them. I started cooking with a healthy diet in mind.



Reading also opened up the world of food to me. Between books and blogs, I've learned so much about how food is grown/raised and its effects on the world and our bodies. In the past year, I've grown closer and closer to being a full vegetarian. At this point, the only meat that I will eat is the occasional seafood, and that only if it was sustainably raised.

So you could say that I'm still a picky eater, but now I'm picky because I want to provide my body with healthy foods and ingredients.

Carissa Jelly!

Did you know that there's a plant called Carissa? It's a shrub grown in more tropical regions than PA. How exciting is that!?

 The couple we were visiting in Florida have Carissas around their pool. The fruit it produces is called a Carissa or a natal plum. They're small and reddish pink with a taste that's somewhere between strawberry and cranberry. Apparently the rest of the bush is poisonous.

They froze the fruit that ripened over the last few months so that we could make jelly.

We cooked the fruit to soften it...

...and then mashed it on mesh so that the juice came through. The mashed stuff wasn't too pretty.

After adding lemon juice and sugar, we stirred for 20 minutes until it thickened and "sheeted" off the spoon. It was such a pretty, frothy pink!

 

Behold - Carissa jelly!

It's just so pretty and pink! We had the bit that didn't fit into the jars the next morning for breakfast.

It tasted sort of like strawberry jelly, but it was more tart. Mmmm! I couldn't bring a jar back because we were carrying our luggage onto the plane, but they're bringing me one when they drive up next month.

Carissa Jelly

adapted from the Tropical Fruit Cookbook

Make 2 jars + some for snacking!

2 cups Carissa fruit, whole

water

1 1/2 cups sugar

1/4 cup lemon juice

1/4 cup orange juice

Wash Carissas and place in a medium saucepan. Cover with water. Bring to a boil and then simmer for 12-15 minutes or until fruit is soft. Strain juice through a mesh strainer into a large saucepan. (Make sure it's WAY bigger than you think you need. It bubbles and foams while cooking.) Mash fruit and let drain. Stir in sugar and lemon/orange juices until dissolved. Heat mixture on high and maintain a rolling boil, stirring constantly.  Cook for 15-20 minutes or until the mixture starts to thicken and sheets off the spoon. Remove from heat and pour into sterilized jars. Let gel and then screw lids on tightly. Even without officially canning it, the jelly should last for several weeks. (Since this batch only makes 2 jars, it didn't seem worth going through the whole canning process!)