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Tuesday, October 4, 2011

Mystery Squash Rainbow Surprise and Warm Quinoa


Fall is an exquisite season. It is my favorite time of year and my favorite time to zip up my fleece jacket and head to the farmer's market on Saturday. I love seeing the old pickup trucks overflowing with pumpkins, gourds, and 3 foot long mystery squash. I picked up some mystery squash a couple weeks ago and they have been staring at me for days. I started chopping and sauteing my farmer's market veggies in some olive oil and what happened next really surprised me. I stopped eating it so I could take a picture because this dish suddenly became blog-worthy. I thought my invention would be one of those times where you eat something because it is SO good for you, not because it tasted good. This was delicious and I ate every last morsel. This is a serving for one, so adjust accordingly.

Ingredients:
1 medium sized mystery squash. I believe mine was of the zucchini family.
1/2 C chopped red cabbage
1/4 C finely chopped onion
1 Leek
1/2 C grape or cherry tomatoes, cut in half
1 tsp minced garlic
Juice of 1 lemon
1/2 C water
1/2 C cooked quinoa 

1. Wash and scrub all vegetables. Starting with the zucchini, cut lengthwise and remove large seeds. Cut each length into thin slices. Next chop the leek into thin slices, making sure to only use the white bulb and stem until you reach the long sprouting leaves.

2. Heat olive oil on medium heat and add the garlic and onion until fragrant, about a minute. Add zucchini, red cabbage, and leek and saute until soft, about 6 minutes. Add the water a little at a time while sauteing to make sure it doesn't burn. 

3. Add the cherry/grape tomatoes and the juice of the lemon and simmer covered for about 2 minutes. Allow excess liquids to reduce before serving.

6. Serve atop 1/2 C warm Quinoa 

*Quinoa cooks like rice. In a small saucepan, cover 1 C quinoa with 2 C water. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to a simmer and cover for 20 minutes. Don't peek at it or you'll let the steam fairies escape. Fluff with a fork and serve.



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