Farmers Market + Cooking

On Saturday Anevay, Clare and I went to the Farmers Market and picked up a beautiful array of vegetables- I then went to Marlow and Daughters and bought a couple of chickens.  I spent the afternoon making chicken stock, roast chicken, stuffed acorn squash, and, on Sunday morning, polenta with maple syrup and marscapone cheese.

Heaven.  What a wonderful way to relax...

Portabella Stuffed Acorn Squash

For the stuffing:

24 ounces multigrain bread, cubed
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 medium onion, diced
1 medium carrots, diced
2 celery stalks, diced
2 medium portabella mushrooms, diced
1/4 cup pecan pieces
1 1/2 teaspoon herbs/spices of your choice (I used thyme, rosemary, celery salt and cumin)
1/4 cup parsley, minced
1 cup water or veg broth (I used some of the chicken stock I had made...  even better!)
1/2 teaspoon blk pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt (I used course)

1. Dry bread on cookie sheet for 20-30 min, uncovered, at 250
2. Heat olive oil/butter in large saute pan.  Add carrots, celery and onion, saute over med heat for 3 min, until lightly caramelized.  Add mushrooms, pecans and herbs/spices, continue to saute for 2 min.  Add parsley and transfer to large mixing bowl, then add bread-cubes, and mix well with water/broth.  Let sit for 30 min until bread absorbs all liquid and stuffing appears fluffy.  Season with salt/pepper.  Set aside.

For the squash:

4 med acorn squash, halved, with seeds removed (save seeds, as I did, for roasting!!)
1 cup water
1/4 cup OJ
2 or 3 teaspoons tamari
1 tablespoon honey
juice of a lemon
pepper

1. Preheat oven to 375.  Place squash halves cut-side down on cookie sheet lined with foil.  Add 1/2 cup or so of water and bake for 50 minutes, until nearly tender.
2. Combine OJ, tamari, honey, lemon juice and pepper.  Mix well and set aside.  Place squash cavity-side-up in a roasting pan.  Brush generously with the glaze.  Fill cavity of each squash with stuffing- really pack it in there!
3. Pour 1/2 cup water into the pan and bake for 30 min, until squash is lightly browned and stuffing is thoroughly heated.

HOLY CRAP is this squash good...  ENJOY!

Squash seeds:

Rinse under cold water extremely well.  Mix with a bit of olive oil, curry powder, cumin, pepper, course salt, and bake at 350 until you hear them gently pop.  I tend to leave them a few minutes longer, as I like them to be a little burned...

Oh, if anyone is interested in my chicken stock recipe, let me know...  It's a little more time intensive than the recipes above, which is why I didn't include it.