Arugula and Winter Squash Salad with Quinoa, Feta, Walnuts and Balsamic Vinaigrette

Photo by cookbook author and photographer Erin Alderson for her version of this recipe in her blog NaturallyElla.com

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Sally tells me that 11/17/15 the farm share for Glade Road Growing will include butternut squash, carrots, arugula, salad mix, kale, garlic and a big hakurai turnip.  Since the arugula is sweet enough in the cooler weather to eat raw, I thought I'd make a main course salad.  Mine adds pomegranate seeds and uses walnuts instead of pecans and a bit of balsamic vinegar dressing, rather than honey, but this picture was just so beautiful, that when I found it, I stopped looking for something more representative.

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Serves 6


1.  Preheat your conventional over to 450 degrees, unless you are going to use a counter top convection over, as I do.   Rinse the butternut squash and cut in half lengthwise and scoop out the seeds and reserve to roast.  Put the squash cut side down on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.  Roast in oven for about 40 minutes, until tender.  Remove and let cool enough to handle.  Pull the peel away and then dice the squash into 1/2 inch cubes.  (Some folks peel and cube the squash first, but that's not as easy.


2. While the squash is roasting, cook 1 cup of raw quinoa by bringing it to a boil in a heavy-bottomed lidded sauce pan with two cups of cold water.  Remove from oven and drain water and rinse well to remove the saponin, which coats the grain and can make it bitter.  Add 1 3/4 cups of fresh cold water, cover  and return to a boil and simmer for five minutes.  Turn off heat and let sit for at least 20 minutes. 

3.  While the quinoa is cooking, prepare the pomegranate by slicing 1/4-inch off of the stem end  and placing the fruit cut side down on the cutting board to stabilize it. The pomegranate's blossom end, the one that looks like a crown, should be on top.  Use the paring knife to a cut a circle around the blossom end, angling in and cut it out.  Make several cuts from top to bottom around the pomegranate just through the red part of the skin.  Working over a large bowl, gently pry open the pomegranate and pry away the seeds from the peel and membranes.  Discard the peel and membranes.

4.  Rinse the arugula in a basin of cool water.  Drain and wash a second time in clean water, then put in a colander to drain.







5.  To make the vinaigrette, combine the following in a bottle with a well-fitting lid:
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
4 tablespoon Balsamic vinegar or lime juice
Freshly ground pepper
4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil (for fat-free version, substitute either 1 tablespoon fruit juice concentrate--apple or white grape--and 3 tablespoons water OR 4 tablespoons wine)
1 teaspoon your favorite sweetener (honey, agave, demerara sugar)
2 peeled and crushed cloves free garlic and/or 1 T finely minced onion. 

 6.  Fluff the quinoa with a fork and toss with the arugula with the pomegranate seeds and the squash, 2/3 cup of crumbled feta and 1/2 cup of walnuts  in a large bowl.  Drizzle with the vinaigrette and serve.

Peanut Curry with Winter Squash, Mustard Greens and Garbanzo Beans

Photo by Paige Green of a mustard green curry and tofu recipe by chef  Bryant Terry of Oakland found in his 2014 cookbook Afro-Vegan.  

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November 19, the farm share from Glade Road Growing is slated to include watermelon radish, lettuce mix, tetsukabuki squash, red mustard greens, garlic and green peppers.

Since Bryant Terry is an advocate of farm fresh food, I thought I'd modify one of his recipes this week to use the squash, mustard greens, garlic and green peppers. His mentor, Alice Walker, has said of him that “Bryant Terry knows that good food should be an everyday right and not a privilege.” He is a 2015 James Beard Foundation Leadership Award winner who is currrently the inaugural Chef in Residence at the Museum of the African Diaspora (MoAD) in San Francisco.  Maybe some of my lucky friends in that area were able to get a ticket for the (sold-out) November 15 reception and panel he is convening with Toni Tipton Martin, Gail Myers, Nicole Taylor, Caroline Randall Williams and moderator Psyche Williams-Forson to discuss the role that Black women have played historically and contemporarily in the production, distribution, and consumption of food.

Here's an interview with Chef Terry in the Washington Post and a video about his work as Chef in Residence.


By the way, when I was looking at food photos for inspiration, I found a tempting recipe by Emma D'Alessandro for a warm kale, citrus and watermelon radish salad, which for which you could substitute the mustard greens.


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Serves 6


1.  The night or at least two hours before cook 1 pound of garbanzo beans.  In a medium saucepan with a heavy bottom and a tight-fitting lid, cover the beans with 3 cups water, and and bring to a boil.  Rinse.  Return to pot, add ½ teaspoon sea salt and bring again to a boil again.  Cover, reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Let stand over night or for at least one hour. Rinse a second time.  Add two cups of water and bring to a boil again and simmer on low heat until soft, about 1 hour with 2 bay leaves.

2.  I like to serve this over brown rice cooked with tumeric and olive oil, so at the same time you start the beans.  In a medium saucepan with a heavy bottom and a tight-fitting lid, combine 2  cups brown rice , 4 cups water, and and bring to a boil.  Rinse.  Return to pot, add ½ teaspoon sea salt, 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil  and 1 teaspoon of ground turmeric and bring again to a boil again.  Cover, reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes.  Turn off heat and leave for 40 minutes until water is absorbed.

3.  While the rice is absorbing the water, roast the squash.  Unless you are using a countertop convection oven, as I do, preheat your oven to 450 degrees.  Cut  the tetsukabuki squash in half and scoop out seeds.  You can reserve them to roast separately.  Invert upside down on a parchment covered cook sheet.  Roast for half an-hour and then let cook long enough so that you can cut it into cubes.  I leave the skin on and it will get tender, unlike butternut squash.  If you prefer, you can remove the skin.  Set the squash aside. 

If you don't have this type of squash, the recipe will work with any roasted winter squash or even roasted sweet potatoes.

3.  While the squash is roasting, peel and chop one large onion or more to make about 1 cup.   Mince a piece of fresh ginger to make 1 tablespoon.  Smash, peel and mince a similar amount of fresh garlic cloves.  Remove the seeds from a green pepper and finely chop.


4.  Grind a cup of roasted peanuts in a heavy duty blender or food processor.  You will use 2 tablespoons for this recipe.  You can store the rest in a covered jar in the fridge.  You can substitute fresh ground peanut butter from the store.  The jars of peanut butter really are NOT a sufficient substitute, but if you need to, you could used about 4 tablespoons of crunchy peanut butter with no additives (avoid the "no-stir" versions.)

4.  In a oiled cast iron skillet, add 1/4 teaspoon mustard seeds and cook, shaking the pan occasionally, until they pop, 2 to 3 minutes.   Add more oil to coat, add the onion and sauté until soft, 5 to 7 minutes. Add  more oil and add the green pepper and sauté until soft about 2 minutes.  Add the garlic, fresh ginger, 1 1/2 teaspoons of ground tumeric, 1/2 teaspoon of cumin seads, 1/2 half teaspoon of cardomon, 1/4 teaspoon of red pepper flakes and cook until fragant.

5.  In a large saucepan with a tight lid, 3 cups of water, one can of diced unsalted tomatoes, 2 heaping tablespoons of the ground roasted peanuts, the vegetable/spice mixture and the cooked garbanzo beans. Stir.  Bring to a simmer and cook for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.

6.   While the mixture is cooking, cut the mustard greens into bite-sized pieces.  After the first twenty minutes, add to the saucepan, along with the roasted squash and cook for another ten minutes, stirring occasionally.  Serve garnished with cilantro over the cooked brown rice.

BTW, Chef Terry follows the Southern tradition and cooks the greens for the whole thirty minutes.  Mine will be brighter than pictured.

Tri-Color Gnocchi (Potato, Beet and Ricotta, and Winter Squash)

Montage made from photographs from three food blogs(l. to r. by Suzie Castello, Nealey Dozier Thompson and  Cooking with Manuela.) *

The October 20 farm share from Glade Road Growing is slated to include beets (without tops), gold potatoes, delicata squash, sweet peppers, bok choy and garlic. 

The potatoes made me decide to make gnocchi, the Italian version of a dumpling.  Doing some research, I learned that the squash and beets would be suitable, too.  I decided to make all three for a lovely tri-colored plate of pasta, sauteed in sage butter and topped with grated cheese . 

If you like you could try the same idea with spätzle (recipes for potato, beets and squash) the German version, a softer dumpling, which is quicker and easier, since you push the dough through a colander or large-holed grater, rather than form the dumplings individually.  The latter are traditionally sauteed in butter and topped with parsley.  Or they're delicious tossed with sauteed greens and topped with goat cheese, the way Bryan Picard makes his at the Bite House Restaurant on Cape Breton Island (that's the beet recipe I included at the link.)

It would also be fun to do three types of ravioli. (recipes for potato, beets and pumpkin, which could substitute winter squash).

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1.  The night before, drain one pound of whole milk ricotta in a colander lined in cheese cloth over a bowl.

2.  Preheat the oven to 475 degrees F.  Scrub the potatoes and 2 small or 1 medium beet and wash the delicata squash.  Cut the delicata squash in half and scoop out the seeds, which you can roast and salt.  Place veggies on a parchment lined rimmed cookie sheet, with the squash cut side down.  Roast the veggies until soft.  You can also roast the veggies in a countertop convection oven.

3.  Slip the peel off the potatoes and beets.  In separate bowls, pass them through a potato ricer, food mill or grate them over the large holes of a box grater, washing the utensil between uses to keep the colors separate. Scoop the squash from its skin and do the same.  The squash has more moisture, so you may want to drain the results through a clean tea towel in the colander.

4.  For the beet dough, add the drained ricotta, 1 egg and 1 cup of freshly grated Parmesan cheese, salt and salt and freshly ground black pepper to the beets. Mix well with a wooden spoon. Add 2/3 cup of white whole wheat flour flour to the ricotta mixture and whisk together to mix. Set the mixture aside for a minimum of 2 hours in the refrigerator.  After it is chilled you will form the dough into  balls about the size of a ping pong ball. Roll the ball into a bowl of flour, carefully turning to lightly coat all sides, tapping off any excess. Lay each dumpling on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Continue forming the gnocchi until all the mixture is gone.

5.  For the squash dough, the proportion is 1.5 cups of the flour to 2.5 cups of the squash and 1 egg.  If you have less, adjust the flour and egg accordingly.  Mix the squash with 1/2 teaspoon of nutmeg, the eggs and a little bit of salt. Add the flour a bit at at the time, until you find the right consistency. 

6.  To make the potato dough, the ratio is 2 cup of white whole wheat flour to 3 pounds of potatoes  and 1 egg.  Make well in center of the potatoes in the first bowl and sprinkle all over with flour.  Place egg and a pinch of salt in center of well and using a fork, stir into flour and vegetable, just like making normal pasta. Once egg is mixed in, bring dough together, kneading gently until a ball is formed. Knead gently another 4 minutes until ball is dry to touch. Roll baseball-sized ball of dough into 3/4-inch diameter dowels and cut dowels into 1-inch long pieces.   Roll into balls if you want the shape to match the other gnocchi.  Or for the traditional shape, just flick the 1-inch long pieces off of  a fork.

7.  Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and reduce to a simmer. To make the squash gnocchi, use two teaspoons to drop small amounts of the mixture into the simmering water. You probably will need to do this in three or four batches, depending on how big is your pot.  Put few enough in at a time so that they have space to move and don't stick to each other.  when they float to the surface,  cook for another 2 minutes.   Remove them to a plate covered in a paper towel to remove and extra moisture.

8.  You will cook the beet gnocchi the same way.  Using a slotted spoon, remove them to a plate covered in a paper towel to remove and extra moisture.

9.  To cook the potato gnocchi, pepare an ice bath to cool them.  Drop a small amount into boiling water and cook until they float (about 1 minute). Meanwhile, continue with remaining dough.  For these, as soon as the gnocchi float to top of the boiling water, remove them to ice bath. Continue until all have been cooled off. Let sit several minutes in bath and drain from ice and water.

10.  Melt butter in a skillet with fresh sage leaves. Let the butter lightly brown and the sage leaves become nice and crispy, about 10 minutes.  Toss in the gnocchi to warm and then serve topped with grated Parmesan cheese.

Roasted Winter Squash and Apples with Quinoa, Kale, Pecans and Tahini Maple Dressing

This gorgeous photo is from  Ashley McLaughlin, an architect turned "cookbook author, freelance food photographer, recipe developer, and portrait photographer."  McLaughlin uses acorn squash with her kale (which makes for an interesting shape), but the winter squash in the 9/30 farm share from Glade Road Growing is slated to be a 2-3 pound buttercup squash as pictured at the bottom of the page. Beside the squash, kale and garlic used in this recipe, other veggies slated for delivery are:  parsley, lettuce mix, and peppers.

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To make tahini dressing:

Heat a clean, large dry cast iron  skillet over medium high heat and add 1 cup of whole sesame seeds.  Stir frequently until they begin to turn golden brown and pop.  Remove from skillet and process in a blender, food processor or mortar and pestle with about 3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil to make 3/4 cup.  For this recipe, you will need 4 TB.  You can store the rest in a lidded jar in the fridge.  Peel and smash one clove of garlic. Combine tahini and garlic in a jar with with 2 oz. lime juice (about two limes). Seal and shake and let sit for at least 10 minutes.  Add 1 TB of  real maple syrup and sea salt and fresh ground pepper to taste.  Set aside.

To roast squash and apples:

Slice two crisp, tart  apples, leaving skin on, but removing core (Granny Smith and Cortlands are two of my favorites).

Cut the squash in half, remove the seeds.  I roast it roast face up  in a counter top convection oven for 30 minutes at 475 degrees F, then slice it, peel it and cut it into chunks.  Alternately, you can cut it into 1/4 thick slices and roast it in a conventional oven at 400 degrees F for about 35 minutes, flipping once halfway through.  If you are cooking the squash in the oven, during the last seven minutes add the apples.  Otherwise you can roast separately in the convection oven for a couple of minutes once the squash is done until the apples start to soften and turn fragrant.

To cook kale and quinoa: 
Smash, peel and mince 3 cloves of garlic. Chiffonade the kale by removing center stem, rolling and slicing crosswise to make long strips. 

Cover 1 cup raw quinoa in 2 cups of water and bring to a boil.  Simmer for 5 minutes and then rinse.  Add fresh water and bring back to a boil and let sit covered until water is absorbed, about a half hour.  Fluff with a fork.

Cook kale in lightly oiled cast iron skillet for about four minutes.  Add garlic and cook another minute, then   add a bit of water to steam lightly.  Remove from stove to plate while kale is still bright green and combine with  cooked quinoa.

To serve:

Place quinoa and kale  on a large platter then arrange roasted squash and apples on top. Or you can serve in individual bowls. Sprinkle with 1/2  cup of pecans and drizzle with dressing. 

This buttercup squash photo is  from Canadian registered dietitian, freelance magazine nutrition writer and recipe developer Matt Kadey of the blog Muffin Tin Mania.  Be sure to check out his 11/10/10 recipe for buttercup squash and oat muffins. Other yummy recipes for winter squash and kale include Kaela Porter's roasted squash with red peppers and rosemary from her Local Kitchen blog and Liz Harris's wheat berry salad with roasted squash, kale and whiskey soaked cranberrries from her Floating Kitchen blog.  Plus, here are my winter squash recipes from last season:

09/10/13: Moroccan Squash and Eggplant Stew
10/07/13: Another Moroccan Stew: Beets, Buttercup Squash and Radishes
11/11/13: Pecan-Topped Winter Squash Pie (Pumpkin and Sweet Potatoes Work, Too)

11/18/13: Parsnip, Carrot, Winter Squash and Apple Stew

Parsnip, Carrot, Winter Squash and Apple Stew

Photo by NYC chef Robbi Geane for  the October 8. 2013 post on her blog Pick Up the Whisk.  I found her photo when I was looking for one that approximated my recipe.  Hers uses sweet potatoes instead of the squash, omits the onions and cumin and uses red apples rather than the Granny Smiths.

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Glade Road Growing plans for its November 19 farm share to include garlic, winter squash and parsnips, which I plan to make into this winter stew.


Serves 4

Cut winter squash in half, remove seed and pulp, peel and chop into cubes (Depending on the variety, it will be easier to cut the squash and peel it if roast it a bit first to soften it.  Or you can roast all the veggies to develop their sweetness, rather than saute them.)  You will need 1 - 2 cups for this recipe.  Reserve any extra for another use.  You can salt and roast the seeds.

Peel and chop 1 or 2 parsnips
Chop 1/2 pound carrots
Chop one medium onion.
Chop 3 celery sticks
Chop 2 small or 1 1/2 medium granny smith apples (reserving one cup, tossed in lemon juice to preserve color, for garnish)

Smash, peel and finely chop 2 cloves fresh garlic

If you have a dutch oven, you can saute the veggies and then make the soup in the same pot.  I don't, so I use a cast iron skillet and transfer the veggies to a heavy bottom stainless steel pot.  If you want this to be a main dish, you can add 2 cups cooked white beans to the soup before you puree it.

Saute in a skillet lightly oiled with extra virgin olive oil the parsnips, sweet potato, carrots, onion and celery until softened, about 10 minutes. Transfer to pot.  Saute garlic and apples for about 5 minutes until apples begin to soften and transfer to pot.  De-glaze skillet with a bit of water and add to pot with enough addition to measure 3 cups of liquid.  Add 2 TB miso paste, 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon, 1/4 tsp ground cumin and 1/8 tsp red pepper flakes.  Cover and cook for about 30 minutes until all vegetables are fork tender.  Transfer to a blender and puree (in batches, if necessary, thinning with water, if your blender requires) until smooth and creamy.  When ready to serve, return to pot, taste and add additional seasoning, if necessary and reheat.  Divide among bowl.  Garnish with raw apple, and if you like parsley.

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Sally and JP also plan to include cabbage and a root roasting mix of beets, purple top turnips, black Spanish radishes, and/or hakurai turnips.  I'm hoping that it will include the black radishes, which will be delicious peeled, but leaving strips of the skin in places, sliced, lightly salted  and sauteed in butter.

Photo by Mimi Kresh for the  February 9, 2012 post on her blog, The Israeli Kitchen.  Although referred to as Spanish, the black radishes are common in Russian cooking.

Pecan-Topped Winter Squash Pie (Pumpkin and Sweet Potatoes Work, Too)

Photo from  November 2003 Gourmet Magazine.

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The November 12 farm share from Glade Road Growing includes winter squash and since it's getting close to Thanksgiving, I thought I'd diverge from stews and salads and casseroles and provide one for my favorite pie.


Not having much of a sweet tooth--except for dark chocolate or vanilla bean ice cream--I found the Kayro syrup base WAY too sweet---all I really liked  was the pecans. Decades later, I had a brainstorm: why not top a pumpkin (or sweet potato or squash) pie with maple syrup-glazed pecans? This recipe started with the "famous" one you'll find on the Libby's canned pumpkin, but I tweaked it (a word which has been ruined by sounding something from Breaking Bad or Miley Cyrus), including cutting back on and changing the form of the sweetener.


I'm not much of a pie crust fan, either, finding it a waste of fat calories, unless it's made with butter and finding that the bottom layer always seems to get soggy.  But tomorrow, I'll include my recipe for a flaky, press-in whole wheat olive oil crust--an update of another recipe in the book.

Serves 8

Make pie crust in 10 inch glass pie pan and store in refrigerator. If you are not using a crust, butter and flour the pan.


Measure out 1 cup of pecan halves and toss in 2 TB pure maple syrup to coat.

Roast, peel, cube and mash a winter squash, two sweet potatoes or a pumpkin.  Measure out 2 cups to use in this recipe and reserve the rest for another use. Due to how these options vary in sweetness, you will be using the following amounts of pure maple syrup respectively:

1/3 c. for pumpkin
1/4 c. for squash
2 TB  for  sweet potatoes

If  you like a sweeter (i.e. traditional) pie, you can use up to 1/2 a cup for the pumpkin, and adjust the recipe proportionately for the others. Since the syrup is a liquid, rather than using evaporated milk, you will be using 1 cup powdered milk and mixing with enough water to make make 3/4 of a cup.  If you're a vegan substitute a cup of coconut cream and 4 TB cornstarch and 1 TB vanilla for the evaporated milk and the eggs.

Measure out:
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon whole wheat flour

Preheat oven to 425° F

To make custard, in a large bowl, beat 2 large eggs.  Stir in the squash (or pumpkin or sweet potatoes)  and the dry ingredients.  Gradually stir in the syrup/milk mixture.

Pour custard into pie pan (with or without pre-made chilled crust).  Arrange coated pecans on top of custard.

Bake at 425 for 15 minutes. Reduce temperature to 350° F; bake for 40 to 50 minutes or until knife inserted near center comes out clean. Cool on wire rack for 2 hours. Serve immediately or refrigerate. Top with whipped cream, if desired, before serving.

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 The farm share is also slated to includ carrots, spinach, kohlrabi, and a rose roasting radish .  In case you're wondering, the latter is also known as a watermelon radish.  Here's a photo from Sally via a seed catalog:

She wrote me to say, "They can be roasted, but honestly we think they are pretty crisp and sweet (minus the tough skin), a lot like regular small radishes but slightly more fibrous."

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The history of this recipe starts when I took home-economics and my teacher Mrs. Altice was selling a 1960's series of cookbooks Favorite Recipes of Home Economics Teachers, published in Montgomery, Alabama.  I bought my NYC-born mother the whole set and what she became famous for, thereafter, was her made-from-scratch Southern Pecan Pie from the 1963  Desserts Including Party Beverages volume.

Made-from-scratch from Mom was a big deal, because she made many other desserts from mixes. Every Thanksgiving dinner she would bake a pecan pie, as well as a pumpkin (using canned pumpkin and milk) for my father. Every New Year's Eve dinner, she would bake another pecan pie, as well as as lemon meringue (using Royal pudding and pie filling laced with extra lemon juice) for Yishe Finck, my pediatrician and her childhood friend.
 After college, I would bake a similar recipe, but in industrial quantities, with the syrup mixture literally ladled from a (clean) 50 or more gallon rolling plastic trash can,, as I sweated in front of the ovens of Colonial Williamsburg's (AKA CW) commissary.

You can find the  1964 version of Salads Including Appetizers, as well as the  1965 version  Casseroles, Including Breads book Virginia Tech's in Special Collections.  Neither of these are even in the catalog for the Library of Congress, despite having an LC number.  There is however a "new" 1979 combined salads and vegetables  edition. The Vegetables Including Fruits book came out in 1966.  I've also found that the Meat Including Seafood and Poultry volume dates from 1962 ...I can't recall the others, since the LOC isn't cooperating.

The press has since moved to Nashville and continues to update and expand the series.

Another Moroccan Stew: Beets, Buttercup Squash and Radishes

Photos of heirloom buttercup squash and radishes from the French J&L Seeds and Planet Natural respectively.
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Yesterday evening at the Glade Road Growing potluck, Sally was talking about the survey results.  Although she's only had ten answers to date, the most frequent answer for "least liked new veggie" is either radish or salad turnip.  She asked if I could provide a suggestion for radishes in the recipe for this week's newsletter.

I thought that maybe those folks who don't enjoy radishes object to the sharp taste, which can be  down by slicing them  very thin or by pickling or combining them with fat and acid (think balsamic vinegar and extra virgin olive oil or nuts or cheese. Radishes will also be milder in taste when roasted, braised, sauteed, steamed or stewed. The following is a recipe that combines cooked radishes with the buttercup squash and garlic we are slated to find in this week's farm share.

Other expected veggies this week are napa cabbage (think kimchi, Asian stir fries and soups) and Greenstar lettuce mix.

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Serves 6

If you are going to cook your own dried garbanzo beans/aka chickpeas (which I prefer to canned), start the night before or at least two hours early.  The night before you make this stew or at least two hours before, cover 1/2 # of beans (1 cup) with 3 cups of water and bring to a boil.  Soak for an hour or overnight, rinse, add three cups of water, bring to boil and cook until tender.  Rinse and drain.


Peel and dice 2/3 pound of beets (about 2 cups).  If you want this to be a little less messy and bring out the sweetness, you can quarter and roast them first before slipping off the skins and dicing.  

Wash a buttercup squash (or other winter squash, such as delicata, acorn, butternut, hubbard or pumpkin).  Winter squash are hard and thick-skinned, which make them store well, but hard to peel and cube unless you first cook them slightly.  You can do this by cutting off the stem end, halving it,  scooping out the seeds and fiber with a spoon and baking, microwaving or steaming until slightly soft. Or, to bring out the sweetness, you can roast the halves at the same time as the beets.   Cut the softened squash into 1/2 rounds and peel, then dice into 1/2 inch cubes.  You will need up to 2 cups for this recipe.  If there is more, you can save it for another recipe.  You can roast the seeds the same way you would pumpkin seeds.

Wash and trim stems and leaves  on about  2/3 pound radishes.(You can reserve the leaves and stems to use as a spicy salad green).

Coarsely dice 1 onion or two small onions.

Smash, peel and mince 4 cloves fresh garlic.

Finely grated zest of 1 medium lemon (about 1 1/2 teaspoons).  If there is more, you can save in a jar with a tight lid.

Measure out the following spices:
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon cinnamon 
1/4 teaspoon cloves
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon caraway seeds
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes



Coat the skillet or dutch oven with extra virgin olive oil and saute onions, stirring occasionally until softened.  Add the garlic and spices and stir to combine.  Cook, stirring occasionally, until the garlic and spices are fragrant, about 1 minute.  If you don't have a dutch oven, transfer to a 3 quart or larger heavy-bottomed stainless steel pot with a lid.  De-glaze skillet with a bit of water and add to pan.

Add  beets, 2 1/2 cups water and stir to combine. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until the beets are slightly softened.  Add squash, radishes, chickpeas, 1/4 cups of raisins, 1 T sweetener such as raw sugar, molasses, honey or maple syrup.  Return the mixture to a simmer and reduce the heat to low. Simmer, stirring every 10 minutes and making sure to stir to the bottom of the pot to rotate the vegetables evenly, until the vegetables are fork-tender but still hold their shape, about 45 minutes.

While stew is cooking, prepare garnishes  coarsely chop 1/4 fresh cilantro. Slice 3/4 cups of almonds and toast in skillet. 

 Taste and season with salt as needed. Remove from the heat and stir in  lemon zest.  Serve stew over a cooked starch.  Couscous is traditional, but this also works with cooked brown rice, quinoa, wheat berries, barley or millet, if you prefer a whole grain.

Sprinkle with the almonds and cilantro.

Moroccan Squash and Eggplant Stew

Photo by Kana Okada for Epicurious (website)


The September 10 farm share for Glade Road Growing is slated to include Salad turnips, Greenstar organic salad mix, eggplant, garlic, delicata winter squash, and a poblano (a mild chilli pepper.)  Here's a recipe to try.

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Yield: 6 servings

Coarsely chop  3 cups of onions.
Crush and finely chop two cloves garlic.
Finely chop 1/2 TB of fresh ginger
Slice 2 cups of carrots (about 1/4 #)

Cube 3 cups of delicata squash.  To do this,  run the squash under warm water and scrub away dirt with your hands. If there are any hard spots on the squash, you can scrape them off with a butter knife.  With a sharp knife, cut delicata in half lengthwise. This should be easy; the squash is more tender than butternut and just as sweet.  With a spoon scoop out the seeds and discard or save and  prepare like pumpkin seeds.  Cut each delicata half into 1/2 inch segments and peel, creating moon-shaped pieces that have slight bumps around the curve.

Cube 3 cups of eggplant (about 1 #)
Slice poblano or sweet pepper in strips.
Slice 2 cups of summer squash (about 1/2 #) (optional)
Chop 2 large vine ripened tomatoes or equivalent (about 2 cups--you can used diced canned when not in season)


Measure out these spices:
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground turmeric
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp cardamon
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes if you are using a sweet pepper, rather than the poblano
1/2 tsp paprika (optional)


Chop 1/2 cup cilantro or mint.
Thinly slice 1/2 cups of whole raw almonds


If you have a dutch over, you can use one pot or you can saute in a cast iron skillet and transfer to a stainless steel pot (at least 3 quarts in size) for cooking.

Saute onions in extra virgin olive oil for 2-3 minutes until translucent.  Add garlic and spices, stirring continuously. Saute the vegetables in the order given, so that the starchier ones will cook the longest.  Cook until the color deepens.  Stir in 3 cups of cooked, rinsed and drained garbanzo beans or 1/ 1/2 beans and 1 1/2 cups diced roasted chicken, along with half a cup of raisins and the almonds.

In dutch oven or large pot combine all ingredients with 1/2 cup of tomato juice or water.  Cover and simmer on low heat until all the veggies are tender.  If you'd like this stew will be good served over cooked couscous, brown rice or quinoa or it can be eaten as just the stew, garnished with cilantro.