Stuffed Winter Squash + Quinoa, Cranberry & Pistachio

This is the time for winter squashes and all their wonderful flavors. These stuffed squashes would make for a pretty presentation on any holiday table, or simply enjoy anytime during the season for a flavorful and filling meal. This recipe can be dressed up fancy or kept simple, depending on your mood or occasion. Keep it to a few ingredients while adding more to add complexity to the dish. I've made this with just six ingredients (squash, quinoa, cranberries, pistachios, oil and salt) and it was great, adding a few other components give it more depth and flavor. This recipe is more of a template for you to create a quinoa stuffing to your liking. I encourage you to play around with the ingredients adjusting to your personal tastes. 

I decided to do both the acorn and delicata squash with this because they both work so well here. You can use one or the other, or both for variation at the table. I love the delicata squash because the skin is edible. The acorn squash on the other hand may have a tougher, and possibly bitter, skin making it less likely that you'll be able to eat it but it does make for a great bowl. So either way, they both are great and can cook together if doing both. 

Quinoa is my favorite grain, well technically it's a seed but can be prepared like a grain. It's a complete protein, full of fiber and a good source of calcium, magnesium and iron making it a great alternative to grains. And it's gluten free. It's perfect for those on a plant based diet and those seeking nutritionally dense foods. Served warm or cool, quinoa tastes great and is such a versatile grain. Here I used a blend of pearl and tri-colored quinoa. I like blending the two so there is just a few specks of the darker quinoa.

Add in some festive colors from the pistachios and cranberries and this dish is as appealing looking as it is good, and good for you!

Stuffed Winter Squash + Quinoa, Cranberry & Pistachio

Ingredients

• 2 large or 3 small acorn or delicata squash
• maple syrup
• olive oil
• 1 cup quinoa, rinsed well 
• 1 3/4  cup water
• 1/2 cup dried cranberries
• 1/2 cup pistachios
• 2 tablespoons finely minced shallot, optional
• mineral salt & freshly ground pepper to taste
• juice of 1 lemon

add complexity to the quinoa by adding one or more of the following to suit your taste:

• pinch red pepper flakes
• 1/2 cup chopped parsley (if your a mint fan, try 1/4 cup fresh mint)
• 1 - 2 teaspoons fresh thyme 
• drizzle of olive oil

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Wash and dry squash. Slice each squash in half lengthwise, remove seeds. The seeds should come out easily by scraping the inside of the squash with a spoon. Lightly brush the inside of each squash with a little oil and/or maple syrup. sprinkle with a bit of mineral salt. Place on baking sheet cut side up. Bake in oven for 35 - 40 minutes, or until squash is tender and pierces easily with a fork.

While squash is cooking add 1 3/4 cup water and 1 cup quinoa to a medium size pot. Bring to a boil, cover, reduce heat to low and simmer for 15 minutes. Remove lid and let set 15 minutes. Add pistachios, cranberries, shallots, salt, juice of lemon, and any other optional ingredients. Toss to combine.

Scoop quinoa into squash halves, place back in the oven for 10 minutes to warm if needed, and serve.

Notes: 

For the quinoa I used a blend of 1/2 cup white and 1/2 cup tri-color quinoa. Feel free to use all of one type or mix and match to your preference.

Seek out organic cranberries if possible. Unsweetened is best but can be hard to find. The ones I have here are from Trader Joe's which are organic but sweetened.

Enjoy!

Cranberry Pistachio Energy Bars

A homemade granola bar with a bit of a chew and a crunch at the same time. Lot's of flavor and full of goodness you can taste in every bite. So colorful too! Be warned, these are delicious and won't last long. But no worries, they're easy to make so you can whip some up in cinch. :)

I originally started these as a no bake granola bar like the recipe at Gimme Some Oven, but felt they were a bit to sticky to handle, even after chilling in the fridge a while. I decided to bake them in order to harden the maple syrup and stiffen them a bit. They came out really good and still have a bit of chewiness but without the stickiness. If you want them a bit crunchy bake for a little longer. They really are a vibrant and delicious treat! This recipe will give you the option to decide if you want to bake or not...a lot may depend on the date paste and how much moisture there is...but you may find that you prefer it unbaked. 

Cranberry Pistachio Energy Bars

Ingredients

• 1 cup packed medjool dates, pitted and chopped (about 15 dates)
• 1/4 cup pure maple syrup
• 1 tablespoon chia seeds, optional
• 1 tablespoon hemp hearts, optional
• 1 tablespoon ground flax seeds 
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, optional
• pinch of sea salt
• 1 1/2 cups rolled oat (I used GF)
• 1 cup unsalted pistachios
• 1 cup dried cranberries or fresh chopped
• 1/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate or a dark chocolate bar chopped into small pieces, optional

Place dates, maple syrup, chia seeds, hemp hearts, flax seed meal, optional cinnamon and salt in food processor/high speed blender and process until it becomes a paste like consistency. Move date paste to a medium size bowl and add the remainder of the ingredients, mix well.

In a loaf pan or 8x8 pan, lined with parchment paper or greased with coconut oil, spread the mixture evenly to all edges and corners, press down gently but firmly to ensure a compact mixture. Place in fridge for 30 minutes before removing from pan and cutting into bars.

Once chilled, gently remove loaf and place on hard surface. Cut into any size bar you like. If you feel that they are just right for you without baking than your done and can enjoy one right now, if not continue....also, you may decide to try a few bars just to see how it works for you.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place bars on a prepared cookie sheet with either the same parchment paper used to chill or greased, bake for 15 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool completely. I put mine in the fridge to cool as I was being a bit impatient with this extra step but well worth it! It may take an hour or two to completely cool, especially if you used chocolate.

Store in an air tight container or keep in the fridge if you like. Eat within two weeks. If using fresh cranberries it's best to eat within a week. (I highly recommend trying some fresh cranberries, they add a nice tartness with the sweetness of the other ingredients)

Enjoy!

A little picture tutorial and more...

Date paste...depending on the freshness of your dates will determine how thin or thick your paste is. The paste shown here was with very fresh dates, they were moist and soft creating this very moist paste...this was almost too moist but I also used 1/3 cup syrup instead of 1/4 cup, probably didn't need to use that much with such soft dates. I've also used older dates with less moisture and added a tablespoon or so extra maple syrup to the paste for added moisture. Use your judgement...if you need any extra moisture at all it should only be a tablespoon or two at most. If you feel your paste is too wet, add extra oats in the next step.

I used fresh chopped cranberries in this batch...the fresh cranberries added a little tartness and paired well with the sweetness of some of the other ingredients without adding refined sugars that are usually in dried cranberries. You can find organic dried cranberries that use pure cane sugar or apple sauce to sweeten the berries. Fresh is always best so give it a try sometime, you may be surprised how good they are in this recipe.

Gently pack the mixture into a lined loaf pan, chill, cut and bake if desired. I spy my little Piper girl, always underfoot waiting for something to drop, or a hand to reach down and give her some love. We've had her since Halloween of 2010, she was a rescue dog and needed a home, and we needed her little spirit...it worked out perfectly. :)

Hope this inspires something wonderful in your future. Happy Holidays. :)

Raw Chocolate Pistachio Oatmeal Bites

I could eat cookies all day long. Well, maybe not really, I would miss all the other great foods I love. But when I need a cookie treat, these raw cookie balls are what I want...no flour, no butter, no refined sugars (except for chocolate chips if using non raw), and as delicious as the old cookie batter I used to love to eat, but healthier. To me that was always the best part of making cookies, eating the dough! I don't know about you but I used to make them just for that reason, I would even freeze the dough to eat for later. These are a much better option for many reasons and they completely satisfy my sweet tooth...these are fairly rich, one or two is about all you need with these. Ok, maybe three. :)

I set out with the intention of this recipe focusing on a sweet & salty combination. My first batch was good, some thought it was too salty and some really liked it, so it is to taste and both options are available. My next batch I will use a small amount and sprinkle a little salt on  top instead of adding too much to the mixture. That you will get a taste of the salt as a surprise every now and then. If you like to make raw cocoa chips, the link to a good recipe, by Rawified, is in the ingredients list. These are meant to be a chunky style cookie ball.

Chocolate Pistachio Oatmeal Bites

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup dates, pitted and chopped
• 1/4 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
• 1/2 cup oats (I used GF)
• 1 cup pistachios, divided
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 3 tablespoon pure maple syrup
• 1/8-1/4 teaspoon himalayan salt
• 1/4 cup water, as needed
• 1/4 cup raw dark chocolate chips , cacao nibs or vegan chocolate chips

Place all ingredients in food processor except for 1/4 cup of the pistachio's, water and chocolate chips. Blend until combined adding the water a little at a time to help with the consistency of the dough, this will depend on your liking. Next, mix in the rest of the pistachio's and chocolate chips, using your hands for this is best. I also added a large pinch of oats for a more chunky feel to my cookies. Roll into 1 inch balls (mine were a bit bigger) and enjoy licking your fingers, and the bowl, when your all done. Makes approx. 13 - 16 balls.

Next, the crushed pistachio pieces to roll the balls in which is optional but a nice touch. On a flat surface, I placed two pieces of wax paper with about 1/4-1/3 cup pistachio's in between and used a rolling pin to smash the pistachio's, as shown above, in a somewhat rough crushing, leaving some large and mostly small pieces. Roll your balls on the nuts and store in airtight container. They will keep in the fridge for a couple weeks and last even longer in the freezer. You can always make these ahead for special occasions.

Enjoy!