Harvest Monday, 2 March 2015

This was the week that I used up the greens in my freezer. I do have one lone spinach packet, but I've been eating two per meal for a while now. So it won't even make one meal for me. I now have fresh broccoli and asparagus from the store. And some bought frozen spinach and kale. I was wondering what to do with the spring fava bean bed. Obviously I need to grow greens to eat during the winter. Kale or broccoli as I've already figured out a way to add in another spring spinach bed. I like broccoli better fresh. But I think I like kale better frozen.

The above meal is pretty typical of my dinners in a way. Lots of greens. But I always also have some kind of non green vegetable too - squash, carrots, or sweet potatoes (which are still holding out well). And as many of you noticed and asked about. . .

When I make squash, most of the time it is a squash casserole. I put my original recipe in the blog ages ago. But it has changed over the years to be healthier (no sugar or butter anymore). I still make close to that recipe when I bring it for parties as it is fine to have such things on occasion, but for every day I'd prefer it to be mostly squash, not mostly other ingredients which my old recipe was. Also I got rid of the soy milk and gluten. The last two substitutions were a godsend really. I substituted the flour for cornmeal and the soy milk for coconut milk. The mixture of coconut milk, cornmeal, squash, and when I add it maple syrup go very well together. My everyday version won't have maple syrup though. Bummer as it goes so well.

Daphne's Squash Casserole Take 2

• 1 egg
• 1 c to 1 1/2 c pumpkin puree
• 1/2 c coconut milk
• 1/2 t vanilla
• 1/4 t cinnamon
• 1/8 c corn meal
• 1/2 t baking powder
• 1/4 t salt
• (2 T butter or coconut oil melted, optional)
• (1/8-1/4c maple syrup, + 1/8 c corn meal optional)

Mix the wet ingredients together. Mix the dry ingredients together. Mix them both together. It can barely fit into two 1c ramakins if you don't add the extra ingredients. Or as in the picture above you can use 2 x 1 1/2c pyrex dishes. Or cook it all at once in a larger dish. Cook it at 350F until it doesn't jiggle anymore. That is usually 45 minutes for me, but it varies. My squash measurements aren't perfect. I have some containers in which I freeze pureed squash. They can hold anywhere from a cup to a cup and a half depending on how full they get.

So in a way it is much like pumpkin pie if you add the sugar. I'd call it a pumpkin custard if I didn't add flour to it. But I love it. I often eat it after dinner and think of it as dessert even without the sugar. Squash is sweet. I found after a while of almost no sugar, my taste for sugars in food have changed.

Harvest Monday is a day to show off your harvests, how you are saving your harvest, or how you are using your harvest. If you have a harvest you want to show off, add your name and link to Mr Linky below.