Saturday, October 07, 2006

A squash odyssey...

This morning I ventured to a nearby supermarket and, as I do every fall, noticed a gigantic display of various squash-looking vegetables. I ponder that section every fall, cause I have no idea what those vegetables cook like, taste like, or what to do with them in general, other than displaying them as Halloween decorations. But this time of year, they are very cheap. And being budget conscious I thought that if I figured them out, I could maybe save some money too…

Utterly confused I approached the stand, and picked one medium sized something, completely randomly, cause all those names and colours meant absolutely nothing to me.

This is the one I got:




Eventually in the afternoon I decided to do something with it. Lacking any imagination, I browsed the net, and found simple instructions: cut, oil, and bake. Which is what I did… Ahem…



Let me just say, this will probably put me off experimenting for a long time… Maybe it’s just the one I picked… Maybe it’s my cooking technique… But it was stringy, tasteless, and quite horrible on all other parameters.

So much for saving money…

Luckily I bought some other (more familiar) vegetables today too, and therefore we didn’t have to starve.

For lunch the kiddo and me enjoyed delicious carrot pancakes (the recipe is essentially the same as the zucchini one, except substitute zucchini with carrots -- i.e. 4-5 carrots, 2 potatoes, 1 onion, 2 eggs, about a cup of flour, salt, pepper.).

The real food connoisseur in the family approved:



And for dinner, I had a cauliflower mix. Hmmm... I can’t think of creative name here… how bout “cauliflower, stir-fried with tomatoes, breadcrumbs and eggs”? Has a certain ring to it… (Boil cauliflower for 5 minutes. Separately fry a finely chopped tomato, add chopped boiled cauliflower, fry for a bit, add breadcrumbs, mix, beat in two eggs, salt, pepper, turn off when eggs are ready.)



And the boys had a chicken stir-fry. Using the same method as I did here (except use red peppers and celery, and skip the sugar), which I adopted from here.



Everyone was full and happy.

(And late at night I got myself a BK veggie burger. Cause I really wanted it. And as you know, when I want something, I have to have it….)

Posted by vasilisa @ 11:46 p.m.

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Great dinner! I like both squash and chicken stir fry!! Now you are talking!!:D
I made butter nut squash waffles last month!Try that for your son!Pancakes are good! Way to go,Lisa!:)

Posted by Blogger FH @ 9:18 a.m. #
 

I am totally with you on the BK veggie burger; I admit it's a guilty pleasure that I indulge more than I should!

I find squash equally perplexing. I tried making spaghetti squash once, and well, ick. Although butter nut squash waffles sound pretty good, if not a bit too ambitious for my culinary skill level.

(BTW, very pretty shot of your carrot cakes!)

Posted by Blogger Kelley @ 1:14 p.m. #
 

Asha: I'm improving, ain't I? :-)
I'd love to try the waffles, but don't have a waffle maker. Though I saw you have a cool looking butternut pumpkin stir-fry... If I ever try my luck with squash again, I'm trying that. (Also, I need to figure out which of the many squashes at the store is butternut... I'm completely clueless in that department...)

kelley: That veggie burger is a life-saver... I mean, I tried one at McDonalds once, at it was so horrible... And then BK! yum!
I don't even know what squash it is I tried. I was looking it up, says "Strippety" or something like that. Don't try it. Horrible...
Re pic. -- I was so impressed with it myself, I almost nominated it for best pic on the blog so far... But then I saw my cauliflower pic, and my enthusiasm waned...

Posted by Blogger vasilisa @ 6:27 p.m. #
 

You had a veggie burger at McDonalds? I have been saying to my husband for ages that Mickey D's should venture into the world of veggie cuisine, but we haven't seen it yet in Virginia.

(Although, judging from your review, I guess perhaps I should be thankful!)

I suppose I will have to settle for their delicious fries and hash browns. :)

Posted by Blogger Kelley @ 11:00 p.m. #
 

I don’t know if it was a temporary thing, or if they still have it here. I didn’t go back for it after that experience. In England, though, they have really good ones. Why couldn’t they just bring those here? Weird...

Posted by Blogger vasilisa @ 11:56 p.m. #
 
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About

I'm a 29 year old mom of two! A toddler (kiddo one) and a new baby (kiddo junior). I am also the most horrible (as in I barely ever do it) cook that I have met in my life. This blog is a diary of my attempts to feed my hungry growing family

PS: My name is not actually Vasilisa... But I find that honest reporting comes easier when there is a shred of anonymity. (Apparently, posting pics of my sons doesn't count...)

PPS: For those of you wondering where on the planet I am: I'm cosily tacked away in the Torontonian suburbia of the Great White North (Canada).

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