“You are what you eat”, the old adage goes. I have never fully understood what that means. I read somewhere that it literally means what it says; that on a seven year cycle the cells in our bodies are replaced and what replaces them are cells from the foods we eat to fuel the body. If that is so, I imagine it is an over simplification of a very complex process.
Does it have a more symbolic meaning where the food we eat becomes a metaphor for the nature of our character? I still don’t have a clear understanding of what it means. There is no doubt in my mind though, that what we eat directly affects our health and well being. At the risk of stating the obvious, a diet of junk food with empty calories, hydrogenated fats and wholly unnatural additives that were never intended to be ingested by humans is bad for us. While eating whole foods, minimally processed and prepared with thought and care is good for us. Ask any nutritionist and they will all agree that that is so. Well, almost!
I have seen on TV all kinds of healthy eating evangelists who often times contradict each other, each convinced his/her way is the only way to eat and any deviation will likely lead you to an early grave. One will come on TV and preach, “Fat is bad for you and here is the science to prove it”. Another will come on TV and preach, “Fat is good for you and here is the science to prove it”. Others will say the same about carbs, one saying they are bad and another saying they are good. Similar arguments are made for meats, grains, etc. I even heard a guy saying once that cholesterol is good for us and here is the science to prove it. Really?
So, what are we mere mortals to do with our food choices? Apply some basic common sense, I say.
In another post for Multigrain Salad I made mention of nutritionist, Dr. Connie Guttersen’s book, The Sonoma Diet of which I am a huge fan. The fundamentals of the diet are: There are good fats and bad fats, good carbs and bad carbs. Eat the good, avoid the bad. That, along with portion control and exercise – no getting away from that, I’m afraid – and you’ve got yourself a healthy diet/lifestyle.
Another well known nutritionist is Dr Joel Furman. He has the medical degree and I’m not about to argue with him but his philosophy on food preparation goes to an extreme in my opinion and while his diet regimen is undoubtedly healthy, it’s not to my taste – pun intended!
Dr John La Puma is a medical doctor and a classically trained chef. He is a believer in the concept of Food as Medicine, as no doubt are most other nutritionists. Dr La Puma’s recipes are designed such that virtually every component has a medicinal advantage intended not to cure disease, but to prevent it. You can read more about Dr La Puma, ChefMD at his web site here.
I like Dr La Puma’s approach because you don’t have to think about the nutritional value of his food; that’s built in to each recipe and is a given. So what’s left? The taste, and it’s pretty darned good. His recipe for Roasted Acorn Squash Stuffed with Quinoa is pretty simple to prepare and it doesn’t take forever to make either. While the squash is roasting for half an hour you can prepare the quinoa filling and have dinner on the table in under an hour, start to finish. I’ve taken some liberties with the recipe, adding mushrooms and shallots and cooking the quinoa in chicken stock rather than vegetable stock. My version is not vegetarian because of the chicken stock but you can revert back to Dr La Puma’s original recipe and use vegetable stock.
Basically you cut the squash in half across the “equator” and scrape out the seeds and fibers.
You will want to cut a bit off the pointy end so it will sit up straight for presentation.
Brush a tiny bit of olive oil and a light sprinkling of salt in the “bowl” of the squash and roast, cut side down in a 400°F (200°C) oven for half an hour until a knife slides easily into the flesh.
Next you stir in the curry and orange zest. I’m using curry paste here but regular curry powder works great too.
Then you add the stock and the well rinsed quinoa, bring to a boil, cover, reduce the heat and simmer 15-20 minutes till the liquid is absorbed and the quinoa is tender.
5 minutes before the quinoa is done, add the garbanzo beans to the pot to warm through.
Roasted Acorn Squash Filled with Mushrooms and Quinoa
Ingredients
The Squash
- 2 acorn squash – about 4-5" (10-12cm) in diameter
- 4 Tsp olive oil
- Kosher or sea salt
The Filling
- 1 1/2 TBS olive oil
- 2-3 TBS shallot – thinly sliced
- 1/3 lb (150g) mushrooms – finely chopped
- 1/2 Tsp salt
- 1 1/2 Tsp mild curry powder – or curry paste
- 2 Tsp orange zest – finely grated
- 1 1/4 cups (300ml) vegetable stock, chicken stock or water
- 1/2 cup (100g) quinoa – rinsed well under cold running water -*See note below
- 1 cup canned garbanzo beans (chick peas) – drained and rinsed
- 1/2 cup mint leaves – chopped
- 1/4 cup pumpkin seeds (pepitas) – or chopped almonds
Instructions
- Pre-heat the oven to 400°F (200°C). Line a sheet pan or roasting pan with parchment paper.
- Cut the squashes in half across the “equator”, scrape out and discard the seeds and fibers. Cut a little bit off the pointy end so the squash will sit upright for presentation.
- Spread 1 Tsp of olive oil in the cavity of each squash half and sprinkle lightly with kosher or sea salt. Place the prepared squash halves, cut side down on the sheet pan and roast until tender – about 30-35 minutes. The point of a paring knife should slide easily through the flesh.
- While the squash roasts heat 1 1/2 Tbs of olive oil in a medium pot over medium heat. Add the sliced shallots and stir for a minute or two until they begin to soften. Add the mushrooms which should be chopped about the size of the garbanzo beans. Season with salt and cook, stirring occasionally for 5-6 minutes or until the mushrooms are soft and reduced a bit. They will give off some of their moisture and as that liquid evaporates it will concentrate the mushroom flavor.
- Stir in the curry powder and orange zest. Add the stock or water to the pot along with the quinoa. Increase the heat to high and bring the stock to a boil. Reduce the heat, cover the pot and simmer until all the liquid is absorbed and the quinoa is fully cooked and tender, about 15-20 minutes.
- About 5 minutes before the quinoa is done and there is still some liquid in the pot, add the garbanzo beans to warm through. When the quinoa is cooked and all the liquid is absorbed, remove the pot from the heat and stir in the mint and pepitas (pumpkin seeds). Check for seasoning and adjust accordingly.
- When the squashes are cooked and tender, place one half on each plate, cut side up, fill the "bowl" with the quinoa mixture and serve. Garnish with a mint sprig and a drizzle of olive oil.
Notes
