Bread, Bread and More Bread!

I love bread. Hands down, I love baking fresh bread and go through all the waiting and anticipation in the preparations, proofing, kneading, shaping and baking. I love it.
I made Kobacha bread, made of kobacha squash which gave it a golden yellow color.
I made cheesy jalapeno bread, so fluffy and savoury that it's deliciousness should be a sin ahaha!
And...I made a sun-dried tomato foccacia....
And...plain potato bread in rustic loaf form.
Yum, yum, yum!

Autumn Pot Pie

I love pie, either desert or savory, I love them all! I came across a pot pie that used squash as a filling and since I love squash and I love pie, I decided to try it with my own revision of the recipe.
My fillings for the autumn pot pie had kabocha squash, carrots, potatoes, leek, celery and some spices such as nutmeg, cloves and coriander powder. All were simmered with some water in a pot to make something like a stew, then seasoned with salt and pepper.
Of course, you can add whatever you want as the filling but that was what I had and wanted in the pie.
I doubled a basic pie crust recipe, which made approximately 10 pies with some dough left over. I divided the crust into aluminum pot pie pans, filled them up with the filling, covered with a vented pie top and brushed with milk (you can brush with egg white to give it a better shine).
Yum, yum, yum, I'm going to make these again!

Spaghetti Squash, Anyone?

Earlier oday I wanted to have a light dish for supper but with an Italian twist. Whilst accompanying my mom in her grocery shopping, I came across...the spaghetti squash. Hallelujah, I found my craving solution! I've seen on countless cooking shows and read several recipes on how to prepare this type of stringy noodle squash and so I decided to go ahead and try it out; there is always a first for everything.
It was fairly simple, preheat oven to 375 F; slice squash in half and remove pits and seeds; brush with olive oil on skin side and flesh side (I also did some pre-seasoning with salt and pepper); place squash halves skin side up and bake for 45-60 minutes until tender. After cooking, leave to cool down a bit and using a fork, gently pull the strands of squash away to form "spaghetti noodles". And what better way to eat spaghetti than with some creamy tomato sauce, spiked with a little brandy and studded with juicy button mushroom chunks-YUM!
I topped everything up with shredded Gruyere cheese, which is very strong and savory, giving the dish that extra "kick" in flavor. I can definitely go on a spaghetti squash diet if I want to, it's simply delicious!

Kabocha and Gingko Soup

A healthy and filling soup!!

I actually made this a, I think, a couple weeks ago and I completely forgot to post it >.< I'm sorry!!
Anyway, this is a soup made from chunks of kabocha squash and ginkgo nuts. I guess you can categorize it as a health soup, since kabocha and ginkgo nuts are believed to improve memory and intelligence. Ginkgo nuts are also believed to have aphrodisiac properties. This is a hearty soup that is great for those cold days in winter but you can make it anytime, since kabocha squash is available all year round basically.

Kabocha Squash

 Kabocha and Ginkgo Soup

4 cups water or vegetable stock
1 small or medium sized kabocha squash
1 1/2 cup ginkgo nuts, removed of shell
salt and pepper for taste

Bring water to a boil in a pot with 1 tsp salt.
Roughly peel kabocha squash. Cut in half, remove seeds and cut into chunks and rinse under cold water.
Rinse ginkgo under cold water.

Once water boils, add in squash and stir. Cook over medium-high heat until squash is tender or when a fork can easily poke through. Add in ginkgo seeds and simmer for 10 minutes (add in more water if needed). If you like your squash to be thick, then simmer longer so that the squash can break down. Season to taste.

Serve nice and hot.

Tip: If you like your soup to be creamy, add 1/2 cup half and half cream with the ginkgo seeds.

Note: Please be cautious when using ginkgo nuts because it may cause allergic reactions. See your physician if you wind up getting headaches since ginkgo nuts is a natural health product.

Ginkgo seeds, unshelled