Stuffed Acorn Squash (and a soap box)

I was just pondering "Health Food." Since it keeps you healthy, it's a good term. However, maybe we should call it "Real Food" or "Pure Food." I guess sometimes it's just "Lightly Processed Food" as opposed to the conventional "Highly Processed Food."

With how many dishes I have to clean in order to eat my "Real Food," I totally understand people eating out or purchasing lightly to highly processed foods. Really, though, if you're going to go to the trouble of cooking, buy Pure, Organic, Health Food. It really does nurture your body, your family, and your Earth.

I made this the other day. It took a long time to prepare and the clean-up was a pain, but the food was pure and delicious.

Recipe:

1 acorn squash, sliced in half

1 1/2 cups Quinoa

1 T olive oil

1 yellow onion, chopped

1 package of Tempeh, crumbled (or ground turkey if you prefer)

5 mushrooms, chopped

2 large carrots, chopped

1-2 cups of broccoli heads, but to bite size pieces

1 T dried Sage

1 T dried Thyme

1 T garlic

salt to taste

1 cup walnuts, chopped

1 cup dried cranberries

4 oz feta, crumbled or chopped

First, preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place both sides of acorn squash face down in baking dish with about 1/4 inch of water. Tent with tin foil and bake for about 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a med-sized pot cook the Quinoa in 3 cups of boiling water for about 15-20 min.

Then in a large skillet, heat oil over med-high heat. Add onions and cook for about 6 min, stirring occasionally. Then stir in Tempeh and mushrooms and cook for about 5 min. Then add the carrots, broccoli, sage, thyme, garlic and salt, stirring occasionally for about 2 min. You can add about 1/4 cup of water and place a lid on the pot to steam the broccoli for a few min if your veggies don't look over cooked.

Remove from heat and stir in walnuts, cranberries, feta, and Quinoa. Set aside.

Remove squash from the oven and turn over, testing the flesh with a fork to see if there almost completely cooked. When your squash is nearing completion of being cooked, stuff some of your mixture in the squash cavity. Then place the rest of the mixture in a separate baking dish. Bake both stuffed squash and mixture for about 15 min. Serve immediately and enjoy!

Whoa, I cannot believe how delicious and time consuming this dish was. But we're still enjoying the hearty left-overs.