Simmered Kabocha Pumpkin Squash

Kabocha was surprisingly on sale at the supermarket this week. Kabocha is a Japanese pumpkin or squash that has a firm, dense texture and sweet flavor. It is a common side dish to bento boxes and appetizers. I've even seen it used in desserts.

I tried to replicate the Japanese side dish a few times with butternut or calabeza squash, but they're both too watery and fine for the dish to work. Kabocha is so dense that it holds its texture super well.

I modified today's recipe from Lunch in a Box, who makes lots of really adorable bentos! I didn't have mirin or dashi on hand, but felt I could do without with a little genius. My kabocha came out super tasty.

Simmered Kabocha Pumpkin 
Makes 6 side dish servings

1 kabocha squash (about 2 lbs)
2 tablespoons brown sugar
3 cardamom pods
1 large pinch red chile flakes
2 tablespoons light soy sauce
2 squares konbu (seaweed) totaling 6 square inches
3 coins ginger
2 cups water

1. Wash the kabocha, scrubbing lightly. The skin is edible, so it needs to be nice and dirt free.
2. Take a sharp vegetable peeler and cut stripes of the skin off of the kabocha. By making sure each piece has a little flesh exposed on the bottom, we boost the flavor!
3. Using a large, heavy knife, like a cleaver or chef's knife, carefully cut the kabocha in half. This is a little more difficult than cutting a watermelon open - it will have a good amount of resistance, so be patient and CAREFUL.
4. Scoop out the seeds and the stringy bits. Discard.
5. Cut the kabocha into 1-2 inch cubes. Try to be uniform!
6. In a large bowl, pour in a cup and a half of water, the soy sauce, and all the spices and seaweed. Mix gently. 
7. We need to cook the kabocha in a single layer. In a deep frying pan or pot, arrange the kabocha, skin side down in a single layer. I ran out of space and put some on top, but it meant I really had to make two batches.
8. Pour the sugar/soy/water mix over the kabocha. Place over high heat. Cover with a pot lid that is smaller than the diameter of the frying pan, so that the lid pushes down on the squash and allows steam to escape from the sides (AKA a drop lid)
9. When the liquid is at a roiling simmer, turn the heat down to a slow simmer. Cook for 20 minutes or until a fork goes easily through the squash. 
10. You may have to remove some squash and rotate around the not as well cooked pieces.
11. Drain the remaining liquid and reserve (would be tasty if you turn the leftovers into mashed sweet kabocha!). Allow kabocha to cool.
12. Om nom nom.

Zucchini "Pasta"

Zucchini is a really versatile vegetable. I love its texture and its light sweetness and you can use it for practically anything. I've incorporated zucchini into stir fry, crudités (as in raw), tempura fried, as stuffing for peppers, and its often used in baking. The zucchini fruit is low in calories (approximately 15 food calories per 100 g fresh zucchini) and contains useful amounts of folate, potassium, manganese, and vitamin A. 


Zucchini pasta actually does not include ANY pasta. Instead, the zucchini is julienned into thin strips and cooked quickly so that the zucchini obtains the flexibility and texture of spaghetti. Technically, this is a more difficult dish - especially if you don't have a mandolin - and will require really good knife skills. Or, you can cheat and use a vegetable peeler. Note that the recipe can easily be made gluten free by omitting the homemade croutons.

Zucchini "Pasta"
Makes 2 side dish sized portions


1 zucchini
1 tomato
1/2 red onion (or 4 inches of leek for me)
Olive oil
1 mozzarella stick
2 slices white bread
Handful walnuts

1. Prep ingredients. Mince garlic. Slice onion (leek) into thin strips. Julienne the zucchini into linguine sized strips. Dice tomatoes and a mozz stick. Dice bread (think croutons) and chop walnuts. To make the zucchini and leek uniform in size, take a vegetable peeler and make long even strokes. This way, you get even lengthwise slices, which you can slice into narrower strips on a cutting board. This works great with leeks, carrots, and other fibrous vegetable. This cannot be done with the onion, however, as they have too much water.
2. Turn saute pan to medium heat. Add a teaspoon of butter. Toast bread and walnuts until crunchy and fragrant. Sprinkle with salt and oregano.
3. Remove croutons and walnuts from pan, allow to cool on a plate lined with a paper towel. Try to avoid eating them all while cooking zucchini.
4. In same pan, add a teaspoon and a half olive oil. Saute garlic and onion/leek. 
5. Allow to cook until translucent, then add tomatos and zucchini. Cook until zucchini is soft. Immediately remove from heat and plate (the zucchini will continue to cook). Top with diced mozzarella, croutons, and walnuts.

Fruit Salad --> Fruit Parfait

I loooooooooooooove LOVE loooove summer. Not just because it warm out, or the leisurely way everyone goes about their lives. But because of the FRUIT. When you walk around parks with the farmer's markets, the fruits call to you, screaming, "EAT ME!" They tempt you as you peruse by with their scented nectar, pulling you in with their perfume. The berries, the peaches, the pineapples and melons. And they seem to get me every time.

And then Suanne has a treasure trove of fruit. In a one-person household -____-;;

Now Kelly will tell you she freezes her fruit. Suanne will tell you its a crime of nature not to eat them now. hahaha. So I make fruit salad!

My most recent fruit salad included strawberries, peaches, apple, and orange segments plus zest. Let me tell you how to segment an orange - otherwise called supremes.

You can watch chef Ming (and his always color coordinated dish towels to his shirts) supreme an orange here:


Technique: How to Supreme Citrus Fruit

1. Get a SHARP knife. This will not work with a butter knife. If you need zest, zest the fruit first.
2. Take your orange/lemon/lime/grapefruit/pomelo and slice off a bit from the top and bottom. (aka the part where the stem was). You want to cut enough so that you slice through the pith (the white squishy part) and can see the fruit.
3. Stand the fruit on the sliced edge.
4. Slice the fruit from the top, cutting with the curve of the fruit, separating the pith/skin from the fruit. This will make orange juice on your cutting board, so make sure you have a good hold on the fruit. Take your time.
5. Continue to slice all the pith and skin from the fruit so you have a globe of solid orange/lemon/whatever.
6. When you look at the fruit, you should see the longitudinal lines (vertical) that separate the segments. Cut just a smidge to the left and right of these lines and wiggle the supreme out. Now you have yummy fruit, with no pith or membranes! Isn't that faster than peeling?
7. Take the leftover membrane after you've removed all the segments, and give it a good squeeze. Reserve if you need some of the juice :)

And now for the parfait! When you have too much fruit salad, or just want to dress it up, grab some yogurt and you have a very impressive breakfast or light dessert.

Summer Fruit Parfait
Serves four large portions or six smaller ones

Two peaches
1 apple (granny smith or fuji)
1 orange
pint of strawberries
honey
plain or vanilla yogurt
sliced nuts (almonds for me)

1. Wash and dry your fruit.
2. Get rid of leaves, pits, and not so yummy parts of the fruit, like bruises
3. Zest and supreme the orange (no juice!! just the supremes and zest!)
4. Slice your fruit into 1/2 inch cubes. (the smaller the cubes, the prettier the parfait. Bigger cubes are great for just salad)
5. Toss in a big bowl!
6. Squirt a teaspoon of honey over the top, mix well. (if you just want salad stop here)
7. Grab 4 or 6 wine glasses
8. Add 3/4 an inch of fruit.
9. Add a layer of yogurt. Add a layer of fruit, yogurt, etc until you hit the top
10. Top with yogurt and the nuts.
11. Serve within 30 min. Salad is good for about 24 hours, then it gets kinda soppy.
12. ENJOY!