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sugar in the gourd
May. 27th, 2004 05:01 pmI don't usually like sweet flavors with savory, but I really wanted it this week. Going home Monday, someone on the bus was playing music way too loud for his headphones. (I don't think of "Turkey in the Straw" as fitting very well with either the MBTA or with a Joan Aiken reread, but it wasn't that bad.) I got off the bus remembering I had most of a pint of maple syrup at home, and an acorn squash, but needed something at least marginally more nutritious to justify calling squash a main course. Cottage cheese. Granny smith apples. Onions? There must be onions at home, behind the beets and carrots. I also got some chicken parts, and a bottle of pomegranete juice.
Monday, I baked the whole squash for 45 minutes, until I could cut it easily. (I can't cut a raw winter squash open by myself. Cooked, it turns out to be easy. Of course, I figured this out at the end of May.) I diced a large onion and a small apple and sauteed them in butter, then mixed them with a cup of cottage cheese, a handful of crushed walnuts, and a splash of maple syrup. This was way too much filling for one squash, so I ate nearly half of it. Then I baked the filled squash-halves for about 20 minutes, until the cheese was melty and the squash was uniformly soft. At that point, I realized I didn't want dinner anymore. This made 2 good lunches, reheated in the microwave at work, though the squash was overcooked. I think a little ginger or cinnamon would be nice, too.
I discovered pomagranate juice a few months ago, on a cooking+B5 afternoon with jss1113. We agreed that it made a good sauce for chicken, but was too intense to drink straight. I've been diluting it with seltzer. It's sharper than redpop, much more interesting.
I didn't feel like making or eating dinner Tuesday. I wouldn't have felt much like it Wednesday, but I wanted to do something with the good chicken before it went bad, and I was still feeling in a mood for sweet stuff. If I had time and energy, I'd have sauteed onions and chicken pieces, then deglazed the pan with the pom. juice and poured it over the onion+chicken+ginger before baking until the chicken was done. But that was too hand intensive. I just made a bed of sliced onions and slivered ginger in a baking dish, with the chicken pieces on top, and poured half a cup of pom. juice over everything. I baked it uncovered for an hour, basting frequently, to get the fruit and onion and ginger flavors combined and boiled down and coating the meat. It tasted good, but I don't think the texture was quite as nice as a proper sautee. Maybe part of that was reheating. The color of chicken and (formerly) yellow onion cooked in pomagranate juice is startling. I refrained from having beets with this. Carrots with ginger.
Monday, I baked the whole squash for 45 minutes, until I could cut it easily. (I can't cut a raw winter squash open by myself. Cooked, it turns out to be easy. Of course, I figured this out at the end of May.) I diced a large onion and a small apple and sauteed them in butter, then mixed them with a cup of cottage cheese, a handful of crushed walnuts, and a splash of maple syrup. This was way too much filling for one squash, so I ate nearly half of it. Then I baked the filled squash-halves for about 20 minutes, until the cheese was melty and the squash was uniformly soft. At that point, I realized I didn't want dinner anymore. This made 2 good lunches, reheated in the microwave at work, though the squash was overcooked. I think a little ginger or cinnamon would be nice, too.
I discovered pomagranate juice a few months ago, on a cooking+B5 afternoon with jss1113. We agreed that it made a good sauce for chicken, but was too intense to drink straight. I've been diluting it with seltzer. It's sharper than redpop, much more interesting.
I didn't feel like making or eating dinner Tuesday. I wouldn't have felt much like it Wednesday, but I wanted to do something with the good chicken before it went bad, and I was still feeling in a mood for sweet stuff. If I had time and energy, I'd have sauteed onions and chicken pieces, then deglazed the pan with the pom. juice and poured it over the onion+chicken+ginger before baking until the chicken was done. But that was too hand intensive. I just made a bed of sliced onions and slivered ginger in a baking dish, with the chicken pieces on top, and poured half a cup of pom. juice over everything. I baked it uncovered for an hour, basting frequently, to get the fruit and onion and ginger flavors combined and boiled down and coating the meat. It tasted good, but I don't think the texture was quite as nice as a proper sautee. Maybe part of that was reheating. The color of chicken and (formerly) yellow onion cooked in pomagranate juice is startling. I refrained from having beets with this. Carrots with ginger.
