Sunday Funday of Cooking, Meal 3: Vegan Butternut Squash Casserole Bake

After the Durham Art Walk, we were feeling pretty lazy and thought about just picking up Chipotle. But... we had all those vegetables from the farmers market and knew they were going to go bad over the week we were in Pittsburgh. This rather large endeavor resulted instead... we decided to use the butternut squash, huge white radish, asparagus, rosemary, jalapenos, and green peppers that we purchased from the farmers market. I had read that hummus can create a "creamy cheesy" texture in a casserole which is often missing in a vegan casserole. Also the combination of nutritional yeast and flax seed (yay for vegan omega-3!) can create a yummy crunchy texture. I decided to use quinoa as the base grain, rather than pasta or rice, for the the "nutty" flavor and the added nutritional value (its protein content is very high (12%–18%), making it a healthy choice for vegetarians and vegans. Unlike wheat or rice (which are low in lysine), quinoa contains a balanced set of essential amino acids for humans, making it an unusually complete protein source. It is a good source of dietary fiber and phosphorus and is high in magnesium and iron. Quinoa is gluten-free and considered easy to digest).
So this was a creative, ridiculously healthy, Ruchi-made combination that turned out surprisingly awesome!

Ingredients/Supplies

Large casserole dish and rice cooker
1 medium butternut squash, peeled and cut in 1/2 inch pieces (this is hard, and here is a video that explains how to cut it)
1 bunch of asparagus, chopped into 2 inch long pieces and with the white ends discarded
1 large white radish, peeled and shredded (this was easy with Eric's food processor!)
Green leafy top of radish, chopped into 1/2 inch pieces
1 green bell pepper, sliced and chopped into 1/2 inch pieces
2 cups hummus (I used Costco purchased sun dried tomato hummus, but super garlicy hummus would be awesome here)
3 jalapenos, finely chopped
handful of basil (about 10 leaves), finely chopped
1 sprig of rosemary
1 cup dry quinoa
1 cup vegetable broth
7 Tbsp nutritional yeast
7 Tbsp flax seed powder
7 Tbsp bread crumbs (I used Panko bread crumbs from Trader Joe)
2 tsp minced garlic
1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1 tsp oregano (or Italian seasoning mix that has oregano in it, which we got from Penzeys)
1 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp granulated garlic powder
2 tsp salt

Preparation
-Preheat oven to 400 F
-Cook 1 cup dry quinoa in a rice cooker with 3 cups of water and a 1/4 tsp salt (it will come out a little watery, but that's OK because it will be further baked later)
-Mix together nutritional yeast, bread crumbs, and flax seed powder in a small bowl and set aside.
-Place chopped vegetables in a large bowl, add vegetable broth, and toss/mix vegetables together.
-Spread a thin layer of olive oil on the casserole dish bottom and its walls
-Spread half of the cooked quinoa as a layer on the bottom of the dish
-Spread half of the vegetables and broth over the quinoa layer, make sure the vegetables are evenly and equally spread in this large layer
-Sprinkle evenly over vegetable layer: 1/4 tsp granulated garlic powder, 1 tsp of minced garlic, 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes, 1/2 tsp oregano, 1/2 tsp black pepper, 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp minced garlic, 1/2 the rosemary you removed from the sprig, 1/2 of your chopped jalapeno, 1/2 of your chopped basil.
-Spread a layer of hummus. Its not possible to actually spread an even layer, so use a 1/4 tsp measuring spoon to take small amounts of 1 cup of hummus and spoon it in an evenly spaced pattern over the spiced vegetables.
-Sprinkle half of your nutritional yeast, bread crumbs, and flax seed powder mixture over the hummus layer.
-Spread the rest of the cooked quinoa as a layer over the mixture
-Spread the rest of the vegetables and broth over the quinoa layer, make sure the vegetables are evenly and equally spread in this large layer
-Sprinkle evenly over vegetable layer: 1/4 tsp granulated garlic powder, 1 tsp of minced garlic, 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes, 1/2 tsp oregano, 1/2 tsp black pepper, 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp minced garlic, 1/2 the rosemary you removed from the sprig, 1/2 of your chopped jalapeno, 1/2 of your chopped basil.
-Spread a layer of hummus. Its not possible to actually spread an even layer, so use a 1/4 tsp measuring spoon to take small amounts of 1 cup of hummus and spoon it in an evenly spaced pattern over the spiced vegetables.
-Sprinkle the rest of your nutritional yeast, bread crumbs, and flax seed powder mixture over the hummus layer.
-Bake for 20 minutes, then remove from oven and flatten the casserole with the back of a spatula, squishing the top layer of vegetables into the juicy/melty looking inside of the casserole. Bake for another 10 minutes.
-Remove from oven and let it cool for at least 5 minutes before serving!

Sunday Funday of Cooking, Meal 2: Easy Indian Style Vegetables with Couscous

After recovering from vegan four grain blueberry pancake food coma, and doing some much-needed clean up. We decided to visit the Durham Art Walk. We didn't want to be interrupted on our art walk with requirements to stop for lunch, so I whipped up a quick, yummy lunch!

Ingredients

1 cup of couscous (we got ours from the bulk food section of Whole Foods)
1 cup water
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 cup of frozen chopped spinach
1 cup frozen edamame
2 medium potatoes, peeled and chopped into 1/2 inch pieces
1 cup salsa
1 tsp cumin seeds
2 tsp garam masala
1/2 tsp turmeric
2 chili peppers, finely chopped
1 tsp salt (more or less to taste)

Preparation
-Add 1/4 tsp olive oil and a dash of salt to 1 cup of water in a saucepan, and bring to a boil.
-In the mean time, put peeled/chopped potatoes in a large microwave safe bowl and submerge with water. Cook in microwave on high for 3 minutes. Drain water and set bowl of potatoes aside.
-When saucepan water starts boiling, take off the heat and add one cup of dry couscous to saucepan, mixing well. Set aside.
-Warm 1 Tbsp olive oil over medium heat in a large pan and add cumin seeds. When cumin seeds start to brown and sizzle, add garam masala to oil. Watch and make sure the mixture does not burn.
-Once the oil/cumin/garam masala is sizzling together and paste-like, remove from heat and add salsa, chili pepper, turmeric, salt (remove from heat so that it cools down a bit before adding the salsa, otherwise it tends to spit the hot oil at you!) Mix well to make a brown sauce.
-Place the pan back on the heat and add spinach, edamame, and potatoes to the sauce and mix well, coating all vegetables with the sauce.
-Cover and cook on low heat for 10 minutes.
-Serve vegetables over couscous and enjoy!

Sunday-Funday of Cooking, Meal 1: Vegan Four Grain Blueberry Pancakes

Sunday involved serious cooking for every meal of the day... utilization of all those Saturday farmer's market vegetables, since we realized that we're going to Pittsburgh on Tuesday for a week and everything will go bad. We started the day with pancakes! I hadn't had pancakes in a reallllly long time; when going out for brunch, I tend to lean towards savory rather than sweet breakfasty dishes (like Veggie Tofu Breakfast Burrito at Quiet Storm, YUM). This Vegan Four Grain Blueberry Pancakes recipe is delicious and healthy, its adapted from the Holy Cow! Vegan Recipes blog.

Ingredients

1 cup whole wheat flour
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup stone-ground cornmeal
1/4 cup quick-cooking rolled oats (I used Quaker quick oats)
2 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon, ground
1/4 tsp nutmeg, ground
1 1/2 cups soy milk (feel free to substitute with almond milk)
1/2 tsp vinegar
4 tbsp olive oil
1/4 cup honey
6 tbsp flax powder whisked together with 6 tbsp water
1 cup frozen blueberries, cooked in microwave

Preparation

-Mix dry ingredients in a large bowl: whole wheat flour, all-purpose flour, stone-ground cornmeal, quick oats, baking powder, baking soda, salt, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg
-Whisk flax seed powder with water in a separate bowl
-Warm blueberries in microwave for 45 seconds or until juicy.
-Add and mix in the rest of the wet ingredients to the flax seed mixture: blueberries, soy milk, vinegar, olive oil, honey.
-Pour wet mixture into dry mixture bowl. Mix quickly and in as few strokes as possible, until the dry ingredients are just moistened. The batter should be lumpy and not smooth. Overmixing the batter promotes the formation of gluten which would make the pancakes heavy and chewy as opposed to light and fluffy. The batter will be very thick but spreadable.
-On a hot griddle or frying pan over medium heat, spread a thin film of olive oil.
-Spoon about 1/3 cup of batter into the center of the griddle and shape the batter into a circle with a wooden spoon. This can be hard because the batter is very thick and doughy.
-Wait until the sides start looking a little dry, then lift the edge carefully and check if the underside is golden-brown, if so then flip the pancake.
-Press the pancake with a flat spatula so that it sizzles, allowing any uncooked batter to squeeze out and cook as well.
-When both sides are golden brown (with shades of blue berry!), remove from griddle/pan and repeat with more batter.
-Enjoy the pancake by itself, or with your favorite spread, maple syrup, more blueberries...

Wine and Cheez Pizza Party: Vegan Veggie "Feta Cheez" Pizza

On Saturday morning, we went to the Durham farmers market and purchased lots of goodies: butternut squash, big bunch of mustard greens and collard greens, bell peppers, rosemary, fresh jalapenos, fresh Serrano peppers, and a huge white radish. All for $10 - yay! After the extremely disappointing Michigan/Ohio State football game, we decided to try and cheer up with a wine and "cheez" pizza party and starting to watch The Wire season 1 (thank you Netflix). We used pre-made whole wheat pizza crust (although I want to try to make pizza dough sometime soon), and didn't end up using too many of the farmer's market supplies for the pizza (we saved that for Sunday)-- but the pizza turned out great! Which is awesome, because I had been craving ann arbor in-and-out pizza while trying to console myself after the awful Michigan game!

Ingredients
Pre-made pizza dough (Trader Joe's has a good one!)
2 cups of marinara sauce (we used Whole Foods 365 Tomato Basil sauce)
1 cup Tofu-Basil Cheez
1 Tbsp olive oil
3 tsp minced garlic
1 cup chopped spinach
1 bell pepper, cut in 1 inch thin slices
1 cup broccoli
1 jalapeno, quartered and chopped
1/2 cup chopped basil
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp oregano
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes (or more to taste)
1/2 tsp salt (or more to taste)

Preparation
-Saute Vegetables (spinach, bell pepper, and broccoli) in olive oil with garlic and spices (black pepper, red pepper flakes, oregano, salt)
-Prepare Tofu Basil Cheez
-Preheat oven to 350 F
-Spread marina sauce over premade crust
-Spoon Tofu Basil Cheez onto crust and flatten with back of spoon, think feta rather than melty mozzarella.
-Sprinkle chopped basil and jalapeno over crust
-Spoon sauteed vegetables over crust
-Bake in oven for 8-10 minutes, directly on oven rack for a crispier crust

Clarification

Just to clarify...I'm not moving to North Carolina! I'm just going to campus for orientation and workshops. It's an online Exec. MHA program...which means I only have to spend a limited amount of time on campus. I needed a program with flexibility b/c I don't know where in the world I'm gonna end up finding a job.

North Carolina

Orientation and classes at UNC begin in Decemeber. Believe it or not, I'm excited to go back to school! Maybe b/c this time I'll actually be enjoying what I'm learning. I'm staying with Ruchi and Ralph for an entire week...I'm convinced Ruchi and I have become bff's since we've seen each other so much over the span of 2-3 months. She's also going to be my statistics/programming/excel/data mining tutor. Here's my orientation schedule if anyone is interested or wants to come visit us in NC!


New student Orientation:
Sunday, December 6, 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Monday, December 7, 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.

Workshops:

Tuesday, December 8, 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Wednesday, December 9, 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Thursday, December 10, 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.

Begin Spring Classes:
Friday, December 11, 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Saturday, December 12, 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.

Vegan Apple Pecan Bread Pudding

I made this bread pudding dessert for our dinner party last night. Served hot from the oven and was delicious with vanilla ice cream!

Ingredients/Supplies
8x4x2 bread pan
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup honey
1 medium apple, skinned and coarsely grated
1 medium apple, skinned and chopped into 1/4 inch cubes
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon alspice
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1 mashed banana
1/2 cup soymilk
1 cup crumbled pecans

Preparation
-Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
-Combine wet ingredients in a bowl: oil, honey, soymilk, mashed bannana, grated apple
-Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl: flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, nutmeg, cinnamon, alspice
-Pour wet mixture into dry mixture bowl and whisk together well
-Fold in crumbled pecans and chopped apple
-Pour batter into pan, about 3/4 full (you don't want it to overflow in the oven!)
-Bake for about 30 minutes, or until the edges are dark brown. The middle will still look uncooked. Pull the pan out of the oven and let it cool a bit. Spoon out the bready edges and the mushy middle into a bowl and mix together. Tastes great with Vanilla ice cream or Vanilla soy cream.

Ricotta "Cheez" and Vegetable Lasagna Dinner Party

We had our friends Dan and Caroline over for dinner to celebrate their wedding (which we missed in September). I tried a new veggie lasagna recipe using tofu-basil Ricotta "Cheez", which we had with a delicious fresh baguette from Whole Foods. I also made apple pecan bread pudding for dessert, which everyone, but me, had with vanilla ice cream. Every one thought that the ricotta "cheez" was real cheese, when it was actually a tofu-based creation that I had been wanting to try from post punk kitchen! So, everyone got an extra dose of protein with lots of vegetables in their very healthy lasagna! We had a great time, minus the surprise dog fight over attention under the dinner table (Bailor , Eric's dog, is definitely the alpha dog over Troy Puppymalu... and/or she was PMSing).

Ingredients/Supplies
Tofu Basil Ricotta "Cheez"
Casserole pan
2 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 onion, finely chopped
1 zucchini, chopped into approximately 1 inch cubes
2 yellow squash, chopped into approximately 1 inch cubes
1 green bell pepper, sliced into approximately 1 inch pieces
1/2 package of chopped frozen spinach
1 bottle of marinara sauce (I got the $1.79 Tomato-Basil sauce from Whole Foods 365, yay cheap!)
1 package of no boil whole wheat lasagna noodles
3 Tbsp minced garlic
1/2 cup chopped fresh basil
1/2 tsp oregano (or more to taste)
1 Tbsp red pepper flakes (or more to taste, more for me because I love spicy food!)
1 Tbsp fresh black pepper (or more to taste)
1 tsp salt (or more to taste)

Preparation:
-Prepare Tofu Basil Ricotta "Cheez" and set aside
-Preheat oven to 400 deg. F
-Warm olive oil and saute onion until slightly brown (about 5 minutes)
-Turn down heat on stove and add garlic (make sure the garlic doesn't burn)
-Add vegetables: zucchini, squash, pepper, spinach
-Mix well and add spices and herbs: basil, oregano, red pepper flakes, black peppers, salt.
-Cover vegetables on low heat. Taste a vegetable, if they are flavored well then add to a lasagna. If not, add more spices until it tastes good to you :-)
-Assemble the lasagna: add a layer of sauce to bottom of the casserole pan, single layer of lasagna noodles, spoon on tofu-basil ricotta cheez, spoon vegetables over the cheez, then another layer of lasagna noodles, another layer of sauce on top of the lasagna noodles, another layer of tofu-basil ricotta cheez, then vegetables... repeat until all the tofu-basil ricotta cheez and vegetables are gone. Finish with a layer of lasagna noodles and sauce on top of the noodles.
-Cover lasagna with foil and bake for 45 minutes. I ended up uncovering the casserole dish and letting it bake for another 5-10 minutes so that the top was harder and not slippery.

Tofu Basil Ricotta "Cheez"

I used this recipe from post punk kitchen to make "cheez" for veggie lasagna last night. I used the back of a fork instead of my hands and probably used more garlic because I lubba garlic.
It's a healthy alternative to a lot of dishes that use ricotta cheese, like a filling for stuffed shells, mixed with tomato sauce in pasta, or as a topping for pizza. No one knew it was tofu until I told them!

Ingredients
1 package of extra firm tofu
2 tsp lemon juice
2 tsp olive oil
3 tsp minced garlic
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup nutritional yeast flakes (I got this from the bulk foods aisle at Whole Foods)
handful fresh basil leaves, chopped fine (ten leaves or so)
1 tsp fresh black pepper

Preparation
-Cut the block of tofu into thin slices and mash each slice with the back of a fork.
-In a large bowl, mix together mashed-sliced tofu, till it's crumbly.
-Add lemon juice, garlic, salt and pepper and basil. Mix/mash together again with the back of a fork on the sides of the bowl, until it reaches the consistency of ricotta cheese. May take 2-5 minutes.
-Add olive oil, stir with fork.
-Add nutritional yeast and combine all ingredients well.
-Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.

Nice

I can't wait to try out all these new recipes! Oh yeah, I went to the Vitamin Shopped today and bought some D3 supplements. You guys got me paranoid about Vitamin D deficiency. And I'm pretty sure I have it cause I've been living like a vampire lately. I barely leave my dark, comfy room and I like keeping the blinds shut even during the daytime :)

And yes, we do need to plan a Vitamin D trip to the beach. Where can we go besides Miami (been there done that a ridiculous number of times. Maybe the Florida Keys?

Fall Fun and Vegan Pumpkin Apple Pecan Bread and Muffins

I was inspired by Frugal Fun to re-use our jack-o-lanterns to the fullest extent. You know I love those three Rs -- Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. I harvested the pumpkins one day after carving them to get awesome, fresh pumpkin puree and roasted pumpkin seeds. This recipe was adapted from the Post Punk Kitchen, which is an awesome resource for vegan cooking and baking. I used apples because they were laying around and no refined sugar (just honey) for sweetening. I ended up giving this bread to one of my best friends from high school, Chee, when I visited her in D.C. on the day that she found out that she passed the Maryland bar exam! I made a lot of other pumpkin based baked goods, including scones, muffins (see below), and cookies.

Ingredients/Supplies:
-8 ½ x 4 ½ loaf pan (or larger)
-3 cups Fresh Pumpkin Puree or pumpkin puree from a can
-1 cup pecans, crumbled
-4 or 5 whole pecans for decoration
-2 cups of whole wheat flour
-2 tsp baking powder
-1 tsp baking soda
-1 tsp ground cinnamon
-1/2 tsp ground ginger
-1/2 tsp ground allspice
-1 cup of honey
-1 tablespoon canola oil
-1 tsp vanilla extract
-1 cup apple sauce
-2 apples, chopped into small ½ inch cubes

Bread Preparation:
-Preheat oven to 350
-Spread a thin layer of canola oil onto inside surface of pan to prevent sticking, or mist pan with nonstick cooking spray
-In a large mixing bowl, sift together dry ingredients: whole wheat flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, allspice.
-Combine wet ingredients in a mixing bowl: pumpkin puree, honey, canola oil, vanilla extract, apple sauce. Whisk well.
-Pour the wet into dry ingredients until everything is evenly moistened. Batter will be stiff.
-Fold in chopped apples and crumbled pecans.
-Spoon batter into loaf pan, distribute evenly along length of the pan. Fill pan no more than ¾ full (otherwise the bread will spill over into the oven, as I learned the hard way). If you have extra batter, see below for muffins!
-Place whole pecans to the top of batter in the pan for decoration.
-Bake for 50 minutes to an hour, or until a knife comes out clean when you pierce the bread.
-Remove bread from oven and let it cool before slicing. Wrap in plastic wrap and it should keep for about a week for you to enjoy!

Muffin Preparation:
I had some extra batter left over, since you don’t want to fill the bread pan up the whole way but only ¾ full. So I put the rest of the batter in a muffin pan and placed a whole pecan on the top of each.
-Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean when you pierce the muffin.

I baked mine for too long, and the outside was a little hard. So keep an eye on them. Otherwise, they were really delicious and a kind of healthy snack or breakfast during the wonderful season of Fall Fun!

Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

Another delicious snack from that harvested jack-o-lantern, why throw it away when there are so many yummy options for it! Ralph's roomate, Eric, and his girlfriend, Dwiju, had the great idea of roasting the pumpkin seeds. I suggested spicing them with cayenne pepper (so that my dead, burned taste buds could still taste it!)... they turned out great. Enjoy...

Ingredients/Supplies:
-Pumpkin seeds, from a fresh pumpkin (possibly before the pumpkin puree), that have been washed so that they aren’t so slimy anymore.
-Baking pan
-Olive Oil
-Salt, Sugar, Cayenne Pepper, Cinnamon (optional or spiced as you like)

Preparation:
-Preheat oven to 400 F.
-Spread about a tablespoon of olive oil over the bottom of the pan
-Spread the cleaned seeds over the pan, all in one layer
-Sprinkle Salt to taste, or Sugar to taste over the layer of seeds
-Sprinkle Cayenne Pepper to taste over the layer of seeds
-Experiment with different spices – Cinnamon over the Sugar sounds great!

Fresh Pumpkin Puree

I had a few weeks of pumpkin fun after harvesting our Jack-O-Lanterns -- muffins, breads, cookies, soup, scones... yay!


Ingredients/Supplies:
- Fresh Pumpkin- as many as will fit, I used two small ones! If you are reusing a jack-o-lantern, try to use it within 3 days of carving the pumpkin.
- Casserole or oven-safe container

Preparation:
-Preheat oven to 350 F.
-If you’re not harvesting a jack-o-lantern, cut top from pumpkin and scrape out stringy pulp and seeds (you can save the seeds for Roasted Pumpkin Seeds).
-Cut the pumpkin into large pieces and place in casserole dish with a little water
-Bake for 40-50 minutes, or until the pumpkin is mushy enough to scoop out with a spoon.
-Scoop pumpkin into a food processor or blender and blend until pureed.
-Keep in the fridge and use for delicious baked goods or soups!

Insomnia and Stuff

I love this blog. It's like a Ninja diary :) So I'm at Ronitar's apt laying down on her couch. Can't fall asleep for the life of me and its 5:40 frikkin A.M. I had 2 cups of coffee at 5pm...so that might be why! So now is a good time to write my first blog entry :) Today I went on my first Match.com date with a really cute lawyer who happens to love Indian food. He knows how to cook too....how awesome is that. We met for coffee and had really good conversation. No akward moments or talking about weather. But it's kinda weird that he looks like Ryan from college. Yeah Ryyyyyyyyaaan. Minus the curly hair and retardedness. We planned our next date and he's cooking dinner for me Tuesday night....yeahhhh.

Job search is finally picking up. Had a phone interview for a Medicare Analyst position in DC a couple of days ago, and I have another phone interview with another company in DC next week. Have an in person interview with BCBS at their Chicago headquarters on Wednesday. This I want! It's for a Senior Network Management postion...how great would that be. Even if I don't land any of these jobs, I'm just happy I got noticed by some great companies and that I'm getting closer. To be continued....

Curried Butternut Squash Gratin

This is a Giada recipe taken to another level - a curried level! I find that many of the recipes on foodnetwork do not cater towards the eastern palette. Butternut squash can be fairly bland without a good amount of spices. I also thought her recipe was overcomplicated, so below is a simplified version. Trader Joe's has all of these ingredients and their basil pesto is in a jar and very delicious.

Curried Butternut Squash Gratin
Serves 4
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes

1 package of chopped and peeled butternut squash
2 tbsp of powdered garam masala
1 jar of basil pesto
1 cup (12 oz) of shredded parmesan cheese
1/4 tbsp of butter, cut into small peices
Salt
Fresh ground black pepper

- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
(1) Boil the butternut squash in a large pot for approximately 15 minutes. Make sure the butternut squash is fork-tender before removing from the boiling water.
(2) Place the butternut squash into large mixing bowl. Add garam masala, salt and pepper to taste. Use a fork to mash the squash and spices together. It should have the consistency of mashed potatoes.
(3) Butter an 8-inch baking dish. Add half of the butternut squash mixture to the bottom of the dish. Add half of the jar of pesto on top of the squash in the baking dish. Add half of the parmesan cheese on top of the pesto.
(4) Repeat the layers, so that you end with a layer of parmesan cheese on top. Add the butter pieces along the top of the cheese. It will melt in the oven and create a nice crispy top layer.
(5) Bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes, until golden brown.
Enjoy!!

Welcome to our blog

We were great friends in college, and on one fateful, crazy Halloween night became the NinjaStars. Now, almost ten years later, many of us find ourselves with time off from work... unemployed with advanced degrees and either with a lot of time on our hands or our hands full taking care of little ones.

Here, we plan to contribute recipes and stories to keep in touch and hope that we can become famous and go on Oprah and the Today show to tell our stories :-)

Enjoy our Blog!
Love--NinjaStars