Goodbye Summer...Hello Fall!

When squash comes into season, I eat it pretty much every day since I love it so much!  Especially the buttercup and kabocha varieties which taste so good to me simply roasted that I scoop out the flesh and eat it plain needing no sugar or butter adornments.  This is why I was extremely excited when I saw that locally grown squash was back in the markets again!  I had to buy at least six!  And this was just for myself!  A couple days ago I was feeling rather hungry at work, and since I work in a deli looking at all the food was making it even worse...I was imagining the ways I could prepare a delicious squash when I arrived home that evening, and stuffing sounded the most appealing.  But I wanted to use up a bunch of beans, zucchini, mushrooms and carrots that I had bought earlier in the week as well.  I have never stuffed those things into a squash, since I usually do wild rice and apples with nuts, but I thought never was a better time to try it than when I was hungry!  It would be like a mixture of summer, the stuffing, and fall, the squash!  I roasted the veggies, and tossed them with a bit of balsamic and sauteed seitan for protein along with shallots and pine nuts, and it was all quite beautiful with the colorful veggies!  Of course I had tasted the filling before I stuffed the squash, and it was delicious, so I knew the stuffed squash as a whole would be amazing!  It was so good I devoured it in no time flat!  I decided that I needed to share the recipe with you, in case you would like to try the deliciousness for yourself!

Late Summer Vegetable and Seitan Stuffed Squash

Serves 2

1 large Kabocha Squash, cut in half, and seeded
olive oil, divided
sea salt
1 cup carrots, sliced very thin on the diagonal
1 cup green and wax beans, trimmed and cut into 2 inch lengths
8 crimini mushrooms, halved, or quartered if large
1 16 oz pkg chicken style seitan, cut into bite sized pieces
6 small shallots, sliced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup toasted pine nuts
1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
sea salt
freshly ground pepper
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil

Preheat the oven to 475 degrees.  Line two baking sheets with foil, and spray with non-stick spray.  Brush insides of squash with olive oil, and sprinkle with a little sea salt.  Place squash cut side down on sheet pan, and roast, until just tender, about 40 minutes.  Meanwhile, in a large bowl, toss together carrots, beans, mushrooms and 1 Tbsp olive oil.  Spread out on sheet pan, and roast until tender and starting to brown, about 15-20 minutes.  When veggies are done roasting, heat 1 Tbsp olive oil to a large non-stick skillet on medium heat.  Add shallots and seitan and saute until shallots are soft, then add garlic and saute an additional minute.  Add roasted veggies to the pan, along with pine nuts, balsamic, and sea salt and pepper to taste, and toss together well.  Remove from heat, stir in fresh basil and fill warm squash halves with the mixture.  Serve warm.