Squirrel This Away

Today marks my first day as a freelancer.*

*This is really most exciting because I feel one step closer to Sydney Bristow on ALIAS, because “Freelancer” was one of her call signs. But, I mean, I guess it’s cool in other ways also.

Through a series of random events involving craigslist, e-mail ‘signatures,’ blog links, and editorial friends, I wound up in contact with Marissa, the new editor-in-chief of Breathe magazine. a women’s lifestyle magazine with circulation through the Mid-Atlantic and Southeast. [Kath is currently on the cover as a home organization guru.] Today my first food/nutrition post appears on their blog.

The theme?
Six Twists on Acorn Squash.

I decided for my first post to showcase what I refer to as the “awkward student standing on the sidelines, not being asked to dance at the Winter (Squash) Formal.”*
*Yes, I did just quote myself. Although I’m not sure that’s exactly what I said. So perhaps I should say I did just misquote myself.

You can read my entire post here (and please do!), but it basically features six of my favorite twists* on the traditional “bake-with-brown-sugar” acorn squash routine––including the “Nest” Eggs (Baked Eggs in Acorn Squash) you see above, and Acorn Squash & Cranberry Bulgur Riso-faux you see below.

*Code for “if Miss Smart thought of them so they might be CRAZY weird”But I had to save something special for y’all. One of the recipes I wrote about, I didn’t show any photos of, because I had to give them all to you. After I wrote about the absurd double-the-fun acorn squash I bought just because it looked so strange……you might have wondered to yourself, “What happened to the other half of the squash, the half you didn’t cover in Ginger Soy Almond Butter Glaze?”Well, I roasted it (upside-down, in 1/4″ of water for about 45-50 minutes at 400 degrees).And then I did what I always do when I’m stumped with how to creatively reinvent a new ingredient:

I got out the food processor……and I turned it into hummus!

Please don’t pretend like you didn’t see this coming. I mean, y’all know how much I love cold winter squash. And I’ve already made Pumpkin Hummus. Clearly I wasn’t about to successfully make one twisted acorn-squash infused dip, and not make another. (Even if it doesn’t have a catchy, kitschy name like the Squash-a-mole.)To make what became Curried Acorn Squash Hummus, I simply scooped out the cumin-dusted roasted acorn squash into the food processor…

…along with the usual garbanzo beans, and my selection of spice and seasoning: salt, curry powder, and (there is never enough) cumin.I added water, olive oil, and–as I am very rarely in possession of tahini, but always seem to have almond butter–a bit of almond butter, and processed until smooth.Because the hummus gods were smiling upon me, I was actually able to scoop out the squash without completely breaking apart the ‘shell,’ meaning no extra bowl getting dirty…and less clean-up post-photo-shoot for me.

Acorns aren’t just for squirrels anymore.

Curried Acorn Squash Hummus

1 cup roasted acorn (or other winter) squash
1 1/2 cups garbanzo beans (or 1 15-0z. can garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained)
1/2 tsp. curry powder
1/2 tsp. ground cumin
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 cup water
2 tsp. extra virgin olive oil
2 tsp. creamy almond butter

Combine all ingredients in a food processor.
Process until smooth, adding more water, oil, and spices to taste and consistency preference.
Serve in acorn squash “shell” with chips, crackers, or crudite.