Okay, okay, I know…I’m really late to the party with this one.  As I mentioned a while ago, I somehow managed to create a huge backlog of recipes and dishes and found that between vacations, holidays, and just the time it takes to mess around with recipe development in the kitchen, I just simply ran out of time to write everything up in a timely manner.  So, the bad news is that unless you purchased a pumpkin a while back and stored it in a cool spot that allows it to still be good and able to be used, you will likely have to adapt this recipe to other winter squashes.  The good news, however, is that there are plenty of great options still available at both farmer’s markets (yep, we have winter farmer’s markets still going…my wife and I really like the one in Ramsey, NJ though it’s a bit of a hike to get there) and grocery stores.  Anyway, feel free to use acorn squash or any other winter squash that can be hollowed out and stuffed.  Obviously the smaller the squash variety, the less time it will take to roast it.  Beyond that the process remains the same.

I haven’t cooked with quinoa a whole lot.  Despite it being very very healthy and now, quite popular, I just never jumped on the bandwagon.  However, I really liked this dish and think the nuttiness of the quinoa grain really added something to the overall flavor of the dish.  You cook the quinoa separately according to package directions, which is pretty easy and goes fairly quickly when compared to other whole grain preparations.  Here, I used a vegetable stock in lieu of water but you can do as you like.  If you prefer chicken stock, that would work well with this as well too.  Otherwise, this recipe is very simple but I think, as the picture conveys, it is a pretty impressive looking vegetable dish that can be enjoyed both simply as a family or for a dinner party.

Oh, one last thing…if you don’t have a pumpkin, next year you can find great roasting pumpkins at Vito’s in Berkeley Heights in mid to late fall.  Just ask them where their roasting pumpkins are and they will gladly show you some good ones. The good news about pumpkins as I alluded to above, they can keep for a number of months without any issues.  Recipe follows after the jump… Continue reading →