Macroveg Christmas 2012

Merry Christmas everyone!  I know it's been a while since my last post but there was no way that I was missing this post ;)  I'm back on Guam enjoying my time with family.  It's also nice to finally have time to be in the kitchen again and whip up some yummy vegan holiday food.  Tonight I kept it simple and elegant with a kabocha stew.  It was delicious and relatively easy to make.  Great for this time of season.  Hope you all are having a wonderful holiday.

Kabocha Stuffed Stew

1 small kabocha

1/2 cup carrots

1/2 cup broccoli

2 cups sliced kale

2 shiitake mushrooms

1 tbsp kuzu

1-2 tsp shoyu/tamari

2 tsp ginger juice

2 tsp sesame oil

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.  
2. Cut the top of the kabocha squash and remove seeds.  Peel and cube the removed top portion of the kabocha, place pieces in pot with boiling water and boil until tender (approximately 10-15 mins).  
3. Puree the cubes with 1/2-1 cup of boiling water in a blender until smooth (Tip: add the water slowly till a gravy consistency is reached).  Pour the puree back into the pot and bring to simmer.
4. Dissolve 1 tbsp of kuzu in a bowl with 2 tbsp of water.  Pour dissolved kuzu into the pot with the simmer kabocha puree and stir till it thickens.  Add the shoyu/tamari and stir well.  Remove from heat and set aside.
5. Place 1 tsp of sesame oil in palm of hands and rub together.  take hollowed kabocha squash and coat skin with oiled hands to prevent kabocha from drying while roasting in the oven.  Once coated, take a bounty and rub outside to remove excess oil.
6. Place hollowed kabocha onto pan and roast in oven for 45 mins.
7. Prepare filling by stir frying the sliced shiitake mushrooms in a pot with the remaining sesame oil.    Add 1 inch of water and boil carrots till softened.  Next add broccoli and kale to pot.  Keep adding 1 inch water to pot until broccoli and kale are softened.  Once veggies are cooked place 1-2 inches of water into pot and boil for 1 min. and remove from heat.  
8. After the kabocha has roasted for 45 mins. place the filling with the water into the kabocha and roast in oven for another 15 mins.
9. Remove filled kabocha from oven and place on plate.  Heat up kabocha puree to a simmer and then pour over kabocha squash so that it overflows over the sides of the squash.  Serve with 1 cup of cooked brown rice and some fresh corn.  Enjoy!

Feel free to eat the peel of the kabocha squash.  It's highly nutritious and one of the only squash skins that are edible.  The skin is very thin which makes it easy to digest.  Remember to always wash your veggies when it's not organic.  Wouldn't hurt to do it even if it is organic.  On Guam it's hard to find organic veggies, especially kabocha squash, but I was able to get my hands on the Environne vegetable and fruit wash which I love!  They use a surface-acting cleansing agent that is non-toxic and bio-degradeable.