Candied Roasted Chestnuts, by Diane

 

This recipe is by @veganbunnyelle, and I thought it would be a cool take on one of my fave winter snacks. It is possible I got a bad batch of chestnuts, because the skins wouldn't peel off the meat itself even though the shells did, but these tasted awful. So, maybe another batch?! Yuck.

Ingredients:

3 tbsp neutral oil

1 tbsp rock sugar (like 10 chunks) (she says on her recipe you can use white sugar if you don't have this)

1 lb chestnuts, scored in an x (see her recipe)

Water

Directions:

1. In a dutch oven or large pot with lid, heat oil over medium heat and add sugar. 

2. Stir continuously until sugar turns amber and melts.

3. Add chestnuts, stir continuously until popping sound slows around 2-3 min.

4. Add water to cover the chestnuts, cover with lid and cook for 25 min on medium heat. 

5. Remove lid and stir, cook with lid off until water completely evaporates. 

6. Enjoy warm or chilled.

Fall Stuffed Delicata Squash, by Diane

Pretty much every fall flavor conceivable was in this dish! This was really easy to make and pretty tasty. It also looked really pretty. The original recipe called for quinoa, but I swapped it out for chicken apple sausage which went great with this dish. I kept out the goat cheese crumbles because of Whole30, but they would have gone very well with this dish!

Ingredients:

3 medium delicata squash

2 large shallots, peeled and left whole

EVOO

Salt and pepper

3 chicken apple sausage links, diced

1/2 yellow onion, diced

1 pack sliced shiitake mushrooms

5-6 cups kale

2 sprigs sage leaves, rough chopped 

1/2 cup chestnuts, roasted and diced (I subbed in walnuts bc my store didn’t have them yet)

8 basil leaves

1/2 cup champagne vinegar (I subbed acv)

1 tsp Dijon mustard

2 tsp honey (I subbed date syrup)

1/2 cup pomegranate seeds

Optional: chicken bone broth, crumbled goat cheese 

Directions:

1. Set oven to 350. Slice the squash horizontally and scoop out the seeds and innards (save some of the seeds). Brush the squash with evoo, salt and pepper, and roast on baking sheets dome side up for 25 min or until golden. 

2. In the same oven, place the whole peeled shallots and squash seeds on another baking tray. Coat with evoo, and roast until golden brown (15-20 min).

3. While the squash roasts, add evoo to a large skillet at medium high heat. Cook the sausage and onions until the onions are translucent. Add in mushrooms and sage.

4. Add kale to the pan and stir until it wilts. If needed, add some broth to the pan to deglaze. 

5. Combine basil, vinegar, mustard, honey, and 1/2 cup evoo in a blender with the cooled shallots until smooth and creamy. 

6. Assemble the squash boats by adding the sausage filling, then sprinkling chestnuts, pomegranate seeds, squash seeds, and goat cheese. Drizzle with the shallot dressing.