Stuffed Sage Carnival Squash

Carnival squash. Have you heard of it? I had never! It came to me on a chilly, leafless and blustery day, neatly packed in my CSA box. Speckled, mostly green and yellow, with odd pools of vibrant orange marked it's skin. Carnival squash is probably most akin to acorn squash, but delightfully unique in its own way. 

This little guy is lovingly filled with only the most scrumptious of autumn goodies. Honeycrisp apples, earthy sage, crunchy pepitas, silky red chard, Field Roast Smoked Apple Sage Grain-Meat Sausage, and pumpkin. Oh yes, we are now filling winter squash with pureed pumpkin.

This is how the pros do it. 

Produce On Parade - Stuffed Sage Carnival Squash - This is an easy and impressive festive squash stuffed with apples, kale, pumpkin, and vegan sausage. It’s the perfect star or companion of any Thanksgiving dinner.
How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world
— Anne Frank
Produce On Parade - Stuffed Sage Carnival Squash - This is an easy and impressive festive squash stuffed with apples, kale, pumpkin, and vegan sausage. It’s the perfect star or companion of any Thanksgiving dinner.
Produce On Parade - Stuffed Sage Carnival Squash - This is an easy and impressive festive squash stuffed with apples, kale, pumpkin, and vegan sausage. It’s the perfect star or companion of any Thanksgiving dinner.
Produce On Parade - Stuffed Sage Carnival Squash - This is an easy and impressive festive squash stuffed with apples, kale, pumpkin, and vegan sausage. It’s the perfect star or companion of any Thanksgiving dinner.

You guys are going to love this squash! This is an easy and impressive festive squash stuffed with apples, kale, pumpkin, and vegan sausage. It’s the perfect star or companion of any Thanksgiving dinner.

Produce On Parade - Stuffed Sage Carnival Squash - This is an easy and impressive festive squash stuffed with apples, kale, pumpkin, and vegan sausage. It’s the perfect star or companion of any Thanksgiving dinner.
Produce On Parade - Stuffed Sage Carnival Squash - This is an easy and impressive festive squash stuffed with apples, kale, pumpkin, and vegan sausage. It’s the perfect star or companion of any Thanksgiving dinner.

Stuffed Sage Carnival Squash


Stuffed Sage Carnival Squash
By

This is an easy and impressive festive carnival squash stuffed with apples, kale, pumpkin, and vegan sausage. It’s the perfect star or companion of any Thanksgiving dinner.

Ingredients
  • 1 carnival or acorn squash, halved
  • 1 Tbsp. olive oil
  • 1 red onion, diced
  • 3 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 tsp. kosher salt
  • ¼ tsp. ground black pepper
  • ¼ tsp. ground sage
  • 1 small apple, diced
  • 1 Smoked Apple Sage Field Roast Grain-Meat Sausage link, diced.
  • 4 large kale or swiss chard leaves and stems, chopped
  • ½ 15 oz. canned pumpkin
  • 1 Tbsp. maple syrup
  • 2 Tbsp. pepitas
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 425° F. Cut the squash in half lengthwise and scoop out the seeds. Place face down on a baking sheet coated with a nonstick cooking spray. Bake for about 30-40 minutes, until tender when pierced with a fork.
  2. Meanwhile, in a large rimmed frying pan, heat the olive oil over medium low. Add the onion and garlic. Sauté until fragrant, about 5 minutes.
  3. Now, stir in the salt, pepper, and sage. Add the apple, sausage, and kale. Sauté over medium heat for about 5 minutes, until the kale is wilted.
  4. Add the remaining ingredients, mixing well to combine. Stir occasionally while over medium heat for about 8-10 minutes. The apples should be softened but not cooked through. Remove from heat to rest, until the squash is done baking.
  5. When squash is done, keep the oven on, and divide the stuffing evenly between each squash half filling the center. Place back in the oven for about 3 minutes to heat through. Remove from the oven and serve hot.

  6. Prep time:
    Cook time:
    Total time:
    Yield: 2 servings

More Easy Squash Recipes

Produce On Parade - Stuffed Sage Carnival Squash - This is an easy and impressive festive squash stuffed with apples, kale, pumpkin, and vegan sausage. It’s the perfect star or companion of any Thanksgiving dinner.

Dutch Word of The Day

Stuffed --> gevuld (who-feld)

Good Deed of The Day

Milk. It does the body bad. Real bad. A new study from the British Medicine Journal "...found that those who drank three glasses of milk daily were more likely to die of heart disease and cancer. For the women, milk drinkers had a significant better chance of suffering a hip fracture." Yikes. Maybe it's time to switch to one of the other thousand non-dairy options, yea?

Vegan Breakfast Burritos

Todd and I have made this recipe so many times. It's been perfected. Like it's my life's work, you guys. Each time we make it I ask, "Should we take the time to document it for the blog?" and every single time...."Nah, next round we will."

I'm so sorry about that. Sometimes a dish is so good, ain't nobody got time to be messing about with photography and the like. It's all you can do to wait until it's time to dig in! My bad. 

Produce On Parade - Vegan Breakfast Burritos - An insanely delicious and easy vegan breakfast burrito loaded with roasted potatoes, seasoned tofu scramble, browned breakfast patties, and cheddar cheese.

This insanely tasty burrito all started about a year ago when Todd decided he wanted breakfast burritos. My little brother used to make them all the time, even though I myself had never made them, I knew he used primarily potatoes, breakfast sausage, and scrambled eggs. Erm, not the taddest vegan but a super easy fix with plant-based breakfast patties and a fluffy tofu scramble.

A few tips here. Use the patties as opposed to the ground breakfast sausage, if you're able. The patties have a bolder "breakfast sausage" taste in comparison. I've used both and heavily favor the patties. The tofu scramble is extraordinarily fluffy and soft when the tofu that's packed in water in it's little bin is used, as opposed to the tofu that's vacuum sealed (which I normally favor). 

Produce On Parade - Vegan Breakfast Burritos - An insanely delicious and easy vegan breakfast burrito loaded with roasted potatoes, seasoned tofu scramble, browned breakfast patties, and cheddar cheese.

I'm terribly excited to finally share one of our very favorite dishes. Todd actually requested these for his birthday, but we've been so busy we only just got around to making them...two weeks later. Whoopsie.

This is a brilliant recipe for someone who's thinking about going vegan or just trying to adapt a more healthy, cruelty-free diet. Breakfast burritos don't really spring to mind as an inherently animal-free dish, but with my version you can have your vegan burrito and eat it too. You've really got to try them. There's no reason to have our furry friends (and chicken ovulation eggs...let's be honest) in a breakfast burrito! No reason I tell you!!

Produce On Parade - Vegan Breakfast Burritos - An insanely delicious and easy vegan breakfast burrito loaded with roasted potatoes, seasoned tofu scramble, browned breakfast patties, and cheddar cheese.
Produce On Parade - Vegan Breakfast Burritos - An insanely delicious and easy vegan breakfast burrito loaded with roasted potatoes, seasoned tofu scramble, browned breakfast patties, and cheddar cheese.
Produce On Parade - Vegan Breakfast Burritos - An insanely delicious and easy vegan breakfast burrito loaded with roasted potatoes, seasoned tofu scramble, browned breakfast patties, and cheddar cheese.
Produce On Parade - Vegan Breakfast Burritos - An insanely delicious and easy vegan breakfast burrito loaded with roasted potatoes, seasoned tofu scramble, browned breakfast patties, and cheddar cheese.
Produce On Parade - Vegan Breakfast Burritos - An insanely delicious and easy vegan breakfast burrito loaded with roasted potatoes, seasoned tofu scramble, browned breakfast patties, and cheddar cheese.
Produce On Parade - Vegan Breakfast Burritos - An insanely delicious and easy vegan breakfast burrito loaded with roasted potatoes, seasoned tofu scramble, browned breakfast patties, and cheddar cheese.
Produce On Parade - Vegan Breakfast Burritos - An insanely delicious and easy vegan breakfast burrito loaded with roasted potatoes, seasoned tofu scramble, browned breakfast patties, and cheddar cheese.
Produce On Parade - Vegan Breakfast Burritos - An insanely delicious and easy vegan breakfast burrito loaded with roasted potatoes, seasoned tofu scramble, browned breakfast patties, and cheddar cheese.
Produce On Parade - Vegan Breakfast Burritos - An insanely delicious and easy vegan breakfast burrito loaded with roasted potatoes, seasoned tofu scramble, browned breakfast patties, and cheddar cheese.
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Vegan Breakfast Burritos
An insanely delicious and easy vegan breakfast burrito loaded with roasted potatoes, seasoned tofu scramble, browned breakfast patties, and cheddar cheese. Tofu scramble recipe adapted from Isa Chandra.
Ingredients
  • 2 lbs. mixed baby potatoes, cubed
  • drizzle of olive oil
  • sprinkling of seasoning salt
  • dash of ground black pepper
  • 1 Tbsp. olive oil
  • 3 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 lb. firm tofu, drained and pressed
  • 2 tsp. ground cumin
  • 1 tsp. dried thyme
  • 1 tsp. kosher salt
  • ½ tsp. ground turmeric
  • 2 Tbsp. water
  • heaping ¼ cup nutritional yeast
  • 6 frozen vegan breakfast burrito patties, thawed
  • 6 burrito sized flour tortillas
  • dollop of vegan mayonnaise
  • 8 oz. package of vegan shredded cheese
  • dollop of salsa
  • sprinkling of cilantro, chopped
Instructions
First, remove the breakfast patties so they can thaw out. Preheat the oven to 400 F. Wash, dry, and cube the potatoes. Spread them evenly on a rimmed baking sheet and coat with a drizzle of olive oil. Sprinkle with a seasoning salt and a dash of ground black pepper. Stir well to coat evenly and bake at 400 F for about 40 minutes, until fork tender.In a large rimmed frying pan, heat 1 Tbsp. olive oil over medium-low. Add the minced garlic and sauté for a few minutes until fragrant. Next, coat the pan with a nonstick cooking spray and crumble in the tofu with your hands. Sauté for about 5 minutes over medium heat. Meanwhile, whisk together the cumin through and including the water in a small bowl. Add to the tofu and continue to cook for another 10 minutes, scraping up bits that stick to the pan with a metal spatula. Then, stir in the nutritional yeast.Once the tofu is done, transfer to a serving bowl. Add the breakfast patties to the frying pan and break apart into small pieces with a metal spatula. Cook over medium heat for about 5-8 minutes, until browned. Add the tofu back to the pan to warm and combine if you like. Warm the tortillas in the microwave for about 30 seconds. To assemble, place a dollop of mayo in the middle of the tortilla, followed by a pile of potatoes, then some breakfast patty and tofu scramble, a bit of cheese, followed by salsa and cilantro. Fold in the left and right sides first, and then roll away from you to form a burrito!Serve warm with additional salsa if you like.
Details
Prep time: Cook time: Total time: Yield: 6
Produce On Parade - Vegan Breakfast Burritos - An insanely delicious and easy vegan breakfast burrito loaded with roasted potatoes, seasoned tofu scramble, browned breakfast patties, and cheddar cheese.
Produce On Parade - Vegan Breakfast Burritos - An insanely delicious and easy vegan breakfast burrito loaded with roasted potatoes, seasoned tofu scramble, browned breakfast patties, and cheddar cheese.

German Word of The Day

Breakfast for dinner --> Frühstück zum Abendessen

Good Deed of The Day

How awesome is this? Vegan nutritionist, Micah Risk, is on the the cover of the October 2014 Runner's World, sporting VEGAN socks! Pick it up at your local magazine stand today to read up! 

How awesome is this? Vegan nutritionist, Micah Risk, is on the the cover of the October 2014 Runner's World, sporting VEGAN socks! Pick it up at your local magazine stand today to read up!

Cheesy Pumpkin Sage Penne with Sausage

I questioned whether I should really post this recipe or not. For one, I've seen like a bazillion pumpkin pasta recipes in just the last three days alone. However, I'll have you know that I made this like a week ago, okay!? And second, I adapted it from...Rachael Ray. Disgust. Apparently my distaste for Rachael knows no bounds. That, and I couldn't get any good photos. Yes, the odds were definitely against me on this one, but this pasta was much too delicious not to share! It'd be a crime, and rather selfish. Plus, I wanted to share photos from our first ski of the Winter with you! There's currently no snow around here, so we had to go seek it out in the mountains. 

And we were not disappointed. Alaskan beauty at it's finest! Winter is the best time of the year. You can see those photos below the recipe, but first, it's pumpkin time! 

pumppasta4

I said, "It's pumpkin time!" This pasta is creamy, cheesy and packed with pumpkiny goodness. The sage lends depth and the sausage...well, you have to have some vegan sausage right? Yes.

Cheesy Pumpkin Sage Penne with Sausage

Inspired by Food Network

Serves 4-6

  • 18 oz. penne pasta, dry
  • 2 Field Roast Smoked Apple and Sage Grain Sausages, sliced
  • 1 Tbsp. olive oil 
  • 1/2 medium yellow onion, diced
  • 4 garlic cloves,  minced
  • 2 cups vegetable broth
  • 1 15 oz. can pumpkin puree
  • 1/2 cup unsweetened soy milk
  • 1/2 cup vegan mozzarella, shredded 
  • pinch of crushed red pepper flakes
  • pinch of nutmeg, freshly ground
  • 1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
  • 1/4 tsp. kosher salt
  • 1/4 tsp. black pepper
  • 1 tsp. cornstarch
  • 1 Tbsp. nutritional yeast  
  • 3 Tbsp. fresh sage leaves, minced

Bring a large pot of salted water to boil and cook pasta until al dente. Drain and set aside until ready to use. 

Bring a medium frying pan to heat with a bit of nonstick cooking spray and brown the sausage slices, for about 5 minutes. Set aside when done until ready to use.

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Bring a medium frying pan to heat with a bit of nonstick cooking spray and brown the sausage slices, for about 5 minutes. Set aside when done until ready to use.Meanwhile, heat the oil in a small saucepan. Add the onions and garlic and saute for a few minutes, until the onions begin to turn translucent and the garlic becomes fragrant. 

Produce On Parade - Cheesy Pumpkin Sage Penne with Sausage

Add the remaining ingredients to the onion and garlic, excluding the sage and sausage. Whisk well to combine and allow to simmer over medium-low heat for about 5-10 minutes, or until the sauce begins to thicken. Add additional cornstarch as is needed. 

Once thickened, add to the pasta and toss to coat, along with the sausage slices.

Produce On Parade - Cheesy Pumpkin Sage Penne with Sausage

Serve hot, with additional sage and cheese to top it off!

Produce On Parade - Cheesy Pumpkin Sage Penne with Sausage

Now onto those Alaskan Winter photos I promised! 

Produce On Parade Produce On Parade Produce On Parade Produce On Parade Produce On Parade Produce On Parade Produce On ParadeI'm listening to Wild Child – Crazy Bird

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