FoodFash

Adventure Begins in the Kitchen

Concept Thieving

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One of my favorite lunch spots in Tampa is Pane Rustica.  If you haven’t been, think Anthropologie meets Panera.  It has casual counter service (during the day), an eclectic dining atmosphere, and stellar food.  Pane Rustica is a must-do-often lunch spot here in TPA.

One of their more unique menu offerings is an acorn squash stuffed with their chicken salad of the day.  Served with a small yeast roll and topped with fresh fruit, it’s quite simply lunch perfection.

Now that I’ve given credit where credit is due, I totally jacked their idea for this meal.  I split a sweet dumpling squash in two, coated it with olive oil, sprinkled with salt, and baked in a 450 degree oven for 35 minutes.  I let it cool in the fridge for 20ish minutes while I made tuna salad with vegenaise, dijon mustard, celery, and shallots.

I stuffed the cooled squash full of tuna salad and admired its prettiness.  Squash bowls are about to be all the rage in my kitchen!

[Acorn] Squash with Quinoa, Apricot and Sage Stuffing

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I’ve had my eye on Terry Walters’ books for quite some time now, so I was pleased as punch when I found both Clean Start and Clean Food at Homegoods last week.

I also bought the beauty of a chopping block that’s hosting the veggies pictured below.

I literally walked between the acorn squash and buttercup squash about seven times before deciding to go with acorn.  Even though the recipe called for buttercup, the acorn was a sure shot, but it would have been nice to try the buttercup, but the acorn was such a sure shot.  See how that could be debate worthy?

As I was chopping shallots, celery, apricots, sage, and parsley, I realized I hadn’t used any of these ingredients in a while, and certainly not together.  I was excited.

So excited, in fact, that I skipped right past taking a picture of the quinoa folded into the veggies.

Soooo looks like this recipe will be the jump start to another quinoa kick.  The stuffing was so tasty!

What’s your favorite quinoa combo??


Missing Mass Transit, In Pictures

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Breakfast: Van’s Gluten-Free Waffle Topped with a Fried Egg

Lunch: Amy’s Enchiladas

Pre-Dinner: Carob Covered Raisins

Dinner: Acorn Squash with Quinoa, Apricot & Sage Stuffing

I’ve been hooked on Amy’s Organic Meals for a solid three years.  They’re delish and, equally as important, they keep me full.  When I looked at my scrolling list of chores tonight, I strongly considered enchilada meal part two.  But with an acorn squash staring me in the face, begging to be stuffed, that idea quickly turned into an impossibility.

Check back tomorrow for the squash recipe!