Gluten-Free Gidget's Stuffed Squash

Admittedly, I like the cold. I like snow and I like dark. But I was dismayed this morning when it was windy, 32 degrees and there were snow flurries. Fortunately for me it was a Monday, which is the beginning of my weekend. I almost always spend Monday's tidying up around the house, doing laundry and cooking. It felt like a perfect day to roast a chicken. Besides, I needed one more carcass to set up a pot of broth tomorrow. Then I remembered Katrina's stuffed acorn squash she posted on last week. A perfect combination, roasted chicken, spinach gratin  and stuffed squash for such a cold and dreary day. I quickly invited my brother-in-law, made my grocery list and I was off and running.

 A while back Katrina send me a package of unusual spices, mostly things I did not have in my lavish stash. Lucky for me I needed to dip into several of the spices including nutritional yeast flakes, something I have never had before. I was glad to finally have a need for both the yeast flakes and the chinese five spice powder she had sent. Katrina always puts together great combinations and the maple syrup and curry powder in this filling won't disappoint. I tweaked a few things, not something I usually do with The Gluten-Free Gidgit's recipes but since I am serving spinach gratin with this I didn't want more spinach. So, I added a few more beans and made some with acorn squash and some with butternut. I am a sucker for butternut squash. I had enough filling to to enjoy a bowl full for lunch and honestly, it is a stellar ragu like stew. The squash is a lovely vessel for serving but quite frankly the filling can stand on its own. I also added a splash of white wine to the mushrooms as I was cooking them. Otherwise I stayed close to the original recipe. If I were to do it again, I would stick with the spinach as I think it would add a nice pop of color.

You can find the recipe here: http://glutenfreegidget.wordpress.com/2012/04/15/vegan-stuffed-acorn-squash/ and while your there check out Katrina's other recipes!