Baked Acorn Squash with Cranberry-Orange Compote

My culinary class finally made it to vegetables.  I can't believe only one class is devoted to veggies, but we made the most of it.  My group did a lovely acorn squash dish that was so sweet and yummy.  I've blogged about baked squash before, but I've never made a cranberry sauce for squash or any other dish.  I know I will make this again at home, for special occasions and for every day meals.  We were give two versions of a cranberry sauce in our recipe packet, and the one we made was the second.  We probably could have let it simmer and reduce further to make it thicker, but were constrained by time in the class.  It still looked as good as it tasted!

Baked Acorn Squash

Yield:  8 servings

8 oz. Butter, melted
5 oz. Brown Sugar
4 Acorn Squash, halved, seeded
3/4 tsp. Salt or to taste
1/4 tsp. Pepper or to taste

Directions:

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

2.  Heat the butter and brown sugar together in a saucepan to make a glaze.  Brush it on the squash.  Reserve the remainder of the glaze.

3.  Bake the squash halves, cut side down, until they are almost tender.  Baste them periodically with the reserve glaze.  Finish cooking with cut side up.

4.  To serve, cut the squash into wedges.  Spoon hot cranberry compote or cranberry sauce (recipes below) over the squash.

Cranberry-Orange Compote

1 1/2 lbs. Cranberries
9 oz. Orange Juice
6 oz. Water  (as needed)
2 1/2 Tbsp. Sugar (as needed)
2 1/2 oz. Orange zest, blanched

Directions:

Combine the cranberries, orange juice, and water to barely cover the berries.  Add sugar to taste.  Simmer the berries over medium heat until they are softened and thickened, approximately 10 minutes.  Add the orange zest. 

Cranberry Sauce

Yield:  1 Qt.

12 oz. Cranberries, fresh or frozen
12 oz. Sugar
2 Tbsp. Orange Juice Concentrate
2 Tbsp. Orange Zest
1 Tbsp. Ginger, fresh, minced

Directions:
Combine all ingredients and bring to a boil.  Simmer for ten minutes, skim and cool.

Celiac Foundation's Gluten Free Expo

I spent a Sunday afternoon roaming around the Celiac Foundation's Gluten-Free Expo and learning about products available for specialized diets.  There's a roundup of the day on their website here including a list of all the vendors present and lots more photos.

In addition to a whole list of books (mostly cookbooks) that I want to add to my wish list, there were wonderful samples from companies I wasn't familiar with.  My favorites were grain-free crackers, falafel chips, parmesan crisps, and gluten-free bread.  There were some tasty desserts, as well as lots of baking mixes and even gluten-free mac and cheese.  

I met several nutritionists that I hope to keep in contact with and learn from.  If I practice as a health coach or nutritionist, I know that I will encounter many people who are looking to eliminate gluten from their diet, so I'm really glad to learn more about this circumstance.  I'm already preparing for a future career.

Tea Tasting at Chado Tea Room

A groupon-type deal allowed me to learn a bit about tea types and history from Chado Tea Room in Pasadena.  We were able to try about eight different teas, capped off with a lovely dessert of scone and clotted cream.  Our guide walked us through each type, explaining the difference in manufacturing, from leaf type to oxidation.

The tea wall at Chado Tea Room

My friend Jenny and I enjoying a ladies' day out

Our tea sampling progressed from light to dark, starting with a White tea, then Yellow, Green, Oolong, Black, and Pu-erh.  We also got to sample a few of the staffs' favorites, a blossoming tea and an herbal Jasmine.  The colors themselves were striking as each cup lined up next to one another.  

Our waiter explained we began with white tea because it is un-oxidized and sun dried only, the least-processed type of tea.  Yellow tea is similar, but the buds are unfurled before sun drying.  Leaves are then piled, covered or wrapped, and kept damp at temperatures between 77-95 degrees F until it turns yellow.  Green tea is dried and rolled, but not oxidized.  We were shown the dried buds, which are twisted into tight marbles.  The history of the term "Monkey Picked" was explained, implying the most difficult to harvest from the steep mountainsides; it's now used to mean the best product made of a variety or particular company.  The partly oxidized Oolong tea was a favorite of mine.  I learned that Black tea is made from leaves that have been fully oxidized, the oxygen coming into contact with the enzymes in the tea leaf, creating the deep, dark color.  Lastly, we sampled a Pu-erh tea, which is a type exposed to bacterium and allowed to undergo a sort of secondary fermentation.  Pu-erh tea had some of the best stories as we were told it is the only tea that improves with age, much like wine, and has been used as currency, with parents buying a bar of Pu-erh upon the birth of a child, and selling it at an inflated rate when the child reaches adulthood.  

Monkey-Picked Oolong Tea (looseleaf)

We passed around a bar of compressed Pu-erh and appreciated its design.  Each tea leaf was brought out in its post-steeped stage, so we could see how it unfurled.  The discussion was wide-ranging and in-depth, covering manufacturing, tea types, history, blends, decaffeination, how to buy and store tea, and ideal length of steepage. 

Warm Scones and Clotted Cream with Jam and Chocolate Mousse Cups

The dessert was heaven!  My next trip to Chado will not be for the tasting, but for high tea, which comes with many more tea sandwiches and pastries. And to top it all off, our server demonstrated a blossoming tea, a tied ball of tea that unfurled when steeped to great effect in a clear glass teapot.  I brought home a small bag of the blossoming "Peach Fairies" and a bit of strawberry-flavored Alice's Wonder Tea.  My strawberry tea lattes have been sending me happily to night-time dreamland since.

Peach Fairies