Feasting

Here in Canada today is Thanksgiving Day.  Soon my husband, my children and I will be heading over to my Mom’s for our family dinner.

I’m making a Thai Red Curry Kabocha Squash as my ‘non-traditional’ contribution to the holiday dinner.  My mom asked me to make something using one of the unusual items that I received in my CSA box.  I had never heard of kabocha squash until it arrived in the box last week.  As for the recipe…we’ll have to see how well it goes over later today.

In the meantime I’ll share a couple recipes that have recently been added to our childcare menu.

The first is an afternoon snack item that has proven to be very popular with the little ones.

Quinoa Pudding

2 cups quinoa, cooked
3 cups milk
½ cup brown sugar
3 eggs, beaten
1 tsp vanilla
½ tsp cinnamon
1 Tbsp butter
½ cup shredded coconut
½ cups raisins

Combine all ingredients. Pour into greased baking dish. Bake in 350-degree oven until set, about 45 minutes. Serve hot or cold

Admittedly I don’t like the texture of the quinoa – it doesn’t get as soft and mushy as rice pudding but that didn’t seem to bother the children.  It was surprisingly sweet given there is only ½ cup of sugar.

The second recipe was from the lunch menu and may be one of my all-time favourites – probably because it contains many of my preferred ingredients.

Spinach Strata

6 cups whole grain bread cubes
4 cups fresh spinach, chopped
1 cup diced bacon, cooked
1 cup cheddar cheese, grated
6 eggs
2 cups milk
¼ cup fresh basil

In a greased 8 cup (2 L) casserole; layer half the bread cubes, half the spinach, half the bacon and half the cheese, sprinkling each layer with salt and pepper.  Repeat layers, ending with cheese.

In a small bowl; beat eggs with milk and basil.  Pour egg mixture over the bread, spinach and cheese layers.  Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours or overnight.

Bake, uncovered, in preheated 350 F (180 C) for one hour or until puffed and set in centre.

Sorry, I didn’t take a picture of the finished dish – only the partially assembled ingredients.  Mmmm, I’m getting really hungry just looking at them but that’s probably because I skipped lunch to save room for Thanksgiving dinner.

Happy feasting!