When I got off of work this afternoon, I realized that fall really is upon us. It was a beautiful clear day with a wonderful crisp breeze and it left me craving some good fall food. Fall is my favourite time of year for produce, apples, kale, sweet potatoes, pumpkins and of course winter squash.
Quinoa Stuffed Squash from baking sheet.
1 acorn or carnival squash
1/4 cup quinoa
1/2 cup water
1 tbsp maple syrup
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup dried sour cherries [I used raisins]
Preheat oven to 350F.
Cut squash in half and place face down in a oven proof baking dish. Add a bit of water to prevent it from sticking. Bake for 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, combine quinoa and 1/2 cup water in a small sauce pan. Cover and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook until water is absorbed, about 10-15 minutes.
Stir in maple syrup, cinnamon, salt and dried cherries. Set aside until the squash is ready.
Remove squash from the oven and turn cut side up. Divide quinoa mixture evenly between the squash. Cover the squash tightly with foil and return to the oven and bake for 20 more minutes, until squash is tender and ready to eat!
For supper, I whipped up this simple (almost ridiculously so) recipe, an acorn squash stuffed with a slightly sweet quinoa filling. Delicious and nourishing. Now that we’re heading into the cooler months, I have plans for a lot more fall-inspired recipes, soup, casseroles, pies…you know the hearty and homey stuff.
Well it’s the weekend! I’ll be spending it working and studying for mid-terms, it will be a blast I’m sure. I’m not sure if I’ll have time to blog…I think the guidelines for VeganMofo is to blog every weekday anyway…but we’ll see, you might hear from by me Sunday!




That is one beautiful dish! I love anything stuffed in a winter squash!
Hi Ashley,
This looks really good. I actually have 5 acorn squashes siting on my counter right now waiting to be eaten. I normally eat them plain, but I would like to try this.
How long do you cook the squash in the oven before you add the quinoa mixture?
Hey Zooey! You bake the squash for 30 minutes, sorry I forgot to type it in!
Hi! Found you off the MoFo blogline… can I just say that looks delicious! I’m totally a rice girl but that might be the kick I need to try some quinoa! Plus, I’m totally jealous of your pictures. Gorgeous! I always hesitate to post recipes b/c (a) never measure -_- & (b)my pictures never look tasty enough. Anyway.. YUM!!
Gorgeous dish!! When’s dinner being served, Ash??
lovely! haven’t had squash other than from a can this year. yet.
As always, I love your photos. They are beautiful.
What a beautiful photo!
What a fantastic photo! Wow.
Hi Ashley,
Thank you for responding so quickly. I actually made these for lunch and they were so good! You can check out pictures on my blog if you are interested.
http://www.zoeyskitchen.com/2008/10/acorn-squash-with-quinoa.html
Oh YUM! These look amazing!
That really does sound good! I have a few winter squash at home that can use some stuffing!
hehee… glad someone appreciates my dirty jokes!
And BTW… I have a bag of quinoa at home just begging to be experimented on!
I love stuffed squash & I love quinoa! This looks great.