Kabocha (Japanese Pumpkin)

If you love kabocha (Japanese pumpkin), then you'll die for this recipe of Kabocha Nimono.

Kabocha is in fact a type of squash and not a pumpkin, so if you're having trouble finding it, buttercup squash can be substituted since the two are from the same family. Kabocha is generally sweeter and sometimes softer than buttercup squash; however, I wouldn't let that stop you! The dish is so tender and delicious you may end up eating a whole one by yourself!

We ate this as part of our Japanese night (as you can see in the photo). It goes with just about anything, I say.

There are a couple ingredients some folks might not be familiar with, so please ask. Take dashi, for instance. Dashi is a base stock used in some Japanese cooking. It is comprised of water, dried kelp, and bonito flakes. However, water with some salt or seasoning can be used if you don't want to make dashi. See? I'm full of useful information. Enjoy!

New (but not improved) Frozen Yogurt

Ah, you win some, you lose some. Sometimes experimenting doesn't quite work out the way you'd hoped. But that'll never stop me! *Fiendish laugh*

This is just a greek yogurt that I was hoping would stay creamy when frozen. Turns out that even if you add way way too much rum, it's a no-go. Ah well. Such is life. So let's keep at it, creating more odd combinations to delight and surprise our senses! *Fiendish laugh*

Moussaka

I cannot take credit for this at all whatsoever. Full credit for this elaborate and highly delicious (seriously scrumptious!) goes to my significant other. How she does it I'll never know. Perhaps to her chagrin I've put her in charge of all moussaka from now on. That's what you get for cooking great meals!

Moussaka is kind of like a Greek version of lasagna...except better! Mostly because it lacks the foolish pasta that can get in the way of a really good lasagna. You know what I'm talking about. Since I'm not privy to the details of how this was made, let's just move on to the good stuff (the recipe) and see if you can figure out how to not eat the entire dish at once. Enjoy!

Moussaka

Yield: 8-12 servings
Ingredients

• 3 eggplants, peeled and cut into half-inch slices
• salt
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 pound ground beef
• salt, to taste
• black pepper, to taste
• 2 onions, chopped
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon Italian herbs
• 2 tablespoons dried parsley
• 1 8-ounce can tomato sauce
• 1/2 cup red wine
• 1 egg, beaten
• 4 cups milk
• 1/2 cup butter
• 6 tablespoons flour
• salt, to taste
• white pepper, to taste
• 1.5-3 cups parmesan, grated
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

Cooking Directions

1. Lay the slices of eggplant on paper towels, sprinkle lightly with salt, and set aside for 30 minutes to draw out the moisture. Then in a skillet over high heat, heat the olive oil. Quickly fry the eggplant until browned. Set aside on paper towels to drain.
2. In a large skillet over medium heat, melt the butter and add the ground beef, salt and pepper to taste, onions, and garlic. After the beef is browned, sprinkle in the cinnamon, nutmeg, herbs and parsley. Pour in the tomato sauce and wine, and mix well. Simmer for 20 minutes. Allow to cool, and then stir in beaten egg.
3. To make the bechamel sauce, begin by heating the milk to about boiling. Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Whisk in flour until smooth. Remove from heat and gradually pour in the hot milk, whisking constantly until it thickens. Season with salt, and white pepper.
4. Arrange a layer of eggplant in a greased 9x13 inch baking dish. Cover eggplant with all of the meat mixture. Cover with remaining eggplant. Pour the bechamel sauce over the top, and sprinkle with the nutmeg.
5. Bake for 1 hour at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

Light Turkey and Veggie Pasta in Garlic Olive Oil

This is the first dish I ever learned how to cook on my own. It's a shame that I'm only getting around to it now, though it has been a while since I made it last.

I was just starting out in the working world, going to college, and having to fend for myself out in the world. Luckily, I worked for a family friend at a small business, and she took time out of her day one afternoon to teach me how to make one the simplest pasta dishes she knew (but also something that could impress the ladies, if I remember her reasons correctly).

So this dish was thrown together in front of me in under 15 minutes. I was so shocked! Not only because it was so delicious, but because it looked great too. It's very light but packs a lot of flavor. A couple ingredients can, and have, been changed over the years (like turkey and sometimes the veggies), but the core of it remains the same.

I must stress one thing here: you MUST get freshly grated parmesan for this. It makes all the difference. Enjoy!

Thai Veggie Fried Rice and a Half-Greek Salad

Sometimes too much rice gets cooked. Sometimes way too much. Such was the situation recently. But what to do with all that leftover rice?

You may know how to use up that day-old rice already. In fact, I hope you have a favorite trick or recipe, as I would love to hear about it.

If you're not familiar with how to prepare fried rice (in general), check out the recipe below. Thai versions basically just employ a set of sauces and flavors not found in your other more familiar fried rice dishes.

But I wanted more than just a fried rice dish. I thought it'd be too heavy or something - even if it was all a bunch of glorious (and different) veggies. That's one of the things I love about fried rice and stir fry on the whole, tossing in whatever you please, making it unique to you. That one up in the pictures has asparagus and turnip.

Oh right, so I was saying I wanted something else, something light. What's lighter than a salad? And what's the best salad in the world? Yep, you guessed it: Greek salad! Well, a half-Greek salad. No tomatoes or onions or olives, sadly. But we did add a little something something back in with the spinach and mushrooms. Plus, look at that feta. Wow. So who's ready to eat? Enjoy!