Acorn Squash with Apple Cinnamon Pecan Topping

I made this dish for one of the thanksgiving dinners I attended with my sister Tuedy. She offered to help me out, which she did, by tasting and giving me thumbs up. This delicious, you should try it.

Acorn squash is not very popular, simply because people don't have many recipes to choose from. So, with this in mind, I'm skipping the Jamaican touch and just creating a recipe using ingredients around me.

Ingredients:

2 acorn squash

1/2 Granny Smith apple

3 tbsp of butter

3 tbsp of brown sugar

1 cup of chopped pecans

1 tbsp of honey

Olive oil
Salt
Cinnamon

Method

Cut squash in half and remove seeds. Wash and pat dry. Slice squash along the lines to make little pegs. Brush the slices with olive oil and sprinkle with salt; bake for 30 minutes or until tender.

Topping:

Melt butter and sugar in a sauce pan. Dice apple and add to the mixture. Simmer for 2 minutes to allow the apple flavor to come alive. Add the chopped pecan, honey and cinnamon and summer for another 2 minutes. Add more butter if the sauce is too thick.

Pour topping over the slices of acorn squash and serve. Yum yum.

You can also use maple and walnut instead of the brown sugar and pecan. This was my original intention but Alexis, my friend, hated both maple syrup and walnuts. So I tweaked it.

Jamaican and other Tropical Fruits and Vegetables (Updated)

I was talking to one of my besties who currently lives in Jamaica, and she could not describe a passion fruit for me. So, it's
education time for everyone. I'll add fruits as I go along.

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Passion Fruit- Shiny yellow or purple exterior with a very tart pulp over edible seeds. This fruit has a lot of flavor and may be eaten as is, or pureed with water and strained for a refreshing juice. Give it a try, your taste buds will have a little party, I think.



The beautiful inside of a Dragon Fruit.

Dragon Fruit

Dragon fruit tastes like an edible flower mixed with Kiwi and hint of watermelon. It's hard to describe because it so unique. Instead of reading my take on it, I encourage you to go out and try it.

Guava

 Hmmmmm....What can I say about these little gems? BOLD and "citrusy",  love them. These are packed with small edible seeds and are firm to the bite. Ripe ones can be green or yellow, depending on the origin of the fruit. We have a few in Jamaica. The yellow ones are deep pink on the inside and the green ones are yellow on the inside.

Papaya

This is great in smoothies and fruit salad. It's a bit pricey in the US, but worth the bucks if you are ever looking to try something new or unique. It's a hearty fruit with a burst of juicy goodness. Buy a small one and give it a try. The ripe ones are usually yellow or if green, will sink when you gently press into it.

Jicama

 Jicama is semi-sweet root vegetable that is quite popular in Latin America, and more so in Mexico where it is an everyday staple. One of my closest friends is from Mexico and she used to share Jicama with us during our college years; being the health nut that she is, we always had it raw and would never question its many other uses. Today, there are a ton of recipes online with different ways to prepare Jicama, be it fried, baked, boiled or sliced thinly for slaws, wraps and vegetable trays. Here is another picture to show what the inside looks like. It's cost me a $1.50 for one, and it is certainly worth the price. I will share a Jicama fries recipe with you in another post. Stay tuned.