Stuffed Acorn Squash

These make a very pretty individual-serving vegetarian dinner. The taste of the squash mixes very well with the taste of the stuffing, if you scoop the soft squash into the stuffing with your spoon as you eat. If you wanted to add some sausage to the stuffing, I don't think anyone would mind. It's not the world's fastest meal -- they need to bake for an hour -- but if you have leftover cooked rice the prep time is very fast, and then you can forget about them while they cook

Stuffed Acorn Squash

4 small acorn squash
1 cup cooked brown rice
1/2 cup almonds, chopped roughly (measure before chopping)
1/2 large onion, diced
3 tbsp butter
2 tbsp soy sauce
6-10 leaves fresh sage (depending on how much you like it)
pinch of dried thyme (fresh would be good too, obviously)
salt & pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Melt the butter in a frying pan over medium-low heat. (It seems like a lot of butter. It's for 4 people, so I don't think it's extreme, but 2 tbsp would probably be ok.) When it has bubbled for a while and is just starting to turn color, add the onions and almonds and cook until the onions are soft, about 4 or 5 minutes. Add the herbs after about 3 minutes. Meanwhile, cut (and reserve) little "hats" out of the top of the squashes, and scoop out the seeds. When the onions are soft, add the rice, turn the heat to low, and stir thoroughly. Add the soy sauce. Taste, and add salt as necessary. Add more pepper than you think it needs (should be a bit spicy). Cook, stirring constantly, two or three more minutes.

Using a teaspoon, stuff the squashes full of rice stuffing. You'll probably have some left over, depending on the size of your squashes. Replace their hats, place in a baking dish or roasting pan, and bake for an hour to an hour and a half -- they should be easily-pierced with a fork. (For me, they were done enough to eat, but not soft enough to be ideal, at 75 minutes). Let cool a few minutes, and serve.

Serves 4.