FESTIVE QUINOA for STEEMIT CULINARY CHALLENGE - #43 "Autumn Feast Special" 🌺🎃🌺

Hello my Dearest Steemians,

This is my SAVORY ENTRY for for the Autumn Feast Special Culinary Challenge, hosted and also judged by our wonderful @woman-onthe-wing 🌸💖🌸

I have to hurry to make sure I am not late for the deadline, so I will not write a very long story about this recipe. All I can tell you is that this is a perfect dish for special occasion such as impressing your in laws on Thanksgiving.

Although, there is one more thing I would like to suggest, based on my own taste and experience. I am a big fan of the buffet style when I can combine different flavours by mixing few different dishes that compliment each other. In this case, I would recommend two of my older recipes from my blog. One is a Kale Salad and the other is Tempeh Kebabs.

You may follow these links if you wish:

GURU SALAD
https://www.lenasveganliving.com/guru-salad-

MASTER CHEF KEBABS
https://www.lenasveganliving.com/master-chef-kebabs-

Enjoy and have a wonderful week. If you have any questions, feel free to ask. I am here to help.

FESTIVE QUINOA
Quinoa Salad with Pear, Arugula & Pomegranate, served in Acorn Bowl
Vegan – Gluten Free – Refined Sugar Free – Cholesterol Free
Author: Lena’s Vegan Living

INGREDIENTS FOR 4
• Quinoa 2 cups cooked (follow the cooking instructions on the package)
• Acorn Squash 2
• Pear 1 (cut into cubes)
• Baby Arugula 1 cup
• Pomegranate ½ cup (just the seeds)
• Pecans ¼ cup
• Maple Syrup 1/2 cup
• Oil ¼
• Pumpkin spice
• Garlic powder (or dehydrated minced garlic)
• Himalayan pink salt
• Baking sheets 2
• Parchment paper
• Brush

ACORN - PROCESS
• Preheat the oven to 400F.
• Cut tip on the bottom end of your acorn squash.
• Cut then 1/3 of the acorn from the bottom end.
• Remove all the seeds from the middle of both pieces.
• The 1/3 is to make a bowl to serve the quinoa salad.
• Cut the top of remaining bigger (the 2/3) and cut it in a half so you will get two moon shaped halves.
• Slice each half to create the moons and place them on baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
• In a small bowl, mix the oil with 1/4 cup of maple syrup and pumpkin spice.
• Lightly brush the moons, add salt with garlic, place them in oven and bake for 20 min and 5 min broil.
• When ready, flip them over, brush them again and broil for 5 min longer.
• Take them out and set aside.
• Place the acorn bowl on a separate baking sheet lined with parchment paper and bake for 40min and broil for 5 to 7 min. You may make criss-cross incisions with knife before you broil as shown on the photo.
• When ready, remove it from the oven and set aside.

PECANS – PROCESS
• Place the pecans in hot frying pan and roast them for 1 or 2 min.
• When ready, set them aside to cool down for several minutes.
• In a food processor, grind them by pressing the pulse button.
• Make sure they remain chunky as shown on the photo.

QUINOA SALAD - PROCESS
• Cut about 4 moons into smaller pieces as shown on the photo.
• In a medium size bowl, mix the cooked quinoa (make sure is not too hot) with all the acorn pieces, pecans, pear cubes, pomegranate and arugula.
• Add the remaining oil/ maple syrup mixture with salt and toss gently but thoroughly.
• You may add more maple syrup and pumpkin spice if you like.
• Fill your bowls and serve.

Note: I made only one acorn bowl, however, the amount of quinoa salad is for 4 servings. In the case that you wish to make four acorn bowls, you would need at least two, cutting each in 3 thirds. That way you would use the middle 1/3 to make the moons and top and bottom ends for the bowls. Make sure you have a very sharp knife and be careful.

Special thanks to @gringalicious & @sirwinchester for their ongoing support and generosity. It’s been a wonderful experience for me so far and I really appreciate the opportunity to participate in this great challenge.

THANK YOU FOR VISITING & BON APPETIT 🌺🎃🌺

https://www.lenasveganliving.com/lenas-vegan-living-blog