Honeyboat Squash with Chile Honey Glaze

Squash is something I've only recently discovered.  And it's fantastic.  I bought this one at the farmers' market because it was pretty.  I asked the guy selling it what it was called, and he mumbled it at me twice; all I could tell was it started with "honey".  If you type "squash honey" into Google, it'll suggest the right name: honeyboat squash (which is a pretty sweet name for a squash), aka delicata squash.  It's stripey & delicious.  I also learned (from the Googs) that squash will keep for 1.5-3 months at room temperature, and 3-6 months in the fridge, so now I won't feel like I have to use up all my squashes right away.

I only made one squash, and I certainly didn't have the ingredients suggested lying around, and I completely forgot to add the cumin, so here's what I ended up with (based on this recipe).

Sauce (part 1):
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1/2 cup water
less than 1/4 of a purple onion (which was leftover in the fridge)
1 garlic clove
a dash of salt

Put the water & red pepper flakes on the stove; bring to a boil/simmer.  Chop up the onion & garlic in the food processor.  Add everything to the boiling red pepper flakes.  Let all/most of the water boil off (oops, but it worked out) so that everything is softened, then set aside.

While that's going on, cut the stem off of one honey boat squash, and slice it longways to make two little squash boats.  Scoop out all the seeds & stringy stuff.

Sauce (part 2):
1 tsp honey
1 1/2 tsp oil
a dash of salt

Mix a heaping teaspoon of sauce part 1 with everything in sauce part 2 & mix.  Split it between your two squash halves.  Brush it all over the exposed squash insides (I used my fingers); leave the remainder in the boat.

Bake on a foil-lined cookie sheet at 400 for 40 minutes, or until squash is soft but not really dark or anything.  Enjoy everything but the (still pretty) peel; the squash should come off from the peel really easily.

Zesty Sweet Chili Tofu

The cafeteria at work has a very limited selection of things I like.  But one of the few things I was really impressed with was their sweet chili tofu.  It was bright orange, sitting on a heating coil for the 3 hours that lunch was available, and had a slightly weird texture... but it was delicious.  I haven't seen it in a while though, so I decided I had to find a recipe that was like it; this recipe is just like work used to make!

I found this sauce recipe, but naturally I didn't have peppers or garlic in the apartment, so I substituted.  I also only made half the recipe; I find that gooey asian-style sauces like this that have cornstarch in them get gross if you put them in the fridge, so I didn't want too much left over.  My recipe looked something like this:

• 1/4 tsp garlic powder (probably plus a little extra)
• 1/2 tsp (very heaping -- probably closer to 3/4 tsp) red pepper flakes
• 1/8 c white vinegar
• 1/4 c sugar
• 3/8 c water
• 1/2 tbsp cornstarch
• 1 tbsp water

For the first boiling part, I left it on for way longer than 3 minutes -- it never really thickened up, but I did notice that I'd lost some liquid.  The cornstarch worked really quickly once I added it, and I ended up with this much sauce:

It all fit into the big spoon I had been stirring with, which was about how much I wanted anyway.  This ended up being very spicy; I'd probably use less red pepper if I made it again.

For the tofu, I just chopped up & pressed a block of tofu, oiled the pan & the tofu, then baked it for a little over 30 minutes at 350 then 375 (because the sauce was done and I was hungry), flipping every 10 minutes or so.  It stuck to the pan relentlessly; maybe parchment paper would've helped.  Then I tossed it with the sauce.  It was just the right amount of both, and turned out fantastic (albeit a bit spicier than I'd've hoped).  It would've been perfect with some rice, which I had meant to make while the tofu was cooking but totally forgot.  Will definitely be making this again!