It's Butternut Squash time

...and do I have a recipe for you!

I know, I've been totally bad and you probably forgot all about you. Rest assured, I would not forget about you. It was Kevin's turn to blog but if you've been keeping up at all with the Hatgases (or Hatgai as some like to say) you know we've had our fair share of crazy lately.

But there's something about fall, and these crisp days with sun and dramatic clouds that has been getting me thinking about cooking. And with the mother of all cooking holidays within reach, it's about damn time.

Anyhow, I was feeling really fall-ish and found this recipe that I'd clipped from a magazine, but never made before. It's de.lish.us. Trust me.

Butternut Squash with Cumin Couscous

1 2lb butternut squash, peeled, and cubed
1 medium yellow onion, diced
1T chopped garlic (mine comes from a jar
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon, divided
2 tsp cumin, divided
1/2 cup dried fruit (I used a mix of cherries and apricots but raisins are fine too)
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can chickpeas, drained
1 box of stock/broth (veggie or chicken is acceptable)
Salt
Pepper
1 1/2 C Couscous (or a small box)
1 1/2 C boiling water
1/8 C sliced almonds, toasted

Ok, now for the down and dirty--In a pot or dutch oven (I love mine, it's an enamel cast iron from Target...got it for $40 and have used it a ton. WELL worth it! But I digress...) heat a couple of tablespoons of Olive Oil and add the onion. Sweat the onions on medium heat for about 5 minutes. Add the garlic, cayenne, 1/2 tsp of cinnamon, and 1 tsp of cumin and cook for another minute. Add the tomatoes, chickpeas, squash, fruit and chicken broth. Bring to a boil and lower heat. Simmer with the lid on for 10 minutes and then remove the lid and continue to simmer for another 20 minutes until the squash is soft. You can use a potato masher and bash it about it a bit if you want but you want it big and chunky so don't go crazy. While all the butternut squash stuff is going, boil some water and cook some couscous (according to package directions), adding a 1 tsp of cumin and 1 tsp of cinnamon and 1/2 a tsp of salt. Fluff with a fork and add almonds. Serve couscous as a base for the stew. Enjoy!