I don't know about you but there are some days that I just cannot be bothered!!! Today for me is that day.After running around all day and going a bit mad chasing around work and home and the allotment and all sorts of things I'm not sure I can honestly be bothered at all. To top it off we have very little left in the cupboard and fridge and for the next week I think living out of the freezer might be the outcome.
It really is one of those days where if you aren't feeling like kickstarting your brain into gear you know you either go hungry or end up eating something you truly shouldn't!!! I stood in our conservatory (prep kitchen) and looked about me, at the moment there is pure chaos as our kitchen looks like this ....
Yes that is our poor little kitchen with its bench fallen off the wall... so no bench space for making anything .... all our kitchen stuff is all over our couches in the living room and to be honest its not something I wanted to make more "interesting" by cooking....however I bit the bullet and grabbed the few bits I could and looked at it thinking .... What the hell am I going to do with this lot ???
Well here it is ....
SPICY STUFFED PUMPKIN
I started with a pot of rice and threw in some spices
NIGELLA
CHILLI FLAKES
CUMIN
SZECHUAN PEPPERCORNS
CELERY SALT
Bring to the boil ....
Whilst this is occurring you can prep your pumpkin, some people call these squash to me its a pumpkin either way you scrape out the seeds and the stringy bits ... I save the seeds from every second pumpkin and roast them off the others end uop in the compost and free plants for next year !!!
Straight onto a roasting tray and sprinkle a little oil over them and salt and pepper, if you want to add honey or maple syrup go for it I really didn't feel the need today. Pop them in the oven at 200C ....
At this point my rice has come to the boil so I turn it off ....
and cover it ... this method is awesome the heat from the hot plate cooks the rice without using anymore electric and you don't run the risk of burning your rice. It does take about 10-15 minutes and that's it!!!
I did find some red onions ... sliced them up and chucked them in here with a little olive oil ...
some sliced peppers and squished garlic....
saute them well....
Lucky me I found some cashews and pine nuts too and popped those in as well ....
until the nuts started to brown and then tool it off the heat....
At this point the rice was ready and i discovered I'd added a little bit too much water ... it happens to the best of us but hey in this recipe it dried out a little in the oven so not to worry!!!
Add your saute veg to about half the rice... I always make to o much so I have some rice ready for the morning ...
Add a little fresh herbs of your choice I used coriander....
At this point your pumpkins should be about half cooked ... turn the oven down to 180C and stuff them with the rice mix and pop them back in the oven until the pumpkin is fully cooked. About 45 minutes...
Once cooked you have something that not only smells amazing but looks amazing and really hasn't cost you that much time and effort to do... for me this is more than enough dinner for the next 4 days .... of course you can serve it with homemade garlic bread or a loverly salad or just tuck in as it is!!!
Whilst this was in the oven I was able to get on with writing other blogs and get on with all sorts of paperworky stuff... I love cooking in the oven or one pot dishes .... especially on days like today ... chuck all in and walk away ... doesnt mean it has to be dried out and boring ... it can be filling and tasty.
Until next time
Enjoy and take it easy
xox Bloo xox
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