Tempeh-Stuffed Delicata Squash

I received this great photo over the weekend, and wanted to share it ~ and so I’ve also enclosed the recipe that’s being used 🙂 .

Last fall, I did an online vegan cooking class and talked about how the holidays can be rough when you are the only vegan around, and yes, sometimes we are on the wrong end of comments made by family and friends. One way to help diffuse this potentially emotionally-charged situation is to bring great vegan food with you to share with everyone. This gives them a chance to see what types of yummy food we eat, or at the very least we get to have a beautiful, brightly-colored plate in comparison to what everyone else is eating!

So this past week, there was a TriYoga teacher training happening in Denmark, and apparently on some days, meals that were prepared came from Kelli’s Vegan Kitchen recipes, and this squash was one of them.  (Thanks you all!)  I love hearing that people who have attended the vegan classes are able to use the recipes afterwards.

Here are our friends in Denmark making stuffed squash for one of the evening meals after the training.

In the original recipe, I used delicata squash, although any kind of winter squash can be used. This is what a delicata squash looks like – aren’t they beautiful?

Tempeh-Stuffed Delicata Squash

• 1 Delicata squash (or acorn, etc)
• 1 package tempeh
• 2 Tablespoons tamari or soy sauce
• ½ teaspoon garlic powder
• ½ teaspoon ground sage
• ½ teaspoon thyme
• ¼ teaspoon cayenne
• 1 stalk celery, diced
• ¼ medium onion, diced
• 1 Tablespoon coconut oil
• 2 Tablespoons pine nuts

Halve and remove the seeds from the squash. Prebake on a cookie sheet at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

While the squash is baking, prepare the tempeh: cut the tempeh into cubes and pulse in the food processor until it falls into crumb-sized pieces. (You can also do this by hand). Place the tempeh in a medium-sized bowl. Mix in the tamari, garlic powder, sage, thyme and cayenne.

In a small frying pan, melt the coconut oil, then sauté the onion and celery until soft. Add the onion and celery into the tempeh mixture and mix well.

Once the squash starts to get soft and slightly brown, remove from the oven and stuff each half with the tempeh mixture and top with the pine nuts. If there is any filling left over, put in an oven-proof dish and put it and the squash back into the oven for 15 minutes, until the tempeh has browned slightly.

Serve and enjoy ~ makes 2-4 servings.