Kousa Mahshi- Aunt Shirleys stuffed Squash

You mad add this to Ruchi's Healthy food Carnival at Ardous Blog.
I was at the farmers market and one of the vendors had something called Lavoosh Squash. Don't google it- it aint there. But I recognised that as what I call Aunt Shirley's Squash. And I bought some pronto. Well I finally took a crack at Aunt Shirley's Stuffed Squash reicpe, finding one that sounded simular to My auntie's. My aunt Shirley was married to a Syrian/American and learned this from his mother. I have since found out the Syrian or middle eastern name is Kousa Mahshi (Stuffed squash with tomato sauce) and believe it or not I pretty much stayed with the recipe- except I used hamburger instead of ground veal. That is how my Aunt made it. I would imagine you could use TVP(MorningStar farms Recipe starters Crumbles, for a meat free version. Anyway the recipe is here if you like. Thanks to the good people at Big Oven.com

Some hints-

When scooping out the squash- Instead of a "Syrian munara" (if you could find one) I used a 1" spade bit and my drill motor. Y'all know how I love it when power tools and cooking mix.

Try using a pastry bag to stuff the squash with the veal and/or hamburger mixture.

Guilty Pleasures- Part Deux

Romeo's New biodegradable plastic poop bag holder

A few posts back I wrote about a guilty pleasure- I bought a Double Gulp at 7-11- today I am continuing in the same vain. I bought a bags on board Dispenser. Bags on Board is a company that makes and sells- plastic bags. For poop. When walking your dog, proper dog owner etiquette calls for the dog owner to pick up after said canine. And believe me Romeo has to poop. A lot. (I have come down with this theory- He doesn’t go as much when I have bags on my person.

My "homemade poop bag holder- made from an old container for staples- holds 4 plastic shopping bags- probably now will be used to reuse those bags!

So I made up a bag holder myself to make sure he always has poopy bags. Now this company, Bags on Board takes my idea and runs with it! (I expect royalties gentlemen!) Only they improved on it. Their bags are Biodegradable. (Note Biodegradable except as defined by California). What that means I don’t know- Maybe Ahnuld has come up with super dog poop that won’t allow the bag to biodegrade? Maybe he has covered his Hummer with them. Anyway I have written the company and asked them How their bags biodegrade? Are they made of corn polymer or something else? I couldn't find the answer on their website. I bought the dispenser and bags from REI, a store that I trust and am a member of. So we will see- when and if I get a response for The Bramton Company, the makers of Bags on Board, I will let you know.
I know, the wise thing would be to teach Romeo to sit on the toilet, but I swear just teaching him to sit is a challenge. That and I don’t subscribe to a newspaper so what’s he supposed to do for reading while on the can? At home he goes outside and I use a pooper scooper to pick up after him and the other dog. But that pooper scooper is too much to carry around. And since I don’t want to get into confrontations with folks who bitch when they step in my dog’s crap, (see the movie- “I love you man”)
Anyway I am still excited over these bags- I know you can say reduction is better than consumption. I still say Biodegradability is better than permanence.

Community Garden gets Famous

The B-Town Blog, the local news source for Burien has finally done the enivitable- there is a picture of my Ugly mug on it. They did a story about Sustainable Burien's efforts to create a community Garden in the Bias, and there is a pic of me and my fellow gardeners there. Also if you like to some some great pics taken by SuBu Member Rebecca, She has them posted on her picasa page. The community garden is doing fine- lots of tomatoes in the victory garden, I think the fennel is ready for harvest! Of course all veggies taken from the garden (at least the victory garden) will be donated to the local food bank.

Guilty Pleasures

IT was hot yesterday- I was in a vault testing a backflow (I am a state certified "BAT"- Backflow Assembly Tester) Anyway I found myself at 7-11, and I yielded into this:
a Double Gulp of diet Dr. Pepper, You know I never hardly ever buy pop and never from 7-11; but it just sounded so good and cooling

So to cure my guilt, my Double Gulp container became this:

The lid will be thrown away, the straw will be reused, and the Double Gulp Container became a planter for impatiens
So how do you solve justify your guilty pleasures?

The Flower and Garden show is saved!

Great news for any local fans of the NW Flower and Garden show- it has been sold to O’Loughlin Trade Shows of Portland and Tacoma according to press release through the NW Flower& Garden Show website. This means that my and many others favorite Garden Party will continue in Seattle. Slated for February 3 through the 7th at The Washington State Convention And Trade Center in Seattle. Great news indeed.

3 Cheers for Betty

It seems the Queen likes fresh veggies and fruits as well as anyone. This is a great video on her new allotment at Buckingham Palace- seems that upstart US president started something. Of course, unlike Michele Obama, Betty ain't going out and digging- it would not amuse her, even if she could shed those dresses and bonnets for a nice pair of overalls and a baseball cap. Well a Robs World salute to Her majesty-Pip Pip, Cheerios and Cocoa Puffs to HRH Elizabeth! Good Show, Betty, Good Show!

Ham Biscuits- Meat Free Monday

Well today was boring... As usual Romeo and I took a walk around the B/IAS and checked on the Community gardens- then we walked over to Burien Press and even though I hadn't eaten breakfast, I remembered it was Meat Free Monday and I decided to forgo the delicious Ham Biscuit, opted for a Muffin instead. I got my coffee, my muffin and had a good start to the day. Lunch at Ma's was two vegan burger patties(don't know what kind, but they were good) and some fruit. Lunch at work I simply heated two Bavarian pretzels and had a couple of peaches, and supper at home was some pasta with a little olive oil and fresh parsley. So why title the post Ham Biscuits if it was meat free Monday? Because I found a great recipe for ham Biscuits using Canned biscuits. I aint the poppin' fresh dough boy for nuthin'. These are easy to make and require very little ham, so could probably be made using scraps of ham after a big ham dinner or a bit of prosciutto since they don't take much. While not as good as home made Ham Biscuits they are quick and satisfying. Anyway here is the recipe:

EASY HAM & CHEESE BISCUITS

1 can (8 oz.) refrigerated biscuits ("Grands" works best)
1 cup of Grated Swiss or cheddar cheese (or mix them if you are adventurous
1 cup of ham, finely diced
1 egg beaten with 1 Tbsp. water
3/4 c. finely crushed onion cracker crumbs or any other seasoned cracker crumbs

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Separate biscuit dough into 10 biscuits. Pat or roll out each to a 4 inch circle. carefully cut the biscuits in half so that each biscuit is now open. Put on 1 tablespoon of diced ham. Put biscuit back together, sealing the ham inside the biscuit.Dip in egg wash, then in cheese, then in cracker crumbs. Place on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 10 to 15 minutes or until golden brown.
Hint- use parchment paper on your cookie sheet, since the egg was has a tendency to make the biscuit stick!