I am a kabocha nut.
Not a bad thing – it’s good – but time to branch out.
Admittedly, I got in a rut with it. I have been preparing it the same way for weeks. Tossed in this Mexican chocolate spice blend and roasted before being doused with a sweet peanut sauce, it has been my favorite “dessert.”
Possibly strange to “normal” people. Definitely good. But no longer unique. When Heather chose it was the “K” ingredient for the MMAZ link up, I knew I needed to step up my game.
Today I bring you a strange non-dessert kabocha creation. Not to worry – it’s still good.
Peanut flour again makes an appearance (I guess I didn’t branch that far out…) but this time it’s as a savory Asian-inspired dish. If you don’t have peanut flour, you can certainly use peanut butter!
Sriracha is my favorite way to add heat, and you could use it here. I avoid the sodium this close to a competition, so I added my own sriracha-esque ingredients to the peanut flour. Red pepper flakes and rice vinegar, plus garlic and a dash of cinnamon. Trust me on the cinnamon.
After a quick toss, I roasted my pea-nutty kabocha until it was nearly burnt nicely crisped. If you want to make it more strange, add in some cauliflower. It’s another dessert of the vegetable world – it tastes good in pancakes or spiced up.
Don’t forget to head over to Heather’s blog on Monday for everyone else’s kabocha creations!
Thai Peanut Kabocha & Cauliflower
- 2 T peanut flour* (or peanut butter)
- 2 T unsweetened almond milk (or other liquid)
- 1 T rice vinegar
- 2-3 cloves of garlic, pressed
- Red pepper flakes, to taste
- Pinch of cinnamon
- 1 C kabocha squash, cubed
- 1 C cauliflower florets
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with foil.
In a small bowl, mix together first 5 ingredients.
Place cubed kabocha and cauliflower on baking sheet. Pour peanut mixture over the veggies and toss to coat.
Place in oven and bake for 20-30 min, stirring once half way through.
Makes 2 servings.
*I order my peanut flour from iHerb. Use discount code USO924 for $5-10 off your order!
How have you enjoyed making co-workers, friends, or family stare with strange but good creations this week? The link up rules can be found here or by clicking on “Strange But Good” in the menu bar above. In short, I want to see what concoctions have earned you weird looks from co-workers, family and friends! Post your Strange But Good creations, grab the logo below for your blog, and link up here.
Remember to use #strangebutgood in any Tweets and Instagrams of your creations. 🙂
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This week has been insanely busy with work and travel. I’m so sorry I’m behind on replying to comments and emails. I promise to catch up this weekend!
What’s your favorite squash? Have you tried kabocha yet?
Do you ever eat your veggies sweet?
This looks excellent. I love peanut butter and cauliflower– making note of this for an upcoming meal planning session 🙂
Thank you! Please let me know what you think. 🙂
Strangely enough, I think this sounds really good! Maybe I can get my hubby to actually eat cauliflower!
I think even my former picky child-self would have eaten this!
I think this sounds pretty dang good!!!! I have not done kabocha but cauliflower is good to me! 🙂
So want to try this! But sadly I have never seen kabotcha is any grocery near me. I’ll just have to sub it out with another squash!
It would be great with sweet potato too!
Wow. I think we were seriously riding the same #strange wave this week. Both our recipes feature kabocha, cauliflower in a savory way…and Sriracha?!! Hi 5!
Vegetables eaten sweet can only be the milder ones hidden in baked goods/oats etc. Zucchini or squash!
That was so crazy! I still need to try those pancakes. I was out of cauliflower this weekend!
I am SUCH a kabocha nerd these days. I just can’t get enough of that lovely orange squash. In fact my palms and bottoms of my feet are a slight orange tint, but I kind of don’t care it’s too awesome.
This looks totally awesome to me!
I keep hoping I’ll achieve that natural “glow.”
I too love kabocha and can’t believe that it took me so long to discover it!
I have SOOOOOO MANY STRANGE BUT AMAZINGLY MOUTHTASTIC dishes at dinner tonight in Beverly Hills! You need to go on a taste bud vacation so SoCal so we can eatttttttttttttt the entire time you’re here! And then of course we can make loads of VIDEOS too!
Ummmm… agreed!!!
Ooh yum! I’ve never actually had my kabocha in a non-dessert style dish! I think I’m going to branch out this week though!!
It was my first time too! Still delish. 🙂
You can’t beat kabocha in my opinion. Definitely my favourite squash.
Kabocha is good no matter how you prepare it. But this sounds unbelievable.
I just cut a Hokkaido Pumpkin and it’s roasting in the oven. Can not wait until the kabochas are finally here! Love the combo with peanut!
Hokkaido?! That’s a new one on me!
Kabocha! Are there actually any other squashes to even be considered as possible favourite ;)? I’m not sure. Maybe if we’re talking about kabocha as its own food group as you suggested a while back.
It’s funny you’re asking about the sweet veggies because my MMAZ submission is actually going to be a sweet kabocha dish. Something else I’ve been meaning to try for ages are maple-glazed veggies because they sound so good. As does you dish, really. Kabocha, peanut, cinnamon? Can’t go wrong with these.
You must try maple glazed veggies! Brussles are my favorite. 🙂
I FINALLY found kabocha at Randall’s here in Houston and actually making a sweet dish tonight for dinner and I’m already excited about it. Yes I am a weirdo like that. I like this savory option and have all the ingredients. Thanks for sharing and Happy Friday the 13th!
Yummy as usual!
mmmm yummy! i haven’t had cauliflower in a while and i love the sounds of this dish 🙂 honestly, a have tried kabocha squash before, but i don’t see what all the hype is about?? i think i prefer acorn 🙂
Gurrrrrllll… I can’t stand acorn. LOL! This would be good with sweet potato though. 🙂
if you come cut the kabcoha, i’ll make this. damn thing is flipping hard to cut! i need your guns
Hahahahahahahaha 🙂 Dude, you are so right. Maybe cutting kabocha is the TRUE reason she has those guns?
true!
Yes! I was just about to comment on this. It’s so hard to cut!
I posted the trick in IG and FB just for you guys. Mwah!
I like the idea of pea-nutty squash. Now if only I could find a true kabocha… hmphffff
This looks amazing…but girl, your strange meter is off. WAY too normal. 😉
Of course, my recipe isn’t that weird this week either. I just happened to use it in some strange ways.
(But hooray for MMAZ. Now if only I could find kabocha here in Tuscaloosa….)
Sarah, have I EVER made anything you thought was strange?! YOU are #strangebutgood. 😉
I literally scoured all of Toronto for a kabocha squash and finally found one last weekend!!! My mouth loved it but my stomach DID NOT. I was so upset 🙁 Thinking this dish will have to happen with sweet potatoes instead?? I bought some purple sweet potatoes that I think would be awesome in this!
That sucks!!! Winter squash does tend to cause a little bloating. 🙁
Sweet potato would be excellent here! Or maybe even rutabaga!
Um, I need that like now. Looks fantastic, all of my favorite things all rolled into one dish! I have everything at home except for the cauliflower. We go through so much sriracha at my house – that and jalapenos. I really like heat and almost had a meltdown last night when I realized there were only a few jalapenos floating around sadly in the jar and there was no backup.
I am a heat monger.
Mmmm peanut flour! Sounds delish! Love the look of the dish, it has a very southern quality to it. I’m not a huge fan of spicy foods but I can see how this would be good. My bf would love it!
I didn’t even think of that, but I guess the peanuts are a good one being from Georgia. 🙂
Funny, I’ve been eating my veggies with thai peanut sauce all week. Green beans are my fave. And I bought a kabocha squash this week, but I think butternut is my fave.
I can’t stomach the thought of sweet veggies, unless its butternut squash or the like. Also sweet eggs? No thanks. Unless I hide them in eggy oats.
I thought butternut was my fav before the kabocha. I think I like it because it’s a little more firm?
Pass your sweet eggs over here. 😉
mmmm, this looks incredible!
I made something similar the other day (using Peanut Butter & Co’s “The Heat Is On” spicy peanut butter in the sauce. um, plus sriracha. *sigh*
Good thing I am now addicted to these squash, because I have several recipes to choose from for MMAZ 😉
XO Happy Friday!
Can you really ever have enough sriracha? 😉
Would you believe I ate all of my kabocha before I made the new recipe I intended to make for MMAZ? Never mind, don’t answer that. Bummer is that I HAVE to go and get more. 😉
This sounds perfect to me! I hope you had a great trip even if it was for work and it’s good to have you back home!
nnnnnngggg I am drooling everywhere.
Looks amazing!
I’m so making this today. I tend to just roast my kabocha plain because thats how i like it, and dress it up as I go. I should mix it up though becAuse this sounds marvelous:)
Did you do it??? I’d love to know what you thought. 🙂
I always just roast a bunch plain during meal prep to add a variety of flavors to throughout the week. I do the same with gains.
Huh. <<<That's how I always feel when I read your posts. Not a bad "huh" like "that crazy lady, what does she think she's doing?!" but more like a good "huh." Your recipes always make me see food in a new way. Peanut butter (or flour.. same difference 😉 ) and cauliflower- that's a combo that I've never thought of before. Actually any nut butter and cauliflower together. Or a nut butter and broccoli for that matter.
Upon inspection of the internet though I guess it's not a new concept… Duh, peanut sauce like with Chinese food! But still- awesome recipe! 😀
LMAO! Thank you – that is a HUGE compliment. 🙂
Try nut butter and zucchini. So awesome.
I love thai food!!
I still have two kabocha in the kitchen that are untouched – that’s my task for this weekend! And YUMMY flavors in this. 🙂
I love the addition of cauliflower. It’s a happy vegetable for me, especially when it’s roasted.
The last photo looks awesome! Great job.
Do happy vegetables come from California? (Please tell me you know that commercial… otherwise this isn’t funny at all.)
I’ve got nothing. But, I can pretend it’s super funny. 🙂
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eZ9TQM7niEc
Now that’s funny.
I am on a BIG hunt for peanut flour out here, I know I can find it!! No kombucha yet but I am still looking, I found pumpkin so I may add pumpkin when I try this out! Lots of Love your way, I hope you have a great weekend! C
I think you have to order it online any where in the world. I’ve never seen it in a store. 🙁
I’ve been reading every day, but my commenting skillz are lacking lately. Kabocha prepared this way sounds absolutely amazing, and I like that you added the flavors of sriracha without the sugar/salt. I watched this great article on how to make your own sriracha a few days ago…Maybe you can just blend it up and keep a bottle in your purse! xo
I have thought about that SO many times. You do it and I’ll copy your recipe…. 😉
hey laura! i am so sorry for not having the logo and link in my post! it’s there now 🙂 i hope you see it <3
Thanks!!! <3
Oh my holy goodness I want to make this! Kabocha is hands down my favorite food ever -I believe my mother and I have demolished 3 this week at least. Major squash belly haha! It always gets eaten plain before we can actually make anything out of it, but looks like today is the day!! Gosh you are a genius!
Thank you!!! The squash belly cracks me up every time. That’s why I’m a lat night squash eater. 😉
Dude yes. I’d marry this.
Damn… I’m kind of jealous of this in that case.
Ohhhhh, I like this…I like it a LOT! And I also like that you didn’t use any oil to roast your kabocha. I see people do that all the time and I just wonder why…I mean, unless it’s been sitting on your counter for 3 months since you went a little crazy at the International market and it took you that long to get through your stash, I can understand, because ya know, sometimes squashies dry out (or sprout in the case of your spaghetti! ;)), but I honestly think that adding oil to a fresh kabocha makes it a little squishy? And I also think my ability for creating impressive run-on sentences is on TACT this morning! 😉
I hadn’t seen your cauliflower pancakes…nice! Guess somebody had to take my place on the royal throne huh? Just a word of caution…don’t get too comfortable because the queen is making a comeback! Muahaha!
I feel the same way!!! Plus, if I do it totally plain I can go back and add fun flavors later.
Bring it, Pancake Queen!!! I’m miss your crazy concoctions!
THIS IS COOKING AS I TYPE AND MY ENTIRE APARTMENT SMELLS AMAZEBALLS! I can’t wait to stuff my face!!!! Gosh I love your kabocha creations 😀
That’s so awesome!!! Thank you, thank you thank you. 🙂
Quite simply, you are amazing. This was delicious and SO easy – my kind of dish! Thank you!
You’re the best. NOW will you try beefy oats??? 😉
I’ll think about it. The thinking process may very well take several years! 😉