Oh, that dreadful, dreadful lunch

We took a visitor to the Corner Bakery Cafe.  I had the brains to tell them to hold the cheese, but I didn't realize that when they "grill" a panini, they slather the bread with oil or butter first.  If I can assume that the amount of withheld cheese was one ounce, then my panini delivered 500 calories and 18.5 grams of fat to my insides!    The side of mixed greens tasted like it had oil on it, too.


Something so bad for me should have tasted better.  But enough. 
The Food of the week is




Tahini!







How's that for a list of ingredients?








High in copper, manganese, magnesium, calcium, phosphorus, iron, zinc, molybdenum, and selenium...sounds like a little vitamin pill for the bones and joints.  And just full of phytosterols, which sound scary, but are added to processed foods like fake butter so they can be marketed as cholesterol-lowering.


I used my tahini to make creamy sesame noodles--soba noodles dressed with tahini, almond butter, maple syrup, etc., and tossed with a sprinkle of toasted sesame seeds.  When I first tasted them, they were still a little warm and I wasn't thrilled.  But later I put them together with the butternut squash and they were a delight.
Which brings us to:

China Study Cookbook Recipe #2



Quick Butternut Squash

 
Very good except for the part where you have to peel the squash and cube it.  I have a very sharp vegetable peeler and it was still a pain in the butt.  I wonder if it would taste any different if I halved the squash, brushed the seasonings on the insides, and baked it?

No matter--I have plenty of leftovers.  I'm happy.  And no one but me will touch it.