All Dried Up

As I wrote in this recent article for Alive magazine, there are some big nutritional perks that come with grabbing a handful of dried fruit for a snack. And there are plenty of ways to incorporate dates, goji berries, dried tart cherries and others into recipes such as the ones below I developed for this piece. Psst...the hazelnut pancakes will rock your breakfast world.

Chocolate Fruit Bark

Chickpea Goji Berry Salad

Hazelnut Pancakes with Dried Blueberry Sauce

This is a bonus recipe that got axed for space issues.

Acorn Squash with Dried Fruit Rice Stuffing

2 Tbsp butter, melted

1 Tbsp maple syrup

2 acorns, halved and seeds removed

1 onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

½ cup wehani rice

1/3 cup black or green lentils

1/3 cup dried cranberries

1/3 cup dried apricots, chopped

1/3 cup walnut pieces

2 Tbsp  fresh thyme, divided

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Mix together maple syrup and butter and brush half the mixture over the squash flesh. Place squash on a baking sheet, tent with foil and bake until flesh is tender, about 1 hour.

Meanwhile, heat 2 teaspoons vegetable oil in a medium sized saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and cook 3 to 4 minutes, or until softened. Add garlic, rice, lentils, cranberries, apricot, walnuts, half the thyme, and salt and pepper, to taste. Pour in 2 cups water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer covered until rice and lentils are tender and water is absorbed, about 40-45 minutes. Add more water during cooking as needed.

Remove acorn squash halves from oven and stuff with rice mixture. Drizzle with remaining butter mixture and top with remaining thyme. Cook 5 minutes more.

Serves 4