By Mid-September. The kabocha returns to the farmers market and the world resets. I buy the first one from Carol's booth and hold it in both hands and the weight is familiar and the color is familiar and the anticipation is familiar: the cut, the scoop, the cube, the simmer, the dashi, the soy sauce, the apartment filling with the smell of autumn. The smell has not changed in seven years. The smell will not change. The smell is the one constant in a life that has been, in every other way, a revolution.
I made kabocha nimono — the first of the season, the ritual, the return. The kabocha surrendered to the heat the way kabocha always does: slowly, sweetly, with dignity. I served it in the chipped bowl and ate it at the small table and the taste was the taste of every September I have lived in this kitchen, which is three Septembers, but also every September I have lived in any kitchen, which is all of them, because the nimono is the nimono, and the nimono is the season, and the season is the clock, and the clock says: you are here. Another autumn. Another nimono. Another year of the practice. The practice continues.
I wrote a blog post about the first kabocha — the annual post, the tradition that the readers have come to expect, the way they expect the hiyashi chuka post in July and the ozoni post in January. The blog has seasons now, the way a show has seasons, the way a life has seasons. The seasons are the structure. The structure is the commitment. The commitment is the practice. I am saying "practice" too much. The word is overused and exactly right. There is no other word. The practice is the practice. The repetition is the point.
An editor from Bon Appétit contacted me about writing an essay for their online section — about Japanese-American home cooking, about the space between traditions, about the food that exists in the gap. The email was polite and professional and contained the sentence, "We've been reading your work for three years." Three years. Bon Appétit has been reading me for three years. The fact that national food media has been watching while I cooked in a one-bedroom apartment in Southeast Portland is both flattering and surreal, like discovering that someone has been watching you through a window while you cook in your pajamas, except the window is the internet and the pajamas are the blog.
The nimono is the nimono—but when I’m writing the annual post and the Bon Appétit email is sitting open in another tab and the season is asking me to cook something that holds all of this at once, sometimes the ritual expands. This roasted herbed squash with goat cheese is where I landed after the simmering was done: a second squash dish, a Western counterpart to the nimono, the gap between traditions that the editor was asking me to write about. It is autumn in a different register, and it belongs here too.
Roasted Herbed Squash with Goat Cheese
Prep Time: 15 min | Cook Time: 35 min | Total Time: 50 min | Servings: 4
Ingredients
- 1 small kabocha or butternut squash (about 2 lbs), peeled, seeded, and cut into 1-inch cubes
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
- 1 teaspoon fresh rosemary, finely chopped
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 3 oz soft goat cheese, crumbled
- 1 tablespoon fresh flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped (for garnish)
- 1 teaspoon honey (optional, for drizzling)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven. Heat oven to 425°F. Line a large rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Season the squash. In a large bowl, toss the squash cubes with olive oil, thyme, rosemary, garlic powder, salt, and pepper until evenly coated.
- Roast. Spread the squash in a single layer on the prepared baking sheet, making sure the pieces are not crowded. Roast for 30—35 minutes, flipping once halfway through, until the squash is tender and the edges are caramelized and golden.
- Finish and serve. Transfer the roasted squash to a serving platter. Crumble the goat cheese over the top while the squash is still hot, allowing it to soften slightly. Garnish with fresh parsley and drizzle with honey if desired. Serve immediately.
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories: 195 | Protein: 6g | Fat: 11g | Carbs: 21g | Fiber: 3g | Sodium: 310mg