Kabocha-cha! Japanese Pumpkin- Part 1

Halloween kicked off the pumpkin season. So as the fall turns into winter I'm celebrating with kabocha, my favorite Japanese pumpkin.  Stay tuned!  I am dedicating 3 blog posts to this wonderful winter squash. 
On Friday I had an insatiable craving for simmered kabocha.  (Sometimes my cravings lead to impulsive shopping trips- but I knew that I had free time to cook this weekend.)  I found these two lovely fellows at the C-market in Chinatown.  The kabochas looked discouragingly dirty in the store.  But a little soap and water revealed the beautiful green skin underneath.
According to Wikipedia (hehe), kabocha came to Japan from Cambodia in the 16th century.  It's original Japanese name of "Cambodia abobora" was shortened to "kabocha."  Hmm.
Kabocha has an stellar vitamin A profile.  How could we not love it?

One cup of kabocha has...
30 calories

0 grams fat

7 grams carbohydrate

0 grams protein

0 mg sodium

1 gram fiber

3 grams sugar

700 micrograms Vitamin A (wowee! 70% of the needed Daily Value)

9 milligrams Vitamin C (swell! 15% of Daily Value)

How do you eat it?  Do you love it too?
Recipes coming soon.  Kabocha-cha!