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Squash

I love squash so this is a great time of year for me to enjoy local produce in a satisfying meal.   This morning I had pumpkin bread made with cranberries and pumpkin seeds for breakfast.  My lunch was baked delecata squash with apple and walnuts, sprinkled with chia seeds.  Tonight, I have pumpkin pudding for dessert.  Last week I made a baked squash stuffed with vegetables and bulghar wheat and a creamy pumpkin polenta that I ate at every meal until it was gone--it was that delicious. I hope I don't turn yellow.
I went to the natural food store to get some fresh nutmeg and some fresh cardamom.  Both go well with winter squash.  I keep going to the spice drawer and sniffing it.  I like being able to buy spices from the bulk bins because I can get small quantities that I will use up while they stay fresh tasting and so fragrant.  I've had my share of those tin boxes of spices that stay in the cupboard for five years.  They really don't add much flavor after a while.  I've become more demanding of flavor in my old age.
In Florida, we get fresh strawberries at the beginning of February, but then we get fresh winter squashes and pumpkins in March, which for some reason surprised me a whole lot more than the strawberries at first.  We could buy corn on the cob the whole time we are in Florida, but it does not compare to what we get in Vermont in August so we just wait for that.  But I digress.
This makes a yummy dish (I have even know some squash haters to eat it and like it):
Dig the seeds out of a butternut squash (our backyard birds gobble them up) and peel the tough outer skin.  Slice the squash and arrange in a buttered baking pan along with two sliced apples.  Sprinkle on a bit of brown sugar, nutmeg, cinnamon, chopped nuts (if you like).  Give it a stir around, pop in a 350 oven for 30 minutes or so (til it is nicely soft).  Honestly, you could eat this for dessert.
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Comments

  1. LindaOctober 18, 2010 at 4:42 PM

    That sounds wonderful. You brought pictures to my mind of my one trip to Vermont and how bright the pumpkins were. It was also my first time to eat squash soup. With the beautiful leaves it was a fall heaven.

    ReplyDelete
  2. marciamayoOctober 18, 2010 at 4:47 PM

    Olga, does it matter what type of apple? I don't know why I ask as you know I'm not much of a cook. It sounds so good, I just might try it.

    ReplyDelete
  3. kenjuOctober 19, 2010 at 5:43 AM

    I love the photo of pumpkins and squash!

    ReplyDelete
  4. OlgaOctober 19, 2010 at 12:58 PM

    Any good baking apple will do. I like Northern Spy, but they are hard to come by. Granny Smith apples work well. I have seen peeled and cut up buternut squash in the grocery stores--would make this a lot easier to throw together.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Arkansas PattiOctober 19, 2010 at 1:56 PM

    Love butternut the best but boy they have a tough hide. Think I will look for the pealed and cut up in the store, sounds much easier.

    ReplyDelete
  6. MargaretOctober 19, 2010 at 3:51 PM

    Sounds good. Yesterday I had lunch at a Vegan restaurant (this IS California), and I had the best stir-fry with pumpkin, eggplant, and tofu. It's incredible how good pumpkin can be, even outside of a pie.

    ReplyDelete

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