Category: Winter Squash

This time of year I can’t get enough roasted winter squash.

We celebrated Hanukkah this weekend I made these cute little seeded delicata rings and they were gobbled up as fast as the latkes! Everyone loved them!

These are super easy to make.

Preheat your oven to 400F. Cut two delicata squash (that’s how many fit on my sheet pan) into 3/4 inch rings and scoop out the seeds and rub them really well with olive oil and salt and pepper. I used garlic too, I don’t think I would use garlic again.

In a food processor I added;

• 3 tablespoons of turbinado sugar (you can use any sugar you like, coconut or maple would be nice here if you have it, or just brown sugar would work too.)
• 1/4 cup almonds (use what you like, or just use all seeds)
• 1/4 cup sesame seeds. I used white and black.
• You could add cinnamon or herbs, I didn’t but I will next time.

Pulse all that in the food processor until it is like sand then press one side of the oiled squash into the seed mix and arrange on a baking tray seed side up.

I baked these for about 1/2 hour covered and uncovered for another 10 minutes. I covered the tray with another tray so they wouldn’t dry out and so the sugar in the crust wouldn’t get too dark. I wasn’t sure what would happen. I’d never made these before so I was cautious.

You could roast them uncovered and they would be more caramelized and crunchy than mine were.

I also roasted a couple delicata “boats” while the oven was hot and added the last bit of the nut/seed/’sand’ mix to the hollow of the squash. Yum.

I will be making this again and again. It was easy and very very tasty everyone love them.

Mo

 

 

 

This week we have a fun novel offering, Honeynut squash!

Below is a photo of some Honeynuts with their bigger cousins, a couple of Butternut squash.

Honeynuts are not small butternuts they are hybrids developed from butternut and buttercup squash. They are about the size of a medium/large sweet potato (about one pound) and much sweeter and more creamy and dense than a butternut. You don’t need to peel Honeynuts the skins are edible. If you don’t like to eat squash skin, still leave the skin on, it serves as a handy ‘bowl’ so you can easily scoop the tasty flesh out.

When roasted, Honeynuts have a caramel malty rich flavor. The flesh is smooth and tender without any of the stringiness you get from larger squashes. They’re the perfect personal or two person-size squash and are absolutely delicious.

Roast these much like any winter squash; Preheat your oven to 425F, Wash the Honeynut and cut them in half and remove the seeds, rub them all over with olive oil, salt and pepper.

I roasted some of these cut side up and some cut side down to see if I liked one way more then the other. Up and down were both great. I have no preference other than if you want to put something in the cavity like syrup (the cut side up ones I put a little maple syrup in the cavity) or nuts or cheese-roast them up.

Cook these  for 30-40 minutes, start checking to see if they are done at 30 minutes by sticking a sharp knife into one. If they aren’t tender, check again ever 10 minutes until they are done.

Have fun with these little treats. They are one of my favorite crops we have had this year.

Mo

 

 

 

One thing is certain when you join a Winter CSA; You will be getting (eating!) lots of winter squash.

Often times when you roast a squash for a dish at home you will have leftovers, sometimes LOTS of leftover, like I did last week. I had about 2 1/2 quarts roasted squash and no plan for using any. Not a problem! I really love to have cooked squash and vegetables at the ready so I can easily make vegetable forward dishes by just grabbing a few ingredients that are already cooked and throwing them together. Soup and chili are two of my go-to’s.

We had friends over this weekend and I wanted a quick snack and I really wanted something decadent and cheesy. I looked in the refrigerator and saw the pumpkin puree I made earlier and remembered this macaroni and cheese recipe.  I made that recipe and left out the sage and pasta and added some roasted poblano chilis I had in the freezer. I’ll post the recipe modifications at the end of this post.

This was good and so quick and easy because I had the roasted squash and poblanos all cooked and ready. We had leftover queso and ate it the next day with roasted potatoes, sausage and eggs for another easy delicious meal.

Another use for the extra squash is making smoothies. Squash/pumpkin smoothies feel healthier to me than fruit heavy smoothies and homemade roasted squash is soooooo much less expensive than buying fruit.

I usually double this and save the second portion for the next day.

• 1 ripe banana, frozen , if not frozen you might want to add a handful of ice cubes to the smoothie
• 1 cup squash or pumpkin puree
• 1/2 teaspoon spice like cinnamon, ginger or mix spice
• 1 cup milk of choice
• 2 pitted dates, or more, depending on how sweet you want it. optional
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla, optional
• handful of nuts, optional

Throw it in a blender and let it rip. I like to top it with granola. Creamylicious.

Here is the Queso recipe with the modifications.

• 1 cup of cooked pumpkin/squash. If you don’t have any cooked pumpkin or squash here is a ‘how to’ post from a few years ago.
• salt and pepper
• 4 tablespoons butter
• 4 tablespoons flour gluten free is fine
• 2 cups milk any kind
• 1 to 1 1/2 cups cheese, shredded – I used cheddar
• roasted poblano chilies, optional
• squeeze of one or two limes to taste

1. Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium cook until the butter is bubbling and it has turned golden brown.
2. Mix in the flour and let simmer until it returns to a light golden brown.
3. Add the milk and simmer until it thickens and add cheese to melt.
4. Add roasted poblanos if using.

I hope you enjoy the abundant squash we have as much as I do. Have a great week.

Mo

PS I also made a couple little pumpkin pies. Winter Luxury Pumpkins ROCK. I LOVE that they taste like pumpkin and aren’t very sweet. I think some squash are too sweet for pie, which sounds counter intuitive I know.

I am becoming a big fan of using more plant based only food in cooking.  I still eat dairy and some meat but I really like using only plant based foods in my cooking. I love the way plant based cooks have embraced using plants and nuts and seeds to add thick lusciousness to dishes without using cream or cheese. I’m trying to learn how to incorporate more of that into my daily cooking.

I made some tortellini and Brussels sprouts and this butternut squash sauce. It looks pretty decadent doesn’t it?

Cashews and butternut squash make this sauce really creamy and satisfying but not heavy. The only time consuming part of this recipe is to soak some cashews and roast some squash.

• 1/4 cup raw cashews, soaked in water at least 4-6 hours or as long as overnight
• 2 cups roasted butternut squash
• 3/4 cup water
• 2 garlic cloves
• 2-4 tablespoons nutritional yeast
• 1-2 tablespoon fresh lemon juice start with 1 and taste if you need more
• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1/4 teaspoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• hot sauce, to taste

Put everything in a blender and give it a spin for about 2-3 minutes.

Now taste it and see if it needs more lemon or salt or if you want, hot sauce. Add that now and taste again. Some butternut squash are sweeter than others. The lemon and hot sauce tone the sweetness down as does the nutritional yeast. Taste taste taste.

This is great with pasta or roasted vegetables.

I like to make a puddle of sauce on a plate and put my food around it so I can run my food through the sauce. I feel it’s not as gloppy as putting the sauce directly on the food, it’s more appetizing (to me at least).

If you haven’t tried plant based recipes I hope you try this one, or this is one I really like too.

Mo

 

 

I thought some people, like me, might be a little overwhelmed by the amount of squash we got the last couple of weeks. I thought I would show you how I roast different winter squash varieties and maybe give you a couple new ideas for dishes using winter squash other than soup.

The squash I have are delicata, butternut, kabocha and pumpkin.

Cut the squash in half and remove the seeds. I’m not going to peel the delicata, pumpkin or kabocha.

I peeled the long shaft of the butternut and cut it in two shapes for comparison. The small cavity where the seeds are I am leaving unpeeled and I’ll roast them with the pumpkin and scoop the flesh out.

I cut the kabocha up in thin strips and tossed the strips in olive oil and salt and pepper and tossed in some sage leaves. You want to set your oven for 400F to 425F to roast squash. These are kind of thin so I went with 400F.

After 25 minutes they were done. Kabocha is more dry and fluffy like potatoes when it’s roasted. I love the texture contrast of the skin and the flesh. This would make a nice risotto.

I didn’t  make risotto. I made a super simple rustic galette with the roasted kabocha squash.

The delicata squash I cut in small dice, I tossed it with some olive oil and balsamic vinegar and salt and pepper. Don’t forget that you can roast any vegetables together with the squash if you have room. I like to keep them separate incase one gets done sooner than the other.

Here is the delicata done, it took about 30 minutes to cook at 400F. It’s kind of hard to tell from the picture that they are done (soft all the way through). These delicata will be delicious in a grain or noodle bowl like this.

Here is the butternut squash done. Again, tossed in olive oil and salt and pepper and cooked for about 40 minutes at 425F. It keeps its shape better than the kabocha. There are lots of nice winter squash salad recipes you could make with the roasted butternut squash.

And here are the pumpkin and seed cavity of the butternut squash done.

I have seen a couple recipes for squash pasta sauce I want to try with these.

I hope this gives you an idea or two for what to do with your winter squash.

Have a great week.

Mo

 

 

 

I roasted a pumpkin the other day to make some pumpkin soup and I had some leftover pumpkin puree so I thought I would make these muffins. They were so tasty and quick to pull together I thought I would share the recipe with you.

This is a New York Times recipe, it calls for browning the butter, which I did and it does add a really nice toasty element that comes through loud and clear in the muffins. You can skip that step and just melt the butter and proceed with the  recipe, but I recommend taking the extra few minutes it takes to brown the butter.

½ cup/114 grams (1 stick) unsalted butter
1 cup/145 grams all-purpose flour
1 cup/140 grams whole-wheat flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
½ teaspoon ground turmeric
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 ½ cups/355 grams pumpkin purée
3 large eggs
1 cup/200 grams light brown sugar
⅔ cup/150 milliliters maple syrup

PREPARATION
Step 1
Heat oven to 350 degrees.
Step 2
Spray muffin molds with nonstick spray or line them with paper liners.
Step 3
Heat butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Cook, swirling
occasionally, until the butter has melted, foamed and started to brown,
about 5 minutes. Use a whisk to scrape up any browned bits at the
bottom of the pot. Remove from heat and set aside.
Step 4
In a medium bowl, whisk together flours, baking powder, baking soda,
salt, cinnamon, ginger, turmeric and nutmeg.

Step 5
In a large bowl, whisk together pumpkin, eggs, brown sugar and maple
syrup until totally smooth. Whisk in dry ingredients, followed by
browned butter.

Step 6
Divide among prepared muffin tins and bake until the tops are puffed
and spring back slightly when pressed, 20 to 25 minutes.

I haven’t made muffins in ages and I’m so glad I did. These stayed fresh for 3 days. I think these would freeze really well if you wanted to keep them longer than a few days.

Fall is in the air. It’s soup and muffin season.

Have a great week.

Mo

Acorn squash are a perfect side dish to go with almost any meal. They have a very mild ‘squash’ taste and aren’t as sweet as butternut squash or pumpkins.

The skin is edible, I like it. Some people don’t. I’ll show you two ways to cook it, one you scoop the flesh out the other you eat it skin and all. Try both and see which you prefer.

Like most winter squash, acorn squash are very hard to cut. Before cutting your squash, then you can microwave winter squash for about 3 minutes to make them easier to cut.

Cut it in half and scoop out the seeds, use a melon ball utensil or a grapefruit spoon to make the scooping easier.

I roast all my winter squash in a 425F oven and start checking for doneness after about an hour. If the squash is cut in smaller pieces check for doneness sooner, like 35 or 40 minutes. It’s pretty hard to over cook squash.

Put your squash on a sheet pan lined with parchment. I like acorn squash sweet since they are pretty bland so I put in a pad of butter and some maple syrup or a little brown sugar and salt and pepper. If you don’t want sweet you can rub it with olive oil and just salt and pepper.

I scored the squash after about 45 minutes in the oven so the butter and maple syrup would soak in a little. I finished baking it for about an hour total. That’s it. A tasty easy side.

Here is my favorite way to cook acorn squash. Scoop out the seeds and slice the squash in about 1/2 inch wedges. I like to make a rub of equal parts miso, maple syrup and olive oil and salt and pepper. You can just use olive oil and salt and pepper. Then spread the wedges evenly on a sheet pan and bake.

Start checking for doneness after about 35 – 40 minutes.

I had some romesco sauce I served with this. Pesto or chimichurri sauces are great with this, pretty much any sauces you have will work, or just eat it as is.

Look at the blisters and caramelization. Yum.

I hope you all are doing ok and are well and stay that way.

Mo

 

 

 

This love making risotto. I have a pressure cooker that I use to make it. I know lots of people have Instant Pots, the two are interchangeable in this (and most) recipes.

This risotto is super easy to make with deliciously creamy results.

Here is what you need.

• 2 tbsp olive oil (I forgot to put that in the picture)
• 1 large shallot or small onion finely chopped
• 2 or 3 cloves chopped garlic
• 1 1/2 cups uncooked arborio rice (any rice works, arborio is really creamy)
• salt and black pepper
• 1/2 cup dry white wine (I use vermouth)
• 3 cups liquid, you can use broth or water or milk. I used 1/2 milk and 1/2 water
• 2 cups peeled and cubed squash or pumpkin
• 1/3 to 1/2 grated Parmesan or Romano cheese
• squeeze of lemon and some chili powder, optional but delicious.

1. Sauté onion and garlic until softened. Add pumpkin and rice, cook until rice is translucent. Stir in salt and pepper. Add wine; cook and stir about 1 minute or until evaporated. Add the liquid and mix well.
2. Secure lid and move pressure release valve to Sealing position. Press Manual if you are using an Instant Pot, if you have a Pressure Cooker cook on high for 6 minutes.
3. When cooking is complete, press Cancel and use quick release.
4. Stir risotto about 3 minutes or until it gets creamy. Stir in 1/2 cup cheese.
5. Replace the lid and let it rest for at least 20 minutes or even longer. It gets creamier while it is resting. Don’t skip this step.

This is what it looks like after pressure cooking for 6 minutes. It isn’t cohesive yet, it needs some time to rest and get creamy. Stir it really well and add the parmesan cheese and lemon and chili powder if you are using it. Put the lid back on and walk away for 20-30 minutes.

After resting it will look like this.

Happy Fall CSA members. See you at pickup.

Mo