| squash time |

A friend of mine has fallen in love with squash and wanted some non-soup, non-just-bake-with-butter-and-brown sugar recipes, so here are a couple of mine. What are yours?



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This first one I made up a couple of years ago when we had way too much squash in our CSA.

BOWL OF FALL GOODNESS

3 medium sweet potatoes

2 tablespoons butter

½ cup orange juice

2 tablespoons brown sugar

1 tablespoon corn syrup (or maple)

½ cup raisins

½ cup walnuts, chopped

Cinnamon and nutmeg

Salt and pepper

1 can black beans, rinsed and drained

Quick cook barley

Combine all ingredients except the black beans and barley in a large casserole. Bake at 350-375 until the sweet potatoes are tender (about 30-45 minutes). Meanwhile, cook up about 4 servings of quick cook barley according to the package directions. Once the potatoes are done, add the can of black beans and stir. Serve the potato mixture over the barley.

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I think I found this recipe for butternut squash fries from a WW friend. I never wrote it down, but it goes something like this:

BUTTERNUT SQUASH FRIES

1. Get a large butternut squash with a long neck. Cut the neck into long, thing fry-shaped pieces. 

2. Toss the pieces in a mixture of your favorite oil, salt, pepper and any spices you want. I enjoy cumin, but I bet it would also be fun with cinnamon-sugar.

3. Bake just as you would oven fries. Spread thin on a sheet and bake at 450ish until they're crispy, tossing and turning every 15 minutes or so. 

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I've never made this one, but it sounds amazing. A friend emailed it to me, so I apologize for not knowing what website it's from.

BUTTERNUT SQUASH BREAD PUDDING

Ingredients

·                2 tablespoons olive oil, plus more for the baking dish

·                2 medium onions, chopped

·                1 1/2 pounds butternut squash (about half a medium squash)—peeled, seeded, and cut into 1⁄2-inch pieces

·                kosher salt and black pepper

·                2 tablespoons chopped fresh sage

·                6 large eggs

·                2 cups whole milk

·                3/4 pound soft French or Italian bread, cut into 1-inch pieces (about 7 1⁄2 cups)

·                1/2 pound Gruyère, grated (2 cups)

Directions

1. Heat oven to 375° F. Oil a 2 ½- to 3-quart baking dish.

2. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onions and cook, stirring frequently, until beginning to soften, 4 to 5 minutes. Add the squash, season with ½ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper, and cook, tossing frequently, until just tender, 8 to 10 minutes more. Stir in the sage. Let cool for 10 minutes.

3. In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, and ¼ teaspoon each salt and pepper. Add the bread, cheese, and squash mixture and toss to coat.

4. Transfer to the prepared baking dish and bake until golden brown and set, 55 to 60 minutes.

Tip

When peeling a butternut squash, make sure you remove enough layers to get down to the bright orange interior. If you don’t and leave an underlayer of skin, the squash can cook tough instead of tender.


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Okay, this is more of summer squash, but still delicious. I got this from friends who got it from an Atkins Cookbook.

SPAGHETTI SQUASH 

  2             pounds  spaghetti squash -- halved lenghtwise

  4          teaspoons  olive oil

  8             ounces  zucchini -- 1/2 dice

     1/4      teaspoon  salt

  1             medium  red onion -- thinly sliced

  4             medium  tomato -- diced

     1/4      teaspoon  pepper

Cook the squash in the microwave. Saute the onions in half the olive oil for 3 minutes. Add zucchini and cook 4-5 minutes until zucchini starts to brown.  Add tomatoes, salt and pepper. Reduce heat, simmer 10 minutes.

Take squash out of shells. Toss with oil. Serve veggies on the squash.

Garnish with parmesan and lemon slices.

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Also, my MIL has a recipe that I don't have but could be re-created with some creativity. It's a squash lasagna. Basically, you want to puree your favorite cooked winter squash and then lasagna it between layers of pasta using a white (alfredoish) sauce instead of red. Add in a few other veggies that you enjoy (mushrooms, onions, spinach), but not a not. Keep the squash up front. Use whatever kind of topping cheese you enjoy....mozz, parm, asiago, etc. 

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And, two from my archives:

Mac n' Cheese with hidden squash  

Risotto is awesome with squash or cooked pumpkin