Winter Squash - General Discussion

In article <[email hidden]>,

~patches~ said:

This time of year squash is plentiful and extremely cheap so it makes
good economical sense to take advantage of the bargins. I use a variety
of winter squashes but my favourite squash has always been the acorn
squash. I cut them in half, remove the seeds, add a little dab of
butter & sprinkle of salt then either microwave or bake them. I
*detest* adding any sugar to sqash too! DSIL always adds brown sugar to
mashed squash. For me that is major gag! We eat a lot of acorn squash
when in season and I freeze a lot in muffin tin size for use during the
rest of the year. This year I discovered sweet potato squash. I had
never seen it before and it is the first year this orchard is growing
them. They are priced at 50 cents each. I think I have a new favourite
squash! The flesh is richer & creamier than acorn squash with a nutty
sweetness. I cooked the first one in the microwave the same way I do
acorn squash. It is the perfect size for one person. I'm saving some
of the seeds to try growing them myself and just in case the orchard
doesn't grow them next year. It's time for the freezing test for the
sweet potato squash.

Today is going to be a squash day. When I get back from the MRI, I'm
going to do up a couple of sweet potato squash for freezing. A
butternut squash will be made into soup using Jill's recipe halved. For
dinner we are having a possible meatless meal focusing on spaghetti
squash. I'll post a pic of dinner later tonight.

I think that Hubbard is ignored too much and they are hard to find.

I've started pre-peeling winter squash and pressure cooking it for
mashing when it's ready. I don't care that much for acorn sqaush due to
the texture. It's too stringy. ;-)

Cheers!
--
Om.

"My mother never saw the irony in calling me a son-of-a-[censored]." -Jack Nicholson

In article <[email hidden]>,

~patches~ said:

This time of year squash is plentiful and extremely cheap so it makes
good economical sense to take advantage of the bargins. I use a variety
of winter squashes but my favourite squash has always been the acorn
squash. I cut them in half, remove the seeds, add a little dab of
butter & sprinkle of salt then either microwave or bake them. I
*detest* adding any sugar to sqash too! DSIL always adds brown sugar to
mashed squash. For me that is major gag! We eat a lot of acorn squash
when in season and I freeze a lot in muffin tin size for use during the
rest of the year. This year I discovered sweet potato squash. I had
never seen it before and it is the first year this orchard is growing
them. They are priced at 50 cents each. I think I have a new favourite
squash! The flesh is richer & creamier than acorn squash with a nutty
sweetness. I cooked the first one in the microwave the same way I do
acorn squash. It is the perfect size for one person. I'm saving some
of the seeds to try growing them myself and just in case the orchard
doesn't grow them next year. It's time for the freezing test for the
sweet potato squash.

Today is going to be a squash day. When I get back from the MRI, I'm
going to do up a couple of sweet potato squash for freezing. A
butternut squash will be made into soup using Jill's recipe halved. For
dinner we are having a possible meatless meal focusing on spaghetti
squash. I'll post a pic of dinner later tonight.

I think that Hubbard is ignored too much and they are hard to find.

I've started pre-peeling winter squash and pressure cooking it for
mashing when it's ready. I don't care that much for acorn sqaush due to
the texture. It's too stringy. ;-)

Cheers!
--
Om.

"My mother never saw the irony in calling me a son-of-a-[censored]." -Jack Nicholson

In article <[email hidden]>,

OmManiPadmeOmelet said:

I think that Hubbard is ignored too much and they are hard to find.

I've started pre-peeling winter squash and pressure cooking it for
mashing when it's ready. I don't care that much for acorn sqaush due to
the texture. It's too stringy. ;-)

Cheers!

I wonder if that's not because they're so freakin huge. My brother had
a large evergreen near his garden. His hubbard vines went up the tree
and he had two mongo squashes hanging there, looking like Christmas tree
ornaments. Word.
--
http://www.jamlady.eboard.com, updated 10-20-05 with a note from Niece Jo.

~patches~ said:

This time of year squash is plentiful and extremely cheap so it makes
good economical sense to take advantage of the bargins. I use a
variety of winter squashes but my favourite squash has always been
the acorn squash.

I love acorn squash. I'm with you on the no-sugar thing. They are
naturally sweet as it is. I prefer it baked but have on occasion done it in
the microwave. In the microwave all you need to do is cut slits all around
the middle and nuke it 5-7 minutes or until tender. Holding one end of it
with a heavy towel or oven mitt, cut it through. Also holding it, scoop out
the seeds. Add your butter, salt & pepper.

Quoted message said:

This year I discovered sweet potato
squash. I had never seen it before and it is the first year this
orchard is growing them. They are priced at 50 cents each. I think
I have a new favourite squash! The flesh is richer & creamier than
acorn squash with a nutty sweetness.

I've never seen or heard of it. I've seen buttercup which is very similar
to acorn.

Quoted message said:

Today is going to be a squash day. When I get back from the MRI, I'm
going to do up a couple of sweet potato squash for freezing. A
butternut squash will be made into soup using Jill's recipe halved.
For dinner we are having a possible meatless meal focusing on
spaghetti squash. I'll post a pic of dinner later tonight.

On type of winter squash I've never liked is spaghetti squash. It tastes
too much like carrots to me and never actually (in my experience) got really
tender. It was like eating half-cooked (read: crunchy) pasta with some
sauce on it. I followed a number of different directions, from boiling it
to baking it. I don't remember if I nuked it or not. Just didn't care for
it.

Hubbard is large and somewhat more dry than acorn, buttercup and butternut
but it has a nice taste. The flesh lends itself more to treating itself
like making mashed potatoes, except I'd use a vegetable or chicken broth,
not milk!

Turban squash is pretty but it's BIG. It screams "decoration" to me.

Jill

In article <[email hidden]>,

Melba's Jammin said:

In article <[email hidden]>,

OmManiPadmeOmelet said:

I think that Hubbard is ignored too much and they are hard to find.

I've started pre-peeling winter squash and pressure cooking it for
mashing when it's ready. I don't care that much for acorn sqaush due to
the texture. It's too stringy. ;-)

Cheers!

I wonder if that's not because they're so freakin huge. My brother had
a large evergreen near his garden. His hubbard vines went up the tree
and he had two mongo squashes hanging there, looking like Christmas tree
ornaments. Word.

Yeah, they are rather big!
But, they can be cut into sections and cooked winter squash freezes very
well. I just like the flavor of hubbard. It's mild and the texture is
excellent.
--
Om.

"My mother never saw the irony in calling me a son-of-a-[censored]." -Jack Nicholson

OmManiPadmeOmelet said:

I've started pre-peeling winter squash and pressure cooking it for
mashing when it's ready. I don't care that much for acorn sqaush due to
the texture. It's too stringy. ;-)

I bake winter squash, never steamed... that's too much like
Beechnut/Gerbers. There are various versions of acorn squash, some
don't have stringy flesh but the skins tend towards spiny/boney. I
much prefer butternut.

Sheldon

In article <[email hidden]>,

Sheldon said:

OmManiPadmeOmelet said:

I've started pre-peeling winter squash and pressure cooking it for
mashing when it's ready. I don't care that much for acorn sqaush due to
the texture. It's too stringy. ;-)

I bake winter squash, never steamed... that's too much like
Beechnut/Gerbers. There are various versions of acorn squash, some
don't have stringy flesh but the skins tend towards spiny/boney. I
much prefer butternut.

Sheldon

Butternut and turban are my two personal favorites.

I do cook Turban whole (in the nuker inside of a large pyrex) as I like
to be careful with it so I can use the shell for presentation. :-)

Butternut I peel.
And pressure cook.

Cheers!
--
Om.

"My mother never saw the irony in calling me a son-of-a-[censored]." -Jack Nicholson

"Melba's Jammin'" <[email hidden]> wrote

Quoted message said:

I wonder if that's not because they're so freakin huge. My brother had
a large evergreen near his garden. His hubbard vines went up the tree
and he had two mongo squashes hanging there, looking like Christmas tree
ornaments. Word.

(laughing) Suddenly I am reminded of Carol's big Butternuts.

nancy

"~patches~" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

This time of year squash is plentiful and extremely cheap so it makes good
economical sense to take advantage of the bargins. I use a variety of
winter squashes but my favourite squash has always been the acorn squash.
I cut them in half, remove the seeds, add a little dab of butter &
sprinkle of salt then either microwave or bake them. I *detest* adding
any sugar to sqash too! DSIL always adds brown sugar to mashed squash.
For me that is major gag! We eat a lot of acorn squash when in season and
I freeze a lot in muffin tin size for use during the rest of the year.
This year I discovered sweet potato squash. I had never seen it before
and it is the first year this orchard is growing them. They are priced at
50 cents each. I think I have a new favourite squash! The flesh is
richer & creamier than acorn squash with a nutty sweetness. I cooked the
first one in the microwave the same way I do acorn squash. It is the
perfect size for one person. I'm saving some of the seeds to try growing
them myself and just in case the orchard doesn't grow them next year.
It's time for the freezing test for the sweet potato squash.

Today is going to be a squash day. When I get back from the MRI, I'm
going to do up a couple of sweet potato squash for freezing. A butternut
squash will be made into soup using Jill's recipe halved. For dinner we
are having a possible meatless meal focusing on spaghetti squash. I'll
post a pic of dinner later tonight.

What does the sweet potato squash look like? The last day of the farmer's
market was rainy and dreary and squashes were cheap, so I stocked up. They
had some that I'd never seen before, so of course I bought them.

D.Currie said:

"~patches~" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

This time of year squash is plentiful and extremely cheap so it makes good
economical sense to take advantage of the bargins. I use a variety of
winter squashes but my favourite squash has always been the acorn squash.
I cut them in half, remove the seeds, add a little dab of butter &
sprinkle of salt then either microwave or bake them. I *detest* adding
any sugar to sqash too! DSIL always adds brown sugar to mashed squash.
For me that is major gag! We eat a lot of acorn squash when in season and
I freeze a lot in muffin tin size for use during the rest of the year.
This year I discovered sweet potato squash. I had never seen it before
and it is the first year this orchard is growing them. They are priced at
50 cents each. I think I have a new favourite squash! The flesh is
richer & creamier than acorn squash with a nutty sweetness. I cooked the
first one in the microwave the same way I do acorn squash. It is the
perfect size for one person. I'm saving some of the seeds to try growing
them myself and just in case the orchard doesn't grow them next year.
It's time for the freezing test for the sweet potato squash.

Today is going to be a squash day. When I get back from the MRI, I'm
going to do up a couple of sweet potato squash for freezing. A butternut
squash will be made into soup using Jill's recipe halved. For dinner we
are having a possible meatless meal focusing on spaghetti squash. I'll
post a pic of dinner later tonight.

What does the sweet potato squash look like? The last day of the farmer's
market was rainy and dreary and squashes were cheap, so I stocked up. They
had some that I'd never seen before, so of course I bought them.

I just posted an url where you can see pics of the different varieties
of winter squash. To answer your question, sweet potato squash is about
the size of a sweet potato. It is a creamy yellow with vertical
grooves. A dark green runs along the grooves. The flesh is a med -
dark orange and very creamy in texture. I think it has a nutty
sweetness compared to acorn squash. One squash is just the perfect
amount for one serving.

~patches~ said:

D.Currie said:

"~patches~" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

This time of year squash is plentiful and extremely cheap so it makes good
economical sense to take advantage of the bargins. I use a variety of
winter squashes but my favourite squash has always been the acorn squash.
I cut them in half, remove the seeds, add a little dab of butter &
sprinkle of salt then either microwave or bake them. I *detest* adding
any sugar to sqash too! DSIL always adds brown sugar to mashed squash.
For me that is major gag! We eat a lot of acorn squash when in season and
I freeze a lot in muffin tin size for use during the rest of the year.
This year I discovered sweet potato squash. I had never seen it before
and it is the first year this orchard is growing them. They are priced at
50 cents each. I think I have a new favourite squash! The flesh is
richer & creamier than acorn squash with a nutty sweetness. I cooked the
first one in the microwave the same way I do acorn squash. It is the
perfect size for one person. I'm saving some of the seeds to try growing
them myself and just in case the orchard doesn't grow them next year.
It's time for the freezing test for the sweet potato squash.

Today is going to be a squash day. When I get back from the MRI, I'm
going to do up a couple of sweet potato squash for freezing. A butternut
squash will be made into soup using Jill's recipe halved. For dinner we
are having a possible meatless meal focusing on spaghetti squash. I'll
post a pic of dinner later tonight.

What does the sweet potato squash look like? The last day of the farmer's
market was rainy and dreary and squashes were cheap, so I stocked up. They
had some that I'd never seen before, so of course I bought them.

I just posted an url where you can see pics of the different varieties
of winter squash. To answer your question, sweet potato squash is about
the size of a sweet potato. It is a creamy yellow with vertical
grooves. A dark green runs along the grooves. The flesh is a med -
dark orange and very creamy in texture. I think it has a nutty
sweetness compared to acorn squash. One squash is just the perfect
amount for one serving.

My son's gf brought us a delicata squash. about 6-7 inches long and
narrow with green stripes in the grooves. Maybe this is the one. It
had a very mild flavour.....Sharon

"~patches~" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

D.Currie said:

"~patches~" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

This time of year squash is plentiful and extremely cheap so it makes
good economical sense to take advantage of the bargins. I use a variety
of winter squashes but my favourite squash has always been the acorn
squash. I cut them in half, remove the seeds, add a little dab of butter
& sprinkle of salt then either microwave or bake them. I *detest* adding
any sugar to sqash too! DSIL always adds brown sugar to mashed squash.
For me that is major gag! We eat a lot of acorn squash when in season
and I freeze a lot in muffin tin size for use during the rest of the
year. This year I discovered sweet potato squash. I had never seen it
before and it is the first year this orchard is growing them. They are
priced at 50 cents each. I think I have a new favourite squash! The
flesh is richer & creamier than acorn squash with a nutty sweetness. I
cooked the first one in the microwave the same way I do acorn squash. It
is the perfect size for one person. I'm saving some of the seeds to try
growing them myself and just in case the orchard doesn't grow them next
year. It's time for the freezing test for the sweet potato squash.

Today is going to be a squash day. When I get back from the MRI, I'm
going to do up a couple of sweet potato squash for freezing. A butternut
squash will be made into soup using Jill's recipe halved. For dinner we
are having a possible meatless meal focusing on spaghetti squash. I'll
post a pic of dinner later tonight.

What does the sweet potato squash look like? The last day of the farmer's
market was rainy and dreary and squashes were cheap, so I stocked up.
They had some that I'd never seen before, so of course I bought them.

I just posted an url where you can see pics of the different varieties of
winter squash. To answer your question, sweet potato squash is about the
size of a sweet potato. It is a creamy yellow with vertical grooves. A
dark green runs along the grooves. The flesh is a med - dark orange and
very creamy in texture. I think it has a nutty sweetness compared to
acorn squash. One squash is just the perfect amount for one serving.

Ah, those. I've been buying them at the farmer's market for a couple of
years now, but they call them something else. There's a similar one that's
shorter and fatter, but with the same coloring. I find it hard to compare
some of the varieties, since I'm usually only cooking one type at a time, so
trying to recall which were subtly different from others tends to escape me.
And the differences could well be the result of how I cook them or what I
serve them with.

On the other hand, I haven't found too many that I don't like, and that's
usually a matter of stringiness rather than flavor, anyway.

Thanks for the photos!

Donna

Man, this thread has me hankerin for some warm nutty buttery winter
squash! I'm gonna run to the store after i log off.
I like spaghetti squash, cut in half, baked with a bit of butter, then
scraped and doused with butter, garlic, parmesan. I dont' mind the
slight crunchiness, but i will say that i like it for what it is, but
like others, wouldn't compare it to spaghetti fer sure.
off to hunt for squash.

On Wed, 2 Nov 2005 20:31:22 -0500, "Nancy Young" <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

"Melba's Jammin'" <[email hidden]> wrote

Quoted message said:

I wonder if that's not because they're so freakin huge. My brother had
a large evergreen near his garden. His hubbard vines went up the tree
and he had two mongo squashes hanging there, looking like Christmas tree
ornaments. Word.

(laughing) Suddenly I am reminded of Carol's big Butternuts.

nancy

You sayin' I look like a blue spruce?

Carol
--
Wash away the gray to respond.

~patches~ said:

This time of year squash is plentiful and extremely cheap so it makes
good economical sense to take advantage of the bargins. I use a variety
of winter squashes but my favourite squash has always been the acorn
squash. I cut them in half, remove the seeds, add a little dab of
butter & sprinkle of salt then either microwave or bake them. I
*detest* adding any sugar to sqash too! DSIL always adds brown sugar to
mashed squash. For me that is major gag! We eat a lot of acorn squash
when in season and I freeze a lot in muffin tin size for use during the
rest of the year. This year I discovered sweet potato squash. I had
never seen it before and it is the first year this orchard is growing
them. They are priced at 50 cents each. I think I have a new favourite
squash! The flesh is richer & creamier than acorn squash with a nutty
sweetness. I cooked the first one in the microwave the same way I do
acorn squash. It is the perfect size for one person. I'm saving some
of the seeds to try growing them myself and just in case the orchard
doesn't grow them next year. It's time for the freezing test for the
sweet potato squash.

Today is going to be a squash day. When I get back from the MRI, I'm
going to do up a couple of sweet potato squash for freezing. A
butternut squash will be made into soup using Jill's recipe halved. For
dinner we are having a possible meatless meal focusing on spaghetti
squash. I'll post a pic of dinner later tonight.

We have a variety here called "Golden Nugget" that is delicious. I
also like Carnivale and butternut. I, too, don't add sugar or spice
unless I am making a dessert from them.
-L.

-L. wrote on 14 Nov 2005 in rec.food.cooking

Quoted message said:

~patches~ said:

This time of year squash is plentiful and extremely cheap so it
makes good economical sense to take advantage of the bargins. I use
a variety
of winter squashes but my favourite squash has always been the
acorn
squash. I cut them in half, remove the seeds, add a little dab of
butter & sprinkle of salt then either microwave or bake them. I
*detest* adding any sugar to sqash too! DSIL always adds brown
sugar to mashed squash. For me that is major gag! We eat a lot of
acorn squash when in season and I freeze a lot in muffin tin size
for use during the rest of the year. This year I discovered sweet
potato squash. I had never seen it before and it is the first year
this orchard is growing them. They are priced at 50 cents each. I
think I have a new favourite squash! The flesh is richer & creamier
than acorn squash with a nutty sweetness. I cooked the first one in
the microwave the same way I do acorn squash. It is the perfect
size for one person. I'm saving some of the seeds to try growing
them myself and just in case the orchard doesn't grow them next
year. It's time for the freezing test for the sweet potato squash.

Today is going to be a squash day. When I get back from the MRI,
I'm going to do up a couple of sweet potato squash for freezing. A
butternut squash will be made into soup using Jill's recipe halved.
For dinner we are having a possible meatless meal focusing on
spaghetti squash. I'll post a pic of dinner later tonight.

We have a variety here called "Golden Nugget" that is delicious. I
also like Carnivale and butternut. I, too, don't add sugar or spice
unless I am making a dessert from them.
-L.

Yesterday for supper I had grilled buttercup squash for the first time...It
won't be the last time. I also tested out a apple and whipped cream salad,
just several varieties of apples , sliced up and serverd in slightly
sweeten whipped cream.

--
The eyes are the mirrors....
But the ears...Ah the ears.
The ears keep the hat up.