Meatless Monday: Baked Acorn Squash, So Easy, So Versatile

Welcome to my third post with the theme of easy recipes using native ingredients. [See easy cornbread from October 20 and cranberry sauce from November 3.]

This week’s featured ingredient is the winter squash, a thick-skinned fruit in the genus Cucurbita. Familiar species include the Butternut (Cucurbita moschata) and the Acorn (Cucurbita pepo, var. turbinata); pumpkins are varieties of Cucurbita pepo as well.

Most Thanksgiving feasts feature at least one winter squash dish — mashed, roasted, baked, topped with marshmallows, or baked into a pie. For many vegetarians, a squash baked and stuffed with nuts, seeds, mushrooms, or quinoa often serves as the main course.    

The Native Americans had been growing squash in combination with beans and corn for centuries before the Europeans arrived. They called the crops “The Three Sisters” and considered them a gift from the Gods. [More on this soon.] However, the squash they grew is not the squash we know today. Check this link for descriptions of some of the heirloom varieties. 

Acorn squash is very easy to prepare. 

You will need:

• An oven
• An Acorn squash [Butternut works, too.]
• A sharp knife
• A baking pan
• Oil
• Butter
• Brown sugar or maple syrup
• Salt and pepper

Here is the recipe: 

• Preheat the oven to 350°
• Wash the squash well.
• Cut it in half lengthwise.
• Scrape out the seeds.
• Oil the edges.
• Place the halves upside down in the baking pan.
• Roast for 30 minutes.
• Turn right side up.
• Add a pat of butter, salt and pepper, and sweetener to taste.
• Smoosh in a bit with a fork.
• Return to the oven (right side up) for 20 minutes.

There you have it, the perfect addition to any T-Day feast or cold-weather dinner.

For more recipes, check out Martha Stewart’s site where you will find 51 recipes and 17 videos for ways to prepare Acorn squash! 

If you are up for a challenge, you might want to check out my 2012 adventures with a Hubbard squash (Cucurbita maxima) and how I prepared it for Thanksgiving dinner.

Watch your fingers!

Happy Meatless Monday. Good health to you, and to the planet.

On Mondays I often blog on food, food issues, or gardening in support of Meatless Monday, one of several programs developed in the Healthy Monday project, founded in 2003 in association with Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Syracuse University’s Newhouse School of Communications. Meatless Monday’s goal is “to help reduce meat consumption 15% in order to improve personal health and the health of our planet.”

Meatless Monday: Squash Tales

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving. It seems appropriate to use this post-holiday post to regale you with tales about what became of the magnificent hubbard squash we bought a couple of weekends ago! 

You may recall that our great squash weighed in at 20.79 lbs. — about the size of a small to medium turkey. My wish was to carve it into two reasonably equal pieces for roasting in the oven. Its size and thick skin caused me some angst for a few days.  

James Beard had written about hubbards chopped to pieces with hatchets in barns. A friend told me of a grandmother who had used a hammer and chisel. 

I turned to YouTube where I found a video of a man putting his hubbard into a garbage bag and dropping it onto the pavement from a second story window. I could never do that to my beauty.

This was not a problem I could tackle on my own. Here is my patient and adroit husband’s solution. 

• He gently hammered a newly sharpened cleaver along the hubbard’s lengthwise halfway point, in small taps, until he had gone around the squash’s circumference.
• Voilá! The squash neatly fell apart into two pieces.
• We then removed the seeds and lightly greased the interior with olive oil.
• With a little work we made the pieces fit upside down on two baking sheets.
• We roasted them in a 350° oven. About 1 -1/2 hours later, the squash was tender and ready to be scooped from its shell, which, by the way, was as thick as shoe leather.

We scooped out lots of squash — some 5 qts. The hubbard’s taste was as I had remembered, sweeter than acorn, not as strongly “squashy” as butternut, and less stringy than either. It was the perfect taste and consistency for the pies and casseroles I had in mind.

What became of our great squash? We ate some unadorned, fresh from the oven, and put a quart of the same in the freezer.

We transformed the remainder into two large and several small squash casseroles and two of James Beard’s fine pies — alas, all history now.

One of the two, 9 x 13" casseroles

One of the two “damned fine” pies (in the words of James Beard)

Maybe I’ll have to buy two hubbards next year… 

For more on the hubbard squash, check out my earlier post on the subject. And if you are curious about squash casserole, check out my recipe and use whatever winter squash you have on hand, about 2 cups for a single batch. 

Happy Monday! Thanks for reading.

I often blog on food or food issues on Monday in support of Meatless Monday, one of several programs developed in the Healthy Monday project, founded in 2003 in association with Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Syracuse University’s Newhouse School of Communications. Meatless Monday’s goal is “to help reduce meat consumption 15% in order to improve personal health and the health of our planet.”

Meatless Monday: How to Stuff a Squash

While I am not a fan of shorter days and falling temperatures, I do love the bountiful produce of autumn, especially the hearty vegetables. Winter squash, now readily available at farmer’s markets and in produce aisles, is low in calories, high in fiber, and rich in vitamins. [If you are interested, you can check out the nutrition facts for acorn squash here.] With the best price you will see this season, stock up now! 

It’s been a while since I posted a recipe, so I thought I’d take a break from food history, nutritional facts, and polemics to share with you how I prepare baked, stuffed winter squash. This comfort food can be fashioned from a variety of ingredients in your cupboard and refrigerator. As long as you have winter squash on hand, you are pretty much good to go.

In her Moosewood Cookbook, Mollie Katzen offers up three different fillings for stuffing a winter squash. Filling Three - “Comprehensively Stuffed” served as the inspiration for my version which follows. 

Your squash should be par-baked before you stuff it. Set your oven to 350°F and then halve and seed the desired number of squash. Brush the inner portion of the squash with olive oil. Bake the halves upside down on a cookie sheet for 30 minutes. While they are baking, prepare your stuffing. The recipe below will easily fill two large squash. [Note: These make perfect leftovers, easily warmed in the oven or microwave, so don't be afraid to make extra.] 

STUFFING INGREDIENTS

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 large onion, coarsely chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 4 oz. baby bella mushrooms, chopped
• 2 slices whole grain bread (with crusts), cubed
• 1/4 cup walnut pieces
• 1/4 cup sunflower seeds
• 1/4 cup dried cranberries
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon sage
• 1/2 teaspoon thyme
• 3/4 cup extra sharp cheddar cheese, grated

PREPARATION

• Heat the oil and butter in a heavy skillet until the butter melts.
• Add vegetables and sauteé until tender.
• Add spices, bread, and all the other ingredients EXCEPT the cheese.
• Cook until everything is well blended and looks like stuffing.
• Remove from heat. 
• Stir in cheese.
• Cover and let rest until the squash is ready.
• Stuff the baked squash with the dressing. [Careful! This is really hot!]
• Cover with foil and bake for about 20 minutes.
• Very carefully remove the foil.
• Serve with a colorful, contrasting side dish such as bright green peas, red beets, or cranberry sauce.

Voilá! Thanksgiving on a small plate, minus the turkey. It’s what’s for dinner…

Happy Monday. Thanks for reading. 

I often blog on food, food issues, or topics related to growing things on Monday in support of Meatless Monday, one of several programs developed in the Healthy Monday project, founded in 2003 in association with Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Syracuse University’s Newhouse School of Communications. Meatless Monday’s goal is “to help reduce meat consumption 15% in order to improve personal health and the health of our planet.”

Meatless Monday: Binging on Beta-Carotene

I’m hoping I won’t turn orange anytime soon. You see, I’ve been on a beta-carotene binge of late. I love brightly colored food, particularly winter squash and pumpkins, all rich in Vitamin A in the form of beta-carotene. The week before last will give you an idea of just how serious a binge I’m talking. Monday: Butternut Squash Lasagne (in Eataly, details of this adventure to appear in a future column). Tuesday: Sweet Potato Soup. Wednesday: Pumpkin Stew for lunch, steamed Curried Carrots for dinner. Thursday: Pumpkin Soup. Friday I took a break and ate pasta with red sauce and broccoli. Saturday: Pumpkin Pancakes in the morning, homemade Butternut Squash and White Bean Soup for dinner.  And what did I buy in the produce aisle? Golden beets and red kale, also rich in beta-carotene.

I know some of you think I’m kidding, but there really is a medical condition, Carotenodermia, a yellow discoloration of the skin resulting from high doses of beta-carotene supplements or the consumption of large amounts of carotene-rich foods. Tell-tale signs of the condition are an orange glow on the palms of your hands or the soles of your feet. Your eyes, however, remain white unlike jaundice when the eyes go yellow, too. The condition is reversible. The Linus Pauling Institute has a wealth of info on beta-carotene and other phyto-chemicals, and their site points out that high-doses of beta-carotene have never been found to cause vitamin A toxicity.  

Tomorrow just may be the day I achieve that orange glow. Last night I roasted a huge squash I had bought earlier in the season. It looked like a butternut at the base, but it had a long curly neck and easily weighed four pounds. I cut the neck at the base and carefully peeled it with my Oxo peeler, being careful not to slice my finger (unlike April in my new favorite holiday movie). I cut the base in half, scooped out the seeds and then peeled away the skin. I diced the squash into 1/2” cubes, tossed them with some olive oil and salt and then baked them in my two largest cast iron skillets at 350° until the pieces were tender (about 35 minutes). When they were done I had a generous helping over some basmati rice, sprinkled with curry powder and a few golden raisins, and topped with a dollop of lowfat Greek yogurt. 

Today I put a quart of pieces into the freezer, and used another quart in a recipe from Whole Foods called “Butternut Squash with Wilted Spinach and Blue Cheese.” Since it was a trial run for the upcoming holiday, I added a heaping 1/4 cup of organic dried cranberries to the dish when I was stirring everything together. The result was unbelievably delicious. I ate two bowlfuls straight up, not atop anything. You can put this recipe together in 15 minutes or so if the squash has been roasted ahead of time. I hope my sister lets me make this for Thanksgiving.  


I often blog on food or food issues on Monday in support of Meatless Monday, one of several programs developed in the Healthy Monday project, founded in 2003 in association with Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Syracuse University’s Newhouse School of Communications. Meatless Monday’s goal is “to help reduce meat consumption 15% in order to improve personal health and the health of our planet.