Squash 101

I have a confession...I'm a relatively new "squash" eater. Actually, I've graduated from just eater to LOVER. In the past I pretty much just avoided the squash area of the grocery store. In hindsight that was probably for the best. My love affair with squash may have never gotten started if I'd purchased mushy, flavorless squash from a grocery store bin.
It's amazing how many varieties of squash there are when you start noticing them. Honestly, I haven't gotten around to trying all of them yet. I'm stuck on my 3 favorite varieties. I'm pretty sure most of the population likes what butternut squash has to offer. Butternut squash soup is seriously delicious. I've also have velvety smooth and creamy butternut squash ravioli. (my mouth is watering) Surprisingly, I don't cook much with butternut at this point. I need to hone my skills on that one. FYI, I find butternut is very hard to cut so just be aware of that. A large sharp knife is a must. Although this isn't my preference, I've seen frozen organic diced butternut squash in the grocery store. I say, better than nothing. If you aren't ready to take on the whole squash you could make a hearty and tasty fall meal with the frozen stuff.
When I was a kid my parents would show up occasionally with some giant squash variety and bake it up. I avoided it as if my life depended on it. It was probably really yummy but that giant weird gourd looking thing had no appeal. My Hubs remembers his Grandma making Hubbard squash. He tried to explain how she made it to me last night. I was really confused when he was talking about cupcake pans and balancing the ends and such. I think I need a visual. I may pick up a Hubbard and let him have at it!
There are soooo many varieties and all shapes and sizes and hues. The Hubbard ranges from dark greens to blue tones. There are yellow squash and orange and green and yellow striped. They can be teeny tiny or huge. I wouldn't have know where to start when my interest in squash piqued. Once again, I am grateful for my local farmer!
We have 3 favorite varieties now. I would have been clueless for the help and advice of the farmer. Now, we are squash junkies...

This giant orange monstrosity is a banana squash! You can't really tell from the picture but this guy is like 3 feet long! As much as we love squash there is NO way we could eat all that.

Luckily the Farmer knows this and he cuts them up, removes the seeds and is willing to sell assorted sizes and pieces. Yay...

I guess we are kind of squash purists. We don't do anything fancy. Just bake it! The banana squash is pretty thick and this piece took a good hour to get soft and buttery and yummy. We add pure fresh butter, kosher salt and coarse ground black pepper. It really is amazing! I would say that at this point, banana squash is our 3rd favorite! We cooked it meaty side up as it won't lay flat when it is cut this way.

This ordinary, unobtrusive looking guy is a spaghetti squash. Don't let the outside appearance underwhelm you! This is an amazing squash and definitely first runner up at our house! Again, a large sharp knife is required to cut this in half lengthwise. Scrap out the seeds, too. I line a baking sheet with parchment paper and turn it cut side down. Really, just baking it does the magic! This squash becomes a little piece of heaven!

Seriously...how cool is this...after it is baked, you take a fork to it and gently remove it from the skin. It totally turns into "spaghetti"! It is absolutely amazing. I scraped it all into a bowl, added some butter, salt, pepper and good grated Parmesan cheese. Oh my...you really, really need to try this! It could be a total meal all by itself. We ate it as a side dish for dinner, but, the next morning added leftovers to our velvety bright yellow eggs and scrambled it up. It was outrageous! It's very filling and satisfying. There was still a bit left and I heated it up in the microwave and ate it for lunch. Yup, salivating again here! Your kids will like this squash! You really could serve it just like spaghetti and top with marinara. Do it!

And, finally...our first place winner! A squash secret. A gift from the squash heavens. The petite Delicata. Aptly named for its delicate flesh and buttery dessert like qualities.

These are relatively small squashes. Of course in comparison to that mammoth banana dude. You will want to eat the whole thing in one sitting! Again, scrape out the seeds and place cut side down on a parchment lined baking pan. I cook these at about 400 degrees for approximately 30 minutes. They are "delicate" and thinner skinned so they don't take that long to cook. I check it and watch it a bit and when I can easily stick it with a fork it's done!

It looks pretty unassuming here for sure. Don't let that fool you! Again...I don't want to mask the delicate mild taste of this crazy good squash. Butter, salt and pepper is the treatment. We always say we could eat this squash for dessert. It is just unbelievably good. The flavor and texture is just really "delicate"! I am ever grateful to the farm guy for introducing us to this surprising little squash.

There are all kinds of recipes and enhancements you can add to squash of course. They would all be good with brown sugar or maple syrup drizzles, but, honestly...the flavor stands up on its own with little embellishment. I'm pretty much planning to eat my weight in squash this fall while I can still get it. Luckily I can stock up as it will last in a cool, dark place for several weeks. I know Fall is a favorite time of year for many and for a lot of different reasons. Is it weird that my favorite thing about fall is squash???

As a side note...this is a cute little acorn squash. We tried it for the first time this year. Please don't take offense to any of you acorn squash lovers, but it was NOT tasty! We were really disappointed! Maybe it takes a special recipe or technique but we didn't even eat it! ;( The chickens liked it, though!