Butternut Squash Challenge

This story begins with eggs. The 35+ chickens we bought as hatchlings this time last year are mature and laying on average 18 eggs a day. Not bad for this time of year, but not near what we’ll be getting once the weather warms. Thanks to Vera, we’ve picked up three new egg customers in the last month. One of them is a farmer who provides produce to local restaurants and sells at our farmers’ markets. We’ve agreed to exchange eggs for his fresh produce. For now, that consists of butternut squash. Thus, the challenge…what does one do with ten butternut squash?

I’ve always read that the most effective way to experiment and create art is to work in a series by taking one subject or a single technique and exploring it to the point of exhaustion. Over the past month we’ve done just that with butternut squash… eating it two or three times a week. Sound excessive? Not really. It turns out that this health-packed veggie (considered a “power food” rich in antioxidants) is very versatile. It may be used in its purest form, as a mash or as the basis for a soup, or in any number of casseroles, soups, or salads. We browsed our cookbooks and magazines and searched the internet for butternut squash recipes and found several we felt were worth making. A few examples of some of the better recipes we tried…

  o Penne with cubed squash, fresh sage, toasted walnuts, and Parmesan cheese

  o Risotto with diced squash that has been sautéed in butter until golden brown

  o Mac and Cheese with pureed squash

  o Raviolis filled with squash, ricotta, and Parmesan cheese

  o Butternut squash gnocchi

  o Mixed greens topped with roasted squash
  o Squash pie 

A few things we've learned about butternut squash - (1) it's harvested in the fall and may be stored in a cool, dark pantry for several months; (2) from its raw state, it’s best peeled with a potato peeler; (3) its flavor is enhanced by roasting it in the oven, which only takes 20-25 minutes; (4) a companion ingredient found in almost every (savory) recipe is fresh sage; and (5) it may be substituted for pumpkin...I ate all but one slice of the squash pie and found it to be almost identical to pumpkin in taste, texture and color. After eating almost an entire pie, I'm beginning to resemble a butternut squash!

Although a bit obsessive, this has been a good experience and brought us closer to our new friend, butternut squash. No longer will it be limited to a side at Thanksgiving. We've had fun scouting and trying new recipes. Not all are keepers, but even those less-than-perfect recipes have led to more experimenting and fun in the kitchen.