Squash, glorious squaaaaash

One of the biggest (only?) positives of the winter months is that squash is in season.

And I love love love it.

Kabocha, delicata, butternut, spaghetti, you name it, I’m a fan.

The most recent kiddo cooking class at the co-op was squash themed, which only heightened the obsession.

Once THREE of us are into a food…watch out!!

Spaghetti squash! If you are one of those people who doesn’t like spaghetti squash, I have two things to say.

1) Maybe you didn’t have a good one. Like most produce, some taste better than others. I don’t know how to pick only good ones, but I have definitely had REALLY good ones, as well as blah tasting ones (watery and flavorless). So if your experience was the latter, perhaps it’s worth giving it another shot?

2) It’s not noodles, so don’t try to pretend it’s noodles. Spaghetti squash has been SO aligned with the low carb/gluten free/grain free movement that it never got its own identity as a vegetable that is yummy in its own right.

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I basically jar up pesto all summer for this exact purpose. Thick, nutty pesto is the PERECT accompaniment to spaghetti squash in my opinion. I make it super concentrated so that any juices from the squash can thin it out.

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Here is a non-pesto dish, where I instead used my home-made vegan vodka sauce with ground beef to make the most luxuriously rich sauce of all time. It was seriously amazing.

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How fun is it eating right out of the skin? The noodles pull away from the wall so easily, that only the hard shell is left behind.

Other squash skins are edible though!

Like the lovely kabocha.

At the children’s cooking class this was one of their favorites [see the chart above for their rankings]. I love how starchy and dry it is, unlike other squash. It’s super unique in that way.

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My very very favorite way to eat it is with coconut butter and salt on top. Nothing else. It’s SO GOOD. Truth be told, I could probably eat an entire squash like that, but I would feel bloated and uncomfortable after, so I don’t. Anyway, I don’t have any photos of that, but it’s definitely how I like it best. This is the coconut butter (also called coconut manna) I like. Another heavenly way to eat it is with browned butter and fried sage drizzled over it.

Beyond that, you could use the kabocha in salads, or stews, or whatever. I’ve hear it’s a great swap for potato in home-made gnocchi, but have never tested my hands in that.

The humble sugar pie wasn’t a winner for the kids on its own, but when I scooped out the flesh and baked bread with it, they were BIG time fans.

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Don’t forget to toast the seeds too!

And now for the classic butternut. The produce item that is on every single grocery list between September and March. What would I do without you…

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I use it in grain bowls on (nearly) a daily basis, but in this instance I made a short rib curry to serve over white rice with a butternut and sweet potato coconut curry sauce.

The curried short rib recipe was from Danielle Walker’s first cookbook, Against All Grain.

And if you’re looking for butternut squash salad inspo, how about this kale, feta, candied pecan, butternut bowl with balsamic vinaigrette??

And now, how about a butternut recipe??

I made this grain bowl the other day and we all loved it, so I figured I should share.

I used quinoa, but any grain will do – farro, wheat berries, brown rice, whatever.

First make the dressing, which is tahini based, giving it creamy and earthy depth of flavor, without overshadowing the rest of the ingredients.

Tahini Lemon Dressing

• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/4 cup tahini
• 1 large meyer lemon, juiced
• 1 tbsp maple syrup
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper

Feel free to make the dressing in the same bowl you will be serving out of, that way you don’t have to dirty as many things. Just whip it all together.

Next you are going to toss the greens (I used 1/2 head of purple cabbage and 1 bunch of kale) with the dressing and then massage it into them. You can do this with your hands or with salad tongs, but make sure you really crunch things up to start breaking down the cruciferous quality of the veg.

I recommend doing this at least half an hour in advance of tossing in the rest of the veggies, especially for the cabbage.

Before serving, fold in the quinoa, chopped apples, roasted butternut squash, and roasted almonds.

Tahini, Butternut & Apple Quinoa Grain Bowl

Ingredients:

• 1 bunch of kale, de-stemmed and ripped into small pieces
• 1/2 head purple cabbage, thinly sliced into a slaw like consistency
• 1 1/2 cups quinoa, cooked with water and a pinch of salt
• 1 butternut squash, skin removed, chopped, and roasted
• 1 fuji apple, diced
• 1/2 cup roasted salted almonds
• tahini lemon dressing (see recipe above)

Talk about some squash love.