Tuesday, October 11, 2011

Sweet Meat Squash

I have never been a big squash fan.
But I do enjoy eating what I've
grown in my garden.
This year I grew an abundance
of colorful squash and didn't
want to lose the opportunity
to preserve the harvest.
Below are
Rouge Vif D'Etampes pumpkins,
Carnival Acorn Squash
and
silvery blue Sweet Meat Squash
which my Dad was so fond of.


Last night I cooked up one of the Sweet Meat squash
for our evening meal.
It.was.good!
Here is what I did~


Because winter squash have a hard rind,
you will need to help your large knife
with a little persuasion ~ a hammer!



Cut/chop your squash in half.



Scoop out the seeds and stringy pulp and
discard, compost, feed to your chickens
 or wash the seeds for roasting.
(Wash and completely dry seeds.
Toss 1 1/2 C. dry seeds with
2T. melted butter
1T salt, garlic salt or other seasoned salt.
Spread out in single layer on baking sheet.
Bake 275* for 15-20 minutes or until
lightly browned.)
Continue to cut your squash into quarters.
Place squash into a parchment lined baking
pan skin side up.
Bake at 350* for 30-40 minutes
or until easily pierced with a fork.
(Sorry, forgot to get a picture of this part)


Carefully remove from pan and scoop the flesh into a bowl.
(I let mine cool till easily handled without getting burned.)
I used and old fashioned potato masher to
'squash' my squash. ;~P
I set half of the squash aside for putting into freezer bags
and freezing for later use.
With the remaining squash
I added butter and brown sugar and
salt and pepper to taste and warmed it in the oven, covered,
and served.
~*~
There are a variety of ways to serve your squash but
this is how my Gramma did it so that is how I do it, too!
This squash also makes delicious 'Pumpkin Pie'!

14 comments:

Candy C. said...

I didn't grow any winter squash this year but I am hoping to next year. I did barter some homemade bread for a couple of pie pumpkins recently and roasted them up. I can eat it just plain (and do!) when I'm making muffins, custard, etc! ;)

GratefulPrayerThankfulHeart said...

You did get a beautiful harvest! I enjoy squash and all of the things you can make with it :)

Barb said...

I love your blog! I also love winter squash - it's one of the Fall pleasures I look forward to!

GLENDA CHILDERS said...

I love squash of all kinds. Such a fun fall treat.

Fondly,
Glenda

dr momi said...

Ok...that's the cutest house hammer I ever saw :-)

Gina said...

Sounds delicious! mmmm

Jennifer said...

I love squash - but can honestly say that looks like a LOT of work for a side vegetable!!:) A hammer, even!!

What beautiful vegetable treasures you will have hidden about the barn!! Great fun...

Nadine said...

mmm...looks delicious! :)

Blessings!
~Nadine

Anonymous said...

I have always like this :) It is just perfect for all those pies that say - Autumn to me :-)

Maria

Marqueta (Mar-kee-ta) G. said...

Dear Lady Farmer,

Ooh, what pretty squash! My mouth was watering while reading the recipe for cooking them, as I love them dearly (Too bad ours didn't produce for us this year!).

And they last forever in storage, too, which is sooo nice for winter!

Love,

Marqueta

Maiden Princess said...

Mmmm, I love winter squash! Unfortunately none of ours produced a good harvest this year. :( One of the things I look forward to harvesting the most. Winter squash are both decorative and purposeful. And so many uses! Thank you for sharing your beautiful pictures.

Because of Grace,
Maiden Princess

Anonymous said...

I'm not much of a squash fan either, but after looking at your delicious squash recipe, it surely made my mouth water. :)

You had a beautiful harvest as well! You are truly blessed, My Dear! :)

tom | tall clover farm said...

Sweet meat is one of the best squash you can grow in the Pacific Northwest. I make a lot of soup and pies out of mine. It stores so well. If left in a root cellar or cold room, you could serve it up for Easter dinner.

Thistle Cove Farm said...

That looks delicious! I didn't plan squash this year but have frozen my pumpkin for pies later on. that counts, right? -smile-