Winter Squash

Confession. I am having a love affair with the farmer's market. Yes, Justin knows. I just can't help myself. This is where I've obtained my beloved pumpkins, squashes, peppers, peaches, you name it. I love the produce, the people, and the prices. When Saturday comes around, I can't keep away!

Most recently, I've decided to take on banana squash. I couldn't help myself when I saw this at the farmer's market for only $1! It's my everest.

I began my search for acceptable recipes. I soon learned that search results for "banana squash" will yield recipes that have both bananas and squash (all kinds of squash) in them. After a tad bit of research, I learned that banana squash, along with pumpkin and acorn squash (which I also have) are part of a larger category, winter squash, that can virtually be used interchangeably. Consequently, searching "winter squash" yields much more satisfactory results. By the way, I can't wait for the day when I just know this kind of stuff, and am not such a newbie who has to learn it all for the first time. I find myself so fascinated with people older than I, who I can sit with and ask all sorts of questions, and they have such vast knowledge, knowledge that is only gathered from hard-earned experience.

I digress. The point is, I've got some ideas brewing for winter squash. They are so cheap right now, so take advantage of the sales!

This first recipe, from ifood.tv, was generally good and we enjoyed it, but I'd use it as a side dish instead of a main dish. And with how easy it is, it's worth making it as a side dish in my opinion.

Squash Casserole

• 3/4 cup onion, minced
• 1 green pepper, chopped
• 3 banana peppers, chopped (peppers are a great price right now at the farmer's market too!)
• butter
• 2 cups squash, stewed, drained and mashed
• 2 eggs, beaten
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 1/2 cups cracker crumbs

Saute onion, green pepper and banana peppers in butter until soft. Combine with squash. Add eggs, salt and pepper. Place in casserole dish and cover with thin layer of cracker crumbs. Dot with butter and cook for about 25 minutes.

Next, rolls. Oh how we love rolls at our house. These, from allrecipes.com, were amazing. They've got me scheming to put squashed vegetables into all the bread I make.

Winter Squash Rolls

• 1 1/2 cups cubed winter squash, boiled and mashed [save this broth for the soup recipes I have coming up!]
• 1 cup milk scaled
• 2 TB yeast
• 1/2 cup warm water
• 6 cups flour (I used half whole wheat, half white)
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 2 tsp salt
• 1/2 shortening [I used canola oil]

Dissolve yeast in warm water, set aside. In bowl or mixer, combined 5 cups flour, sugar and salt. Add yeast mixture, shortening, squash and milk. Mix well. Add remaining flour until correct consistency. Knead. Place in oiled bowl, cover with damp cloth and let rise until doubled in volume, about 1 hour. Form dough into rolls and place in 13x9 baking dish. Cover with damp cloth again and let rise until doubled, about 30 minutes. Bake at 400 degrees for 10 to 15 minutes or until golden brown.

This next recipe is reverting back to my efforts to use pumpkin in new and interesting ways. Check this out - pumpkin stir fry! For some reason, ours came out really spicy, which doesn't really make sense to me considering the ingredients. I would recommend trying it, but again, not as the only main dish. I'd make this again, but maybe in tandem to one or two other chinese dishes.

Stir-fried Pumpkin

• 3 TB olive oil [I used canola]
• 1 tsp minced garlic [I used more]
• 4 cups cubed fresh pumpkin [do small cubes, mine were too big and it didn't get as soft as it probably should]
• 1/2 cup grated carrot
• 2 TB soy sauce
• 1 tsp ground black pepper
• 2 tsp black sesame seeds [I used white]

Heat the oil in a large skillet [we used our wok]. Saute onion and garlic until onions begin to brown. Stir in the pumpkin, carrot, soy sauce, and pepper. Cook another 5 to 7 minutes until pumpkin is tender. Sprinkle with sesame seeds before serving.

Happy winter squash cooking!