Squash Season!!

Beautiful autumn squash is everywhere these days.  Are you cooking with it?  

One of the things I love about squash is how easy the prepping and cooking can be.  Of course, like any ingredient, you can make it complicated if you want to, but autumn squash taste great simply prepared.  

With squash, most of the effort is in the cutting.  Once you have that done, the oven does the rest.

Here are a few simple ways you can prepare squash ...and then, because we just couldn't stop ourselves, some more complicated ideas are below and in the next posting.  They're all delicious.

Delicata Squash

Slice thinly using a mandolin.  Toss the squash with olive oil and garlic salt.  Bake at 300 degrees until brown.  Serve like chips or over kale with balsamic drizzle.

Acorn Squash

Ingredients:

1 acorn squash

2 T grass-fed butter

sea salt and ground black pepper to taste

2 T coconut palm sugar or coconut nectar  

Cut a butternut squash in half and scrape out seeds and stringy pulp.  Put cut side down in a baking dish and add 1 cup of water.  Bake 40 minutes.  Check for tenderness.   To serve, while hot and just out of the oven, turn the squash inner side up.  Add the butter, salt and pepper and coconut sugar and let the ingredients melt in with each other.  1 squash serves 2 generously or 4 modestly. 

Kabocha Coconut Soup

1/2 Kabocha Squash
2 tablespoon chopped green onions
1 tablespoon chopped ginger
1 cup chicken broth
1 can coconut milk

Toss squash, green onions and ginger in a soup pot with 1 cup chicken broth and simmer until tender. Puree in food processor. Return to pan, add coconut milk and heat. 

Links to other squash recipes:

Low Gluten, Sugar-Free Pumpkin Pie

Spaghetti Squash with Shitaki