Crocodile with Hubbard squash and gourd eyes
Winter squashes are nutritional powerhouses that are not only luscious and sweet; in the kitchen they are extremely versatile. Over the years I have studied this vegetable and cooked dozens of different types. Today, I would say, my favorites are the sweet butternut, I find it the easiest to peel and the cubes are great for roasting; Kabocha (Japanese chestnut squashes) that have such dense flesh and meatiness that are perfect for baking and pureeing; and, I love the acorn types for their rich mellow flavor that pairs so well with all type of nuts and brown sugar.
Today, winter squashes are enjoyed in most parts of the world. In Mexico, where they are native, winter squashes are made into a puree and baked inside empanadas, and the seeds are roasted and salted or added to candies, even ground into their famous mole sauces. Italians add winter squash cubes to risotto and soups, and they mashed and seasoned the pulp with herbs and spices to fill raviolis. In gay Paris they use the heirloom pumpkin Rouge Vif d’Etampes to bake a rich leek and cheese soup and create a rich gratin by layering the squash and baking it with cream and hazelnuts.
In this country, for centuries the Native Americans have roasted whole squash in the coals or added the cubes to stews along with venison or turkey and flavored them with chilies. The colonists grew and cooked winter squash as well. They mashed the flesh and sweetened the pulp with sugar or molasses and made them into pies and puddings, which were served as a side dish to the meal with other vegetables and starches. Not until the twentieth century were pies and puddings accepted as dessert items. Who knew?
Enjoy winter squash for the next four or five months, then next spring, after all threat of frost is over, choose your favorite varieties and plant them in great soil and in full sun. I’ll post photos of how to include these exciting plants in your landscape and give you some growing hints.
Neighborhood kids harvesting pumkins from my garden
Harvest of pumpkins at Tra Vigna Restaurant in Napa
White pumpkin jester "jack-o-lantern" with chilis
Winter Squash Recipes
Baked Winter Squash with Maple Nut/Seed Butter
A wonderful compliment to squash is a nut or seed butter. The rich flavors seem meant for each other. You can make your own nut or seed butter, or many types are available in natural foods and specialty stores.
Basic baking directions are given below; the time will vary and the number of people served will depend on the size and variety of squash.
- 2 acorn or other small squash (about 1 1/4 pound each), or 1 medium squash (about 2 1/2 pounds)
- 3 tablespoons each dairy butter, nut or seed butter, and maple syrup
Place squash on a baking pan and bake at 350 F. for 3/4 to 1 1/2 hours, until soft. You may want to turn the squash a couple of times for more even cooking. Cut in half and remove seeds, (save to wash and toast for snacks if you like), and strings; if using 1 squash, cut again to make 4 servings. Put back on baking pan cut sides up. In a small saucepan, melt dairy butter, add nut or seed butter and syrup, and stir to mix. Spoon mixture into squash cavities and coat surfaces. Return to oven for about 10 minutes to heat through before serving. Serves 4
Classic Home-Grown Pumpkin Pie
Some pumpkins do not make good pies. Select a pumpkin bred for pies, not a Jack-o-lantern type. If you can’t find a good pie pumpkin use a Butternut squash, they make great “pumpkin” pies.
- 1 3/4 cups pumpkin puree (see below), or squash
- 3/4 cup white or brown sugar
- 1 cup milk or cream
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ginger
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/8 teaspoon allspice or cloves
- 3 eggs
- 1 unbaked 9-inch pie shell
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
To make your own pumpkin puree: Cut pumpkin or squash in half, remove seeds and strings, and place cut-side down on a greased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees F. until very soft, 1 hour, or longer, and let cool. Remove skin and any coarse fibers, and puree flesh in a blender, food processor, or food mill. One small to medium pumpkin makes about 1 quart of puree.
Place all the ingredients except pie shell in a blender and blend. (You may have to do this in 2 batches, depending on capacity of blender. If so, mix the batches before pouring into the pie shell.) Pour into 9-inch pie shell. Bake at 425 degrees for 15 minutes. Reduce temperature to 350 degrees and bake 45 minutes longer or until set and a knife inserted into the middle comes out clean. Let cool at least 1/2 hour before serving. Makes 1-inch 9 pie.
by Rosalind Creasy
Rose Flowers - Amazing article in Mother Earth News.
Nigele Johnson - I dont have much room in my backyard and I’m tierd of shelling out $30 for fresh salad fixing.
Katy - I LOVE this idea. I love fresh veggies but simply can’t afford the prices at the store.
CHERYL - first time trying this in the ozarks….any tips?????we moved from NJ and never had any trouble there..but….totally different area….i don’t want to do all the work to have it bust…thankx
shawn - Got the flowsheets and I am excited. Going at it a bit differently. Got a raised bed, horse manure, and top soil ($188.00 so far). Getting plants ( tomatoes, peppers, yellow squash, zuchanni squash, onions, leaf lettuce, and spinish )Easter weekend. Going to look at cost vs yield vs store cost. I think I will be in the hole the first year but $$$$ after. Also going to try and keep seeds. Thank you for the article.
Margaret Yamaguchi - Just saw an article about this in the SJ Merc. today. I’m having raised beds made. Finally after 40 years of wanting husband to do this I hired a guy. It’s costing a fortune but I’m not even sure I’ll keep track. 1st tomato will probably cost out at about $5. So far a 2x 36′ box against the fence mostly planted with cool weather stuff, flowers and herbs. Tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, zucchini etc will go into 30″ x 8 ‘ boxes as soon as they are ready. Raspberry starts coming from sister in law this Saturday. Total area about 150 ‘ plus walkways. I’m so excited.
Bill Smythe - It’s such a timely and good idea, that a list/group has been started to promote the concept!
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/100SFGarden
I’m making my Excel Spreadsheet, now!
Beds are in progress. Garden area will double this year!
Victory! I can almost taste it… LOL! ;>)
BillSF9c
Bill Smythe - In fact, it’s SUCH a GOOD IDEA that I’m going to support it on
our main, SQUARE FOOT List!
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SquareFootGardener
“Stimulus” has prompted me to create anew, my “Victory Garden!”
I’m expanding it!
pat patrick - This is a fantasic idea! I am putting in a garden for the first time in years and trying new things I find in Mother and Grit. I love your stepping stone idea and the spreadsheet sure beats my raggy ole spiral notebook. Thanks! The rotations will be a great help to me as well.
PPat
Kelly - I use my front yard the past 3 years to garden as well as the back but I get the longest amount of sun in the front. I will try to keep track of costs this year. Already have eaten a ton of spinach. Through seeds out there in Feb when we had 2 weeks of pretty nice weather!
Kelly - We are in Oregon.
Lisa - Thanks for such great ideas and encouragement. I am doing the raised beds in such rocky soil, but was hit with bad fungus last 2 years. I am trying to rotate the veggies to avoid this. I will never quit! but I sure hope I get something this year. We are Canada/NY state border and having a very cold spring this year.
Terri Rogers - I’m tackling this project in Knik River, Alaska. Peppers and tomatoes have to be greenhouse-grown where I live, but the rest will be okay with a good summer, and we’re still hoping for that this year. Temps in the 50′s now but the last 18 inches of snow melted a couple of weeks ago. I’m using chicken and horse manure but cannot plant outside until the first of June to avoid late frosts. My sneaky black Bantam hen, Betty, just brought three tiny chicks out from under the shed yesterday. We’re brooding them inside in the bathroom under a light while she hatches the rest on a nest I cannot reach. I’ll keep you posted. Reach me at [email protected]
Dayna Greene - This is awesome, thank you for sharing your wisdom. I live in the Ozarks, we’ve got a rain forest going on here right now. My garden is full, but I hate to go into it as it is so muddy. Where & how do you put your stepping stones in, down the middle? Duh, probably! Something I’ve learned is don’t make your small gardens to wide that you can’t reach over them to the middle. When you get older &/or handicapped like my husband is, you need to be able to reach the middle from a wheel chair or on your knees. I’ve started raised beds & are trying to make them a little higher each year so I don’t have to bend so much.
Regan - I have a 18 square foot raised bed that I started last year. I grew 5 Purple Russian heirloom indeterminate tomatoes, 18 Soleil bush beans crammed WAY too close together, 6 bell peppers, one jalapeno, a few carrots, basil, chives, stevia and 5 Fairy Tale eggplants. I wish I had kept production records now because we’re STILL eating those delicious beans and I had so many tomatoes I didn’t know what to do with them all. This year I have strawberries, radishes & carrots inter-planted & cilantro in that bed plus one volunteer tomato & my chives that came back. I have to make another raised bed too this year for all the other peppers & tomatoes I’m going to put out plus four blueberry bushes and some sweet potatoes! This gardening stuff is pretty fun but the best part is eating all the goodies you’ve grown yourself. And this year I’m definitely going to keep a spreadsheet so I can crow about how much precious $$$ we’ve saved!
im covin-gordon - Planning a small garden is no easy task. This sample for an urban backyard garden is really good news. The motivation to stay focus can send you surfing for information, all over the internet.
Lucy Dunn - Love the ideas Rosalind & Cathy. I live on 9 acres of rental property and I have wanted to put out a garden for years. Now I know I can put one out and it doesn’t have to be the size of my Grandfathers old garden. He and Grandma had a very big garden when I was growing up, my Dad and step Mother did too. I never thought back then that I would miss gardening. The sense of accomplishment; as well as what it’s like to go out and dig potatoes up or pick green beans and peas. After picking those I remember sitting under the shade tree with Grandma snapping beans and opening pea pods just for supper. Thank You Both for the idea of a smaller easier managed garden. I think I will ready the soil and start shopping for seeds and supplies for next years small garden. So glad I ran across your article. I hope to learn more as I plan for my new project. Thanks again.
Roy Gibson - I have a garden in my back yard, a 4 foot by 20 foot along one fence and a 3 foot by 20 foot along another. I also have a 16X32 spot in the middle of my yard. I grow many veggies and along the fence I have thornless blackberries. Strawberries in containers and watermelons along the other fence. I love it.
I buy the seeds and use half of them then save the rest for next year. I plant orange and red meat watermelons and save the seeds.The plants I buy from Walmart and plant early. If it freezes I buy more. If it don’t, I have veggies before anyone else and can preserve twice during the year.
It is a lot of work but I am retired and the savings are great. I also give veggies to the neighbors. At the end of the season I give the green tomatoes to a neighbor that makes us several jars of green tomato salsa.
I enjoy Mother Earth News and have read it for 20 years.
Keep up the good work. Roy
Owldancer - I really liked this article and thought it was very thurough. My only other question would be the garden layout; for the pole beans and other verticle rows… plant the rows North/South or East/West?
Grow 0 of Food in 100 Square Feet! | Foodarian - [...] I’m growing all of this in a bed that is just 5-by-20 feet! You can check my website to follow the progress of the garden, and to download easy-to-use spreadsheets to help you track your own garden [...]