Even though the snow and winds have come to The Thumb of Michigan, and even though my garden supplied me with over 60 pounds of butternut squash this fall, and even though I have made squash soup and pumpkin pie and chocolate pumpkin cheesecake, I'm still squashing!
Jack's Fruit Market in Bay City had a wonderfully varied selection of winter squashes last week. I bought this very, very orange squash and roasted it this weekend. I scooped out the seeds, drained them in a colander, and am drying them for next summer's garden. I roasted the squash, inside facing down, on a sheet of parchment paper in a medium oven, 350 degrees.
The flesh of this squash, a deep red orange, was firm and evenly colored when baked. The texture, after fork mashing, was more like an Idaho baking potato. The squash was so sweet that I added a bit of butter and sprinkled maple sugar as a garnish. Half of the squash was more than Ed and I could eat as a side dish with salad and homemade pizza.
The seeds, once they are dry, will be transferred to a glass jar and stored out in the garage where it is dry and cool. I label each jar with the date of collection and take photos of the squash from whence cometh the seeds. We are only a week and a half away from Solstice Day and then it will be time to start planning next summer's garden. The photos will come in handy for remembering which seeds go with which squash.
Root veggies are amazing. Without refrigeration, with proper care, they provide a good meal months after harvest. That's pretty cool, botanically and nutritionally. This year, I'm still squashing.
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