I received a big ole squash, yes dear readers, I said a "big ole" because it was gi-normous and heavy, a few days ago. The minute hubby saw it he suggested cooking it the way he does pumpkin, boiling it or cooking in a stew. I said no way. We wrestled (read: had a lively discussion) over how to cook it, and which way was best. Then I did the next best thing. I chopped it in half...ok, he did that; with his strong hands showing me how manly he was!lol! He chopped it in half and then I decided he would cook one half his way, while I do the other half, my way! (how's that for the cure to marital disagreements....if they were all this easy!lol!)
Anyway, I wanted to put my half in the oven, I had a vision of the squash sliced and covered with herbs and seasoning and the taste would be delicious! Our older daughter Jessica, who was visiting with our grandson Jaden, took a sliver of the uncooked squash and mentioned how delicious it was. I tasted it too and was amazed at its sweetness. We decided to look on the Internet for recipes. First of all, what type of squash was it? Not a Summer squash..nope, from the description I read, sweet, buttery smooth taste - it was a Winter Squash!
I was amazed at the variety of squash there were out there in the world....wow! Well, I just don't cook it often. But I am surely going to seek it out again. I bumped into the recipe I had in mind, the very same way I wanted to cook it, sliced, with savory herbs and seasonings! Hubby was mostly concerned that it wouldn't be cooked as soft my way. I begged to differ!
I began to use the knife to slice the squash but that proved to be pretty hard to do. I had to exert a bit of force to do it. I know you're thinking "...peel the skin first..."; I didn't want to do that. I then had the brilliant idea to use the chopping knife to slice it up, worked like a charm!
After chopping, I washed and seasoned the squash with: Kosher salt, black pepper, red pepper flakes, lots of garlic, cumin, Italian herbs and parsley. I put butter in the pan, and added some water. I then placed it in the oven to bake at 350 degrees for an hour. It took a while, longer than I thought it would.
Overall the finished product was absolutely delicious! I loved the taste and the texture which left a nice after taste because of the seasoning.
What would I do differently? I would put less water in the pot, and cover it from the start, instead of covering it after it was in the oven for 20 minutes in order to get the nice crispy look on the squash. It would have sauteed and likely have it's own additional moisture so that I wouldn't need to add more water; at that time I would uncover have the crisp I wanted. A mental note for the next time!
What do you think dear readers? Does it look good to you? Have you ever cooked squash? If so, how do you cook yours?
I found two very informative websites on Squash, one of which had the recipe I had in mind. Do check them out:
http://www.everyday-vegetable-garden.com/types-of-winter-squash.html
http://blog.seasonwithspice.com/2011/07/roasted-spiced-pumpkin-recipe.html
Anyway, I wanted to put my half in the oven, I had a vision of the squash sliced and covered with herbs and seasoning and the taste would be delicious! Our older daughter Jessica, who was visiting with our grandson Jaden, took a sliver of the uncooked squash and mentioned how delicious it was. I tasted it too and was amazed at its sweetness. We decided to look on the Internet for recipes. First of all, what type of squash was it? Not a Summer squash..nope, from the description I read, sweet, buttery smooth taste - it was a Winter Squash!
I was amazed at the variety of squash there were out there in the world....wow! Well, I just don't cook it often. But I am surely going to seek it out again. I bumped into the recipe I had in mind, the very same way I wanted to cook it, sliced, with savory herbs and seasonings! Hubby was mostly concerned that it wouldn't be cooked as soft my way. I begged to differ!
I began to use the knife to slice the squash but that proved to be pretty hard to do. I had to exert a bit of force to do it. I know you're thinking "...peel the skin first..."; I didn't want to do that. I then had the brilliant idea to use the chopping knife to slice it up, worked like a charm!
After chopping, I washed and seasoned the squash with: Kosher salt, black pepper, red pepper flakes, lots of garlic, cumin, Italian herbs and parsley. I put butter in the pan, and added some water. I then placed it in the oven to bake at 350 degrees for an hour. It took a while, longer than I thought it would.Overall the finished product was absolutely delicious! I loved the taste and the texture which left a nice after taste because of the seasoning.
What would I do differently? I would put less water in the pot, and cover it from the start, instead of covering it after it was in the oven for 20 minutes in order to get the nice crispy look on the squash. It would have sauteed and likely have it's own additional moisture so that I wouldn't need to add more water; at that time I would uncover have the crisp I wanted. A mental note for the next time!
What do you think dear readers? Does it look good to you? Have you ever cooked squash? If so, how do you cook yours?
I found two very informative websites on Squash, one of which had the recipe I had in mind. Do check them out:
http://www.everyday-vegetable-garden.com/types-of-winter-squash.html
http://blog.seasonwithspice.com/2011/07/roasted-spiced-pumpkin-recipe.html
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