On a recent visit from my upstate sister (who lives on an almost-farm complete with babies, horses, chickens, guinea hens, cats, a dog, and two big organic gardens) I was graced with a box of beautiful fall squash in many colors, shapes, and sizes: pumpkins big and small, several butternuts, a hubbard squash (see below) which delighted me with its vivid honeydew color and sent the Old Mother Hubbard rhyme tripping through my head, dark-green acorn squash, spaghetti squash (which I have yet to try!), and several acorn-style squash that I am calling "leopard" acorns as I don't know the real name. Have you ever seen anything more lovely with such a misleading name as squash?
To cook autumn gourds like these, simply cut in half, scoop out the seeds and membrane, and place cut-side-down in an oven-proof baking dish, with about 1/2" of water in the bottom. Bake at 350 degrees until a sharp knife slides into the side easily, about 30-45 minutes depending on size. Turn right-side-up on the serving plates and fill the hollows with butter and a sprinkling of brown sugar or succanat (dehydrated cane sugar juice). We enjoyed our leopard acorn with quiche, but these types of squash are also great with meat dishes and can take the place of a starch in your autumn meals. Bon appetit!
That is one cool looking squash! Just had to share that 2 nights ago, mike and I had spinach quiche with an acorn squash (with brown sugar and butter)! I haven't been to your blog in a while (too long), so this was purely coincidental. Glad I was following your food lead even though we haven't eaten together in a while.
ReplyDeleteSarah :)