Every so often, i plant acorn squash - that's our favourite. It's not too big, which is good since dh and i are the only ones eating it. Like any other squash, the vines tend to try to take over the world. A few years ago, we ended up with acorn squash hanging from the trees!

BUUAAAAHHAAAHHAAA !!! Hanging ffrom the trees!

Back to the subject, that's why I like spaghetti squash: the taste is mild and not so squashy. I am growing Hi Beta spaghetti squash this year. Surprisingly compact for a spaghetti squash, or any squash vine for that matter. And yes, Very productive.

Rick

DH grew a pie pumpkin in the greenhouse last year (probably not much chance outside the greenhouse in our yard) - 'Spooktacular' - very pretty small pumpkins that made really nice pie. The biggest was about 25cm across:

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LOL in the trees, I can see it! My neighbour is growing pumpkins this year and she let them grow up through a chainlink fence. Now she can't get them out and the pumpkins are breaking the vines cause they can't reach the ground. I guess that would be ok with smaller squashes.

Rick, my hi-beta spaghettis were anything but compact, they kidnapped my garden that summer! Whew I am lucky to have escaped! LOL they produced like crazy too. It's not that I hated them, I would jsut like to try something new.

Lori, what pretty little pumpkins! They are so perfect and round and orange.

Well, definitely zuchinni and spaghetti squashes are the most prolific in my garden. I tried acorn squash last year, but of course never got any due to the terrible summer we had. This is the first time I've tried butternut and they're so close to being ready, but may have to do some kind of squash ripening dance to get any!
If anybody's interested I've got a really good recipe for a spaghetti squash salad. It's kind of like a coleslaw. Also a recipe for a tomato and zuchinni soup that's great too,(or as my 4 year old calls it 'Bikini' soup!)

Laurie

Please post the recipies!

I have never tried squash since I have no idea what to do with them...

I was thinking of trying pumpkins next year. Over at a friends house we tried speghetti squash and the girls liked it a lot.

Maria

There ya go . . . if you can get your kids to eat any kind of squash, it's worth growing.

Spaghetti squash salad - I'd love to try that.

Northspruce, invest in a machete. I did. Really!

Rick

OK, here it goes:

Spaghetti Squash Salad

1 whole squash-cook until medium/firm; about 20-30 min. @ 375 (squash should still be somewhat crunchy)

Use fork to scrape out squash into bowl and let cool

1 lg. onion finely chopped
1 cup sugar
1 cup diced celery
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup red or green pepper finely chopped
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup vinegar

Mix ingredients. Add mixture to squash and mix well. Chill at least 2 hours or overnight. Will last in the fridge for 1 week.

Tomato Zucchini Soup

2 tbsp. butter
2 cups sliced onion
5 cups chicken broth
8 cups cubed zucchini (unpeeled)
5 large tomatoes, peeled & cut into chunks
2 tbsp. fresh parsley
1/2 tsp. oregano
1/2 tsp. basil
2 tbsp. fresh dill
1/2 tsp. celery flakes
1 tsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. salt

Put butter and onions into large soup pot. Saute until soft and clear.
Add remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil. Cover and simmer for 20 minutes. Makes about 6 servings. Sprinkle parmesan cheese on top of individual servings. This soup has an Italian flavour to it.

Bon Apetite,
Laurie

Oh man all these soups sound soooo good!!

One question though, do you put a whole spaghetti squash in the oven to bake? Or pierce holes, or cut in half? I was under the impression that they could explode... could be totally wrong. I always used to cut them in half and wrap in foil in the oven.

Yes, sorry, I cut them in half lengthwise and scoop out the seeds. Foil would work too, I've just put them in a covered casserole with about 1" of water on the bottom.

When I use them as a hot vegetable, when roasting I sprinkle a little salt in it, along with about 2 tbsp. butter and a couple of crushed cloves of garlic. After it's cooked and you scrape the flesh out I sprinkle parmesan on top too. It's really good!

I love fall cooking.....soups just seem to work when you've got all those fresh veggies laying around.

We should start a recipe thread in Conversations!

Laurie,
The spaghetti squash salad sounds intriguing - something I would like to try. Is it really a whole cup of sugar? (Sounds like a lot, but if it is, it is.) Thanks in advance for confirming...
Lori

Yes, Lori, the recipe calls for one cup of sugar. But I suppose you could always try cutting it back a bit and see if you like it.

I forgot to mention for the hot cooked spaghetti squash I usually add a few snips of fresh rosemary when cooking it too.

I've always put the cut side down on a cookie sheet to roast them rather than steaming them. But then I can't put the spice or garlic in then either. I'll have to try it.

Question for you metric users: does 1" mean 1 inch or 1 cm...? I am not being funny here. I wish we had gone metric years ago. But I see double and single quotes used by people I assume use the metric system, and I have always wondered what was meant.

1" means one inch (and 1' is one foot)... but there is a funny thing that happens on Gardenweb postings - when people use a double apostrophe in the "Subject" line in describing the size of something, it often comes out as a single apostrophe. So, a person posts something about their 12 inch (12") trowel or saute pan or whatever, and it comes out as a 12 foot (12') trowel/saute pan!

If I'm just cooking squash or eggplant or whatever to later puree, I cook it cut-side down too. If I'm cooking it to eat that way, I cook it the other way 'round - gives you a convenient place for the butter to melt, LOL!

Yeah it's not a dumb question, most Canadians still use imperial measures for a lot of things. Especially cooking, weight and linear measurement. It actually annoys me that we have to use kilometers, since our country was built on a mile grid. So in the country, you know how many miles you drove by how many section roads you passed, but how many kms? Who knows??

I think it also depends on our age. For me, the metric system was brought in when I was in grade 4 or 5, so was taught both ways. But now the only metric system I really use is the temperature in celcius. My sister who is 8 years younger is totally metric. Boy, this is somewhat depressing, showing my age and all! lol.

I tried Acorn Squash this year The vines have taken over everything. I have harvested three so far. there are dozens more, but really small (about one inch). Is there any chance these will mature. We are very close to frost times. Thanks.

I've grown 'Sweet Mama', acorn, spaghetti, hubbard, and mostly, butternut. So far, harvested a dozen or so, with a few more coming. The trick for me in getting the most out of my growing season is:

pumping water from the lake; it's warm and nutritious
black plastic over the entire garden; warm and weed free
Wall O' Waters for an early tomato start

Kashacres--I would cut off the smallest ones to give the energy to the ones that may have a chance, as you would with tomatoes.

How do you like those different varieties Elvis? Any comments on particular characteristics or uses of each? Besides spaghetti squash, all I really know about them is what they look like on the outside :)

Back to metric...do you notice that here in Canada...that in the stores.. in the fruit and vegetable & the meat sections...that they advertize the price per lb in large sized numbers first and then the metric prices (per kg) second, in small sized numbers. It looks cheaper to buy an item at 56 cents per lb. than $2.00 a kg. In the bulk section everything is in price per grams rather than kg because it looks cheaper to buy powdered iced tea for 27 cents per gram than $2.70 per kilogram. If you want something to appear to be "bigger/larger" then they advertize the larger number first.

Back to the tread...I enjoy acorn and butternut squashes. I do the simple thing...cut in half, remove seeds, fill with homemade maple syrup (from our acreage) and bake for 1 to 1 1/2 hours at 350F (note the metric is not used).

Laurie...you live near Brandon, Mb. right? The MCC sale at the Keystone Center is on this Saturday. They have all kinds of fruit, vegetables, plants, books, furniture for sale. This is where I usually pick up an assortment of squashes since I do not always get around to planting many kinds of squash in the garden here at home. A lot cheaper at the MCC sale then buying them in the store.

Yes, I've been to the MCC sale in previous years. Lots to look at and buy. I remember picking up a shopping bag full of assorted peony roots for $2, and a potentilla shrub for $1. Can't beat prices like that! Unfortuneately, I won't be able to make it this year, due to wedding preparations. :(

Laurie,

The MCC sale is a wonderful sale and I, too, have gotten plants, both annual and perennial, at the sale. One year I picked up about 5 huge hostas (of course, no name on them), you just never know.

Who is getting married? Is it in your yard? My daughter just got married in August in our yard. Boy, is that a wonderful lots-of-work-around-the-yard experience. But she wanted to walk down the "aisle" in bare feet on green grass in our yard. She got her wish. 32C and sunny, no wind, no rain, beautiful day!

I can't see that happening with my daughter, but her boyfriend might go for it! LOL

Valleyrimgirl, it's my sister getting married, but it'll held in a community center. That's probably a good thing, as I don't think my nerves could handle a wedding in my yard!lol But, between our mom and me, we are supplying most of the flowers for the table arrangements. Thankfully, frost still hasn't hit our yards and the flowers are looking good.
Outdoor weddings are very beautiful and I'm glad your daughter had a good day for one. We had 2 outdoor weddings to go to this summer. The one had very nice weather, but the other had, I think, the coldest day in August.:( Definitely, when weather co-operates, there's nothing like them!
My boys are still young yet, but in about 20 years, I may have the yard the way I want it and could host a wedding or two!;0)

Laurie

PS Let me know if you get anything interesting at the sale.

Laurie,

Today is your sister's wedding? Hope all goes well.

I went to the MCC sale and you wanted to know what I got....I got yellow crookneck summer squash for 25 cents each, large butternut squash for $1.25 each and 11 lbs. of wild rice for $10, $1 each for dishwashing liquid, and 2 doz. perogies (cottage cheese ones) for $4 each.
Now...has anyone ever heard of a "honey redhead" daylily? There was a box full at the sale this morning. I googled it and nothing like that exists on the web. Each piece was $1 and I picked up 2 of them so...I'll let it bloom and I will see what it looks like I guess. That's the chance you take when you buy at a sale like that.

Time to get something done around home instead of galavanting around town.

I found a pic of Honey Redhead. Jeez, a Google search of that name sure brings up some ahem, strange stuff. LOL.

There used to be a great daylily resource called Tinker's Gardens, but the website doesn't appear to be working anymore.

Here is a link that might be useful: Honey Redhead

It's beautiful, thanks northspruce. I find it interesting that when I "google"d honey redhead daylily, nothing came up and yet you were able to find it and the link you gave me works. I am glad you found the link, now I will for sure find a place in my yard for them. Each clump I got had 5 or 6 nice plants in them, so I would imagine when they bloom they will look great! Boy, does the flower in the picture look big compared to the plant size!

Valleyrimgirl, what a deal you got on those daylilies! That sale is always a great one to find treasures in.
No, the wedding isn't until this coming saturday (Oct 1), but I had to go up to my parents and help finish making decorations and wash out rose bowls and candle holders, etc........just tons of fun! This past saturday turned out to be a simply beautiful day. Hopefully, next saturday will be as nice :0)

Laurie

Laurie,

What are you putting in the rose bowls? My daughter was married 7 weeks ago. We put rose bowls on glass mirror tiles in the center of each table. Then I rehydrated water crystals and placed a few inches in the bottom of each bowl. Then we placed a floating candle on the water crystals in the center of each bowl. A few confetti sprinkles on each mirror and it was done. Very simple and elegant plus the candles stayed lit all night.

Boy, do great minds think a like! We're not using the gel though. We're adding red dye to the water and floating white candles in it. Then it's also on a mirror with rose petals scattered around. On each 8 foot table there'll be two of these on either side of a white flower w/ green foliage arrangement, and then votive and pillar candles spread over the table. We start decorating friday morning, hopefully we'll be done by midnight! Right now it seems like a lot of work for only 1 day, but I'm sure it'll all be worth it on the day of the wedding..........I have to keep telling myself that!lol
Laurie

Didn't want to get this off topic, but I see it already is... LOL.

VRG if you want to Google an exact phrase, type it in quotes i.e. "honey redhead" and you will only get results with the words "honey" and "redhead" together. I found several daylily references doing this, but only the one with a good picture. You can also use the advanced search to do the same thing.

It does look like a very pretty one. Good find!

Thanks, northspruce...

If it does bloom true...when I divide...are you interested? It would not be until next fall though. Are you in Wpg? I will have 2 boys in University there next year...right now, only one.

Laurie,
Gel crystals...water crystals...we (my daughter and I) saw them used in a vase at the bridal shows. Sooo pretty. We wanted the floating candle to stay in the center of the vase and it did with the water crystals. What you guys will be doing sounds great with the arrangements, pillar candles, etc. Where will the reception be? We were at the Keystone in the convention hall across from the ticketmaster. They were wonderful. We had a beautiful meal and the room was perfect. You see, the chairs are the red/burgundy/maroon color and the tablecloths used were a combination of red on white. I'm glad she wanted red for her main color 'cause the room, when you walked in, looked fabulous. You walked under the arbour and into the room. Are you using toille and minilights anywhere?

Vgirl, the reception will be in Russell at the conference center. Apparently it's very nice, but I haven't seen it yet. Red is her colour too, with silver and white accents. Over the dance floor there will be toille with mini-lights as well as 30 or 35 of those large paper lanterns. I think it should all look great. It's too funny how your dd wedding sounds a lot like this one!

Sorry Gillian, I really got this thread off topic! Hmmm.....btw my butternut squashes are looking good. They still have some faint green stripes on them, but are getting to a nice size. Will they be ok to eat if I have to pick them soon? Or do they have to be totally mature to be edible?