thinman, yes freezing is recommended over canning in a pressure canner. I did some of both with one that split prematurely. I was curious about the canned so opened a jar and made two pies. It changes the texture a bit and darkened the color somewhat, but the taste was good. I scrub, cut them open, clean out insides, fill the turkey roaster with big 6 inch chunks, skin and all. Add enough water to steam, but not boil, cook until tender. Cool, scrape out flesh, puree in food processor, bag and freeze. I heard of another one I may try next year called Seminole Pumpkin that is a small one with dark orange, sweet flesh. That is a better size for us. The heirloom cucuribta moschata squashes are resistant to borers and I didn't have a squash bug until just before harvest. That is reason enough alone for me to raise them!

Hi Pat Growing veggies in Florida hot and humid weather is hard to do but not impossible, a lot of winter squash varieties do very well for me and eventually when older get mildews and everything else but I always manage to get a good harvest before it happens. Every year I grow a good and different varieties including the buttercup, right now I have stored for the season a number of winter squash to be used in cooking. When fall comes I will grow the smaller varieties. In the begginning of the season I use Serenade, but that is not a cure all. Sometimes I use Green Cure or Actinovate depending on what I have. Other people use a combination of milk and baking soda but like I said eventually when older all the squash get some kind of mildews in my experience. I just think of the finnish harvest and is all worth it to me.:) Hi Mary! Thank you for your beautiful card! And since you asked me about the taste of the Italian squash, all I have to say is that is tops! I especially liked it agrodolce Italian style, I do this with all my winter squash, cut in pieces, put kosher salt, pepper, balsamic vinegar, olive oil and sometimes a little bit of maple syrup. Because is so big, it is sold by the piece at the Italian market and I did sampled when I was there in risoottos and pastas. I am in Jamaica this week and I already finnish reading by the beach a book 100 Vegetables and Where They Came From, very, very interesting! and I was happy to know that I have sampled most of them and the ones that I did not, are on the list to try. The good thing about the book is that it also gives you simple recipes and combinations of food to try... Silvia

We learned to enjoy atole, a drink consumed in many parts of Mexico. Atole can be made of many different ingredients, such as corn starch, corn itself, sweet potato or squash. Here are two recipes for squash (or pumpkin) atole. The first makes a more traditional atole, as one might find in Mexico. The second is our own creation, Americanized to taste like pumpkin pie. George Tahlequah, OK _______________________________ Recipe for Atole de Calabaza (squash atole) - Cut chunks of winter squash into your pot so that they fit. I left the shell on them and scooped the flesh off after cooking. - Add sufficient water to boil/steam the squash. - Add molasses and some cinnamon to the water and squash in the pot, so that the solution will be sweet to taste when finished. - Cover on low flame and cook till tender. - Remove shell from chunks and return the flesh to the pot. - Transfer squash and molasses solution to a blender, add a few "glugs" of milk to each blender full and blend to get rid of strings and chunks. How much you blend is up to you. IÂve had squash atole that had chunks, strings and entire seeds in it, and it was delicious. Our family prefers to blend it to a uniform smoothness. At this time you taste it and add additional sweetener if necessary. The amount I make takes several blender-fulls to finish, as I make about 2 quarts. - Enjoy! Something that is really good is to dip pieces of French bread or hard roll into the atole as you eat/drink it. _______________________________ Americanized Pumpkin Atole To a blender add: 1 egg a few glugs of molasses some sugar (brown or white) 2 cups of cooked squash ¼ teaspoon nutmeg 1/8 teaspoon ginger ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon optional  2 or 3 tablespoons of peanut butter - Milk (fill the remaining space in the blender with milk, leaving just a little space at the top. - Blend this all up and taste to see if it needs more sweetening. - Pour the mix into a pot and heat until just boiling. - Serve

Thank you, ruthanna, for that link. I glanced through the recipes, picked out the easiest ones from Oct 29, 2009: Posted by joanm: Carmelized Butternut Squash Ina Garten 2 butternut squash (4 to 5 pounds total) 6 T. unsalted butter, melted 1/4 cup light brown sugar, packed 1 1/2 tea salt 1/2 tea black pepper Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Peel the squash, cut them in half lengthwise, and remove the seeds. Cut the squash into 1 1/4 to 1 1/2-inch cubes and place them on a baking sheet. Add melted butter, brown sugar, salt, and pepper. Toss all the ingredients and spread in a single layer on the baking sheet. Roast for 45 to 55 minutes. While roasting, turn the squash a few times with a spatula. ******* Posted by Robinkateb: Winter Squash Whole Wheat Bread 1 cup winter squash puree 1 Tbsp butter at warm room temperature or melted (you could sub oil if you want) 1/2 cup water 2 cups whole wheat pastry flour 1 cup all purpose flour 1/4 cup sugar (I use what ever sugar I am in the mood for, brown, sugar in the raw, turbinado, maple sugar...) 1 Tbsp vital wheat gluten (optional, especially if you use some white flour) 1 1/2 tsp kosher salt 1 3/4 tsp yeast Place the ingredients in your bread machine in the order listed. Turn it on and let the machine make you bread. ****** Here's a high-protein soup posted by Doucanoe: Hearty Pork Stew with Squash Source: Penzeys 2/09 1-1/2 lb boneless pork loin roast, trimmed and cubed (I used boneless chops) 3 medium carrots, peeled and cut into 1/4" slices 1 medium onion, chopped 2 c peeld parsnips, cubed 1-1/2 c butternut squash, peeled & cubed 4 c chicken broth 1 T fresh sage or 1 tsp dried 2 tsp fresh thyme or 3/4 tsp dried 1/2 tsp salt 1/2 tsp pepper 3 T flour 3 T butter, softened In 4-5 quart slow cooker, mix the pork and remaining ingredients except flour and butter. Cover and cook on low 6-7 hours. OR... place in a covered pot in the oven at 350F for 2 hours.