My favorite way is roasted. I just peel the squash, cut it into cubes, drizzle with olive oil, add salt and pepper and sometimes herbs, and roast it. I usually roast a big pan of vegetables, a mix of potatoes, carrots, onions, squash, whatever I have on hand. I don't like green beans roasted and asparagus roasts too quickly to cook with the rest of the mix, but I've added nearly everything else, including radishes, rutabaga and turnip.

I did make a nice gratin with butternut and poblano peppers, it's a recipe I'd make again, but not really healthy with cream.

My daughters enjoy winter squash like acorn cut in half, butter the cavity, sprinkle with brown sugar. Add a drizzle of maple syrup if you like.

My dad liked his stuffed with sausage. That kind of defeats the vegetarian thing, though.

I also use mine in place of pumpkin or sweet potato in pie, yeast rolls, whoopie pies and other baked goods.

Annie

This post was edited by annie1992 on Thu, Jan 30, 14 at 16:08

Like Annie-- roasted as cubes or halves roasted with butter & br sugar-- or make a soup with sherry-if I'm really in a hurry- cut in half, deseeded , outer skin pricked all over, turned cavity side down on slightly bowled platter; a tbsp. of apple juice, cider or water added in bottom of platter & nuked 'til soft-- scoop out flesh & add butter, s & p

Diane

I'm with Annie. I roast it, either cubed with other things and roots i have, or roast the big chunks skin on and cut the lovely flesh off and use it in soups and sauces. I have a few containers frozen since the last one was huge. I cubed it and covered it with stock in pint containers. Used one last week for a chicken curry, pureed with a stick blender to give the broth body using a traditional recipe, lots of veggies and coconut milk at the end. Served over mixed grains.

I have one big blue hubbard left from the garden in the garage and need to free up some freezer space before roasting. It's the weight and size of a bowling ball. I'm thinking it might be nice to have roasted cubes frozen in a zip-lock to have handy and add a bit easier one or two to a soup or a few to puree for a sauce. A good thickener for a chowder. I've been roasting the seeds also. I plan to grow a variety again in the back garden and want to plant a hulless variety that does not have the thick shell.
If you have leftovers from a meal, don't hesitate to freeze it for a pie or a soup.

I find it a bit overwhelming as an only veg so we mix it with other things. Good with roasted cauliflower. DH won't eat it as a side dish on its own, or cauliflower. For years he disliked both but lately i've managed some decent roasting and he wonders why he disliked it so much in the past. Maybe a childhood memory of texture, if the grainy threads are not removed from the center core.

Thank you Diane, Annie, and Sleevendog on cooking winter squash. I like Sleevendog's tip of putting in curry & other dishes.

There's a book by an eye-doctor on foods that help with eyes & weight loss: spinach, tofu, pumpkin .. Prevention magazine featured a woman loading up on those food and lost weight. I bought some pumpkin & veges & applesauce mix for my kid. She hates it, so I ended up eating that stuff. It curbed my appetite immediately .. Food high in nutrition can satisfy any craving.

Here's an excerpt on the nutritional profile of pumpkin from the below link:

"There is less than a gram of fat in a cup of pumpkin. Pumpkins are low sodium and low cholesterol with only 2 grams each per cup of pumpkin meat. They are also full of vitamins and minerals and very high in protein. You will find: fatty acids, potassium, magnesium, phosphorus, copper, iron, zinc, and calcium in pumpkin. Folate and vitamin C are found in abundance in pumpkin. The huge amounts of zeaxanthin and lutein found in pumpkins help protect against macular degeneration and cataracts. You can tell by the bright orange color of pumpkin that it is full of beta carotene - an important antioxidant. "

From University of Illinois Extension:
http://urbanext.illinois.edu/pumpkins/nutrition.cfm

Calories 49
Protein 2 grams
Carbohydrate 12 grams
Dietary Fiber 3 grams
Calcium 37 mg
Iron 1.4 mg
Magnesium 22 mg
Potassium 564 mg Zinc 1 mg
Selenium .50 mg
Vitamin C 12 mg
Niacin 1 mg
Folate 21 mcg
Vitamin A 2650 IU
Vitamin E 3 mg

Here is a link that might be useful: Benefits of pumpkin for weight loss

This post was edited by Strawberryhill on Thu, Jan 30, 14 at 22:36

Winter squashes and pumpkins also are easy to grow and many can be stored at cool temperatures for long(er) periods, so I can grow a lot of them and store them in a cool spot and eat them a couple of months later. I know sleevendog grew many too, several different varieties.
I like butternut the best and so grow mostly that.

I think that consuming healthy food which is low in calories and high in fiber and nutrition (nutrient dense) will help a person lose weight and be healthier, that's only common sense. A plant based diet can be healthy, but isn't always, some are filled with refined carbs like white bread and high fat options like margarine or vegetable oils along with sugar and high fructose corn syrup. The sweeteners are even found in canned vegetables sometimes, they are ubiquitous.

Annie

If you have serving sized ones a delicious thing is to take off the hat and scoop out the seeds.Put back the hat and cook in the oven til cooked.
In a pan, cook some sliced leeks til soft, season, stir in creme fraiche and grated cheese. Put this mix in the squashes and reheat in oven til nice and hot. You can add a beaten egg to the leek mix to make it puff up if you like.

Made Spaghetti & Meatball for Halloween.

dcarch

Here is a link that might be useful: Don't sneeze!

I cook winter squash in the microwave. For acorn or butternut, I poke a hole in them with a meat fork so steam can escape, cook on high about 4 minutes,
remove, cut in half and deseed.

Then I put the halves cut side down on a paper plate or glass pie pan and return to the microwave to cook until done to the degree for the dish I'm making. If I am roasting them, I cook until just partially soft and then brush with oil and seasonings or stuff for a finishing bake. If they'll be mashed or puréed, I microwave until fully soft and scrape the flesh right out of the skin.

For spaghetti squash, I follow the same procedure but scrape out the strings with a fork.

I don't grow or cook pumpkins but I do buy a case of canned pumpkin when it's a Loss Leader around Thanksgiving and use it for soups, custards, quick breads or pumpkin chiffon cake.

Coincidentally, we had acorn squash for dinner last night (pic on the What's For Dinner thread). I cooked it in the microwave and then cut it into wedges, brushed it with a little melted butter mixed with tangerine juice and a pinch of allspice.

Here's a previous CF link with lots of squash recipes to inspire you.

Here is a link that might be useful: Squash Cookalong

Thank you, dcarch, for that great picture ... it's so clever, and made me laugh. The song in the link is funny ... it's my kid favorite when she watched Sesame Street as a toddler.

Thank you, Islay, for a nice tip on serving small acorn squash ..that's less sweet & good as a side dish. I agree with Annie that the definition of vegetarian should be "nutrient-dense", rather than "calorie-dense". Christie Alley prior to her "Dancing with the Stars" gained weight with a "vegetarian" diet: no meat, but she loaded up on butter, cheese, and sugar.

Recently I have to wear reading glasses at my age, 52 years old .... Nuisance, so I focus on nutrients for the eyes .. and winter squash is good stuff. Here's an excerpt from the below link:

"... winter squash turns out to be the primary food source of alpha-carotene and beta-carotene ... For lutein, zeaxanthin, and beta-cryptoxanthin (three other health-supportive carotenoids) winter squash also comes out among the top three food sources in several studies.

â¢Seeds from winter squash make a great snack food, just like pumpkin seeds. If you scoop the pulp and seeds from inside the squash and separate out the seeds, you can place them in a single layer on a cookie sheet and lightly roast them at 160-170ðF (about 75ðC) in the oven for 15-20 minutes. By roasting them for a relatively short time at a low temperature you can help minimize damage to their healthy oils."

Here is a link that might be useful: Reference database on Healthiest foods

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.

I made a pretty good butternut soup the other night. Roasted the squash and added onions, garlic and cumin (sauteed in a little oil), some vegetable broth, a jar of tomatoes and a couple chipotles in adobo sauce. Blended it a bit with a stick blender and added a can of black beans, some frozen corn and crumbled in some dried kale, S&P, then simmered a few minutes.

It needed something so we topped it with a little sour cream. I like cream cheese in my chowders, so when I heated up the leftovers I tossed in a chunk of light cream cheese. Even better.