Squash about!

I think my favorite thing about autumn, other than woolly jumpers and more trips to the pub, is squash!  And no, I'm not talking about orange juice or that fast-paced racket ball sport.  I'm talking about the vegetables belonging to the genus Cucurbita: pumpkins, butternut squash, acorn squash, and zucchini (courgettes).  Coming from America, I used to think squash were pretty boring--yes, they were cool because they were one of the 'three sisters' planted by the Native Americans--but couldn't they be just a little more exotic and exciting?  Well, there's nothing like living abroad to re-orient your world view, and apparently, at least for me, that includes re-defining the vegetables you cherish.

Squash, a relatively non-prevalent vegetable in food retail in England (with the exception of zucchini), holds a more exotic and novel place in the English consciousness--it is a posh vegetable whose unique varieties, like onion squash, are typically found only in specialist greengrocers.  As an American, living in a place where squash is less ubiquitous has made me realize just how lovable and versatile (and essential) squashes are to the spirit of autumn.  After five weeks of moving all over London and finally becoming a bit more settled, I have re-entered the kitchen and been banging out the squash recipes to really feel settled into autumn.

A mushroom sage risotto gets stuffed into a roasted acorn squash and then inundated with parmesean cheese.  Later in the week, an onion squash soup gets spruced up with cannellini beans, chard, and mushrooms.

And tonight, a two-hour oven-roasted ratatouille with a separate tomato, herb, wine sauce convinced me that this is the one and only way to make ratatouille in the future.  Squashes not only add contrasting shapes and color to your autumn meals, they fortify you for the cold, darker days ahead (and are an overwhelming source of vitamin A!).  

 

Come the end of Halloween, if you have two many pumpkins, don't throw them out!  Turn them into pumpkin soup or pie, or even better, share them with a friend.  Our chickens couldn't get enough of this seasonal treat!  

Everyone loves a pumpkin!