Spicy Miso-Glazed Acorn Squash

My official new favourite way of eating squash!!  This was really delicious and I will definitely be making it again.  BUT ... I can't believe how hard it is to cut squash into slices.  I've never done that before - I usually bake winter squash in halves or big chunks.  If there is some special trick to making it easier, please let me know.  I just found it really hard to cut 1/2 inch slices with such tough skin.

But the flavours were so good!  After slicing up the squash, I tossed it with a combination something like this (it was a bit loosey-goosey): 2 Tbsp white miso paste, 2 Tbsp hot sauce, 1 Tbsp maple syrup and 3 Tbsp olive oil.  No salt required as the miso is enough.  Then bake at 400 degrees F for 20-25 minutes, flipping halfway through.  What little sauce was left from the original toss was spread over the squash at the midway point.

I used my homemade hot sauce in this recipe (not much left now).  I really wish I could remember the recipe because it is awesome.  And hot.  But not as hot as the hot sauce I made with the hinklehatz peppers.  Whew, that is used in spare amounts, for sure.

I served it with baked trout that also had a miso glaze, but more of an Asian style (soy sauce, ginger, rice vinegar, sesame oil and the miso paste).

A great way to use one of my harvests.  I have two squash left in the cold room - a spaghetti squash and a marina di chioggia. I'll be surfing the net to decide what to do with these two in the coming weeks (unless someone has a really good idea for me to try??!).

August Update on Cucurbits: Part One

I have had a very rough go this year with the pumpkins and squash (both winter and summer).  First, I rushed into planting them too early in May during a wonderful warm spell then got hit with a late frost.  I covered all of the plants during the frost and I managed to save 2/3 of what I had planted (which was quite a lot).  Then I got a nasty infestation of cucumber beetles which managed to take down quite a few of the already weak plants.  The beetles mostly infected the summer squash, but also many of the pumpkins.

Several weeks of neem oil treatment and some manual picking of the bugs off the plants has made a considerable difference.  I still see cucumber beetles on some of the plants but those plants that survived seem to be strong enough and large enough to handle it (but I'll keep doing the neem oil treatments and pick off bugs when I see them).  I also have a lot of squash bugs but they don't seem to do as much damage.

I lost almost all of the pumpkin plants, and the watermelon and Hale's melon plants are growing but I've seen no fruit forming yet and are likely too small to produce anything in the short growing season I have here.  So here is a summary of what I have left.

crazy crowded 3 sisters garden

In the three sisters garden space (NW of my yard), I planted the Marina di Chiogga, as well as spaghetti, butternut and acorn squash.  There is no evidence of acorn anywhere in this garden.  I have one spaghetti squash almost ready to harvest ... a good thing as it started much higher up on a stalk of corn and has slowly been dropping further towards the ground.  I probably should have managed the vines better so they didn't go up the corn.

I have two very different looking Marina di Chiogga - one seems close to harvest but I've never grown these before so I'll have to do some research.

I have two that have this lighter colouring

And finally some evidence of butternut.  I really struggled with germination and had several to plant but I think I lost most of them in the frost.  Not sure if this one will have time to get to full size but I'll take what I can get.

If it is not obvious, I'll point out that I seem to have, at best, one or two squash per plant.  A pretty crappy yield rate but at least I'm getting something!!

NE space

The next garden (NE of my yard) was also dedicated to Cucurbits including more spaghetti squash, acorn squash as well as the watermelon and Hale's melon that I previously mentioned.  Due to the large numbers of squash bugs that I had last year, I decided to put LOTS of marigolds and nasturtiums with the squash in this area in order to attract them away from the veggie plants. I may have overdone it as I planted dozens of them and they are all getting quite large and threatening to overtake the garden space (but are working very well at attracting the bugs).

Marigolds down centre, not yet in bloom
but covered in squash bugs

One (or two?) of several nasturtium!

The two spaghetti squash harvested this past Monday (one 5-pounder!) came from this area (probably the same plant), and I have another one growing here.  That little yellow flower behind it is from the watermelon plant.

I also have two acorn squash.

And then there is this mystery squash which I haven't quite figured out what it is yet.

And that's the first part covering my two "dug" gardens containing squash. Stay tuned for part two covering the hay bale plants!

Rigatoni with Acorn Squash, Kale and Mushrooms

I put this together a few weeks ago when I still had fresh kale from the garden ... but I could just as easily have used some of the kale I have frozen for use through the winter.  It was one of those "anything-available" kind of dishes - I realized afterwards that I hadn't even bothered with an onion!

I really enjoyed the extra flavour from cooking the squash in almond milk, but it can also be cooked in chicken stock or just plain water.

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups dry rigatoni, cooked
1 cup cubed acorn squash
2 cups almond milk
4 pieces bacon, chopped
6 oz shiitake, chopped or diced
8 oz cremini, chopped or diced
2 cups kale, chopped
2 Tbsp fresh thyme
Aged cheddar, cubed or grated parmesan (optional)

Method:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Cook the pasta in salted, boiling water to al dente.  Drain and set aside. Heat the almond milk to a simmer, add the squash and cook until tender.

Heat a saute pan and add the chopped bacon.  Saute 3-4 minutes to render some of the fat then add the mushroooms and fresh thyme.  Cook on medium-high heat until mushrooms are browned.  Add in the kale and toss to combine all ingredients.  Remove from heat.  Season to taste with salt and pepper (lots of pepper!).

Add the pasta and mushroom/kale mixture into a casserole dish.  Remove squash from milk with a slotted spoon and add to the casserole dish.  If your pasta is well cooked, you might not want to add any more liquid.  But if you want a creamier dish, add some of the almond milk as well.  Toss in some cubed cheese if using (or just top with grated parmesan for a bit of extra flavour).

Toss to combine all ingredients.  Bake in preheated oven for about 20-30 minutes to heat through all ingredients and let the flavours come together.

Baked Acorn Squash with Rice, Cranberries, Pecans and Feta

Mmm ... baked squash!  A fall favourite of mine.  Here it is baked then stuffed with goodies including rice, cranberries and nuts then topped with some feta cheese.

I used two small squashes from my garden, but this amount of ingredients should be enough for one medium sized squash. 

Ingredients:
Acorn squash, halved and seeded
1 shallot, minced
4 Tbsp unsalted butter
2 cups cooked brown and wild rice
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/3 cup pecans, chopped
1/4 cup feta





 Bake the squash halves at 350 degrees F (cut side down on a baking sheet) until fork tender.

Saute the shallot in 2 Tbsp of the butter.  Add the cooked rice and toss to coat with the butter.  Remove from heat then add the cranberries and nuts.  Season if needed, but remember the feta will add some saltiness. 

Place the squash halves cut side up on a baking pan (if necessary, cut a thin slice from the bottom so it will sit flat).  Split the remaining butter between the two halves then fill with the rice mixture.

Bake at 350 F about 10 minutes.  Top with feta before serving.

Acorn Squash Soup with Bacon and Sage Crisps

I've made it to week three of my once-a-week soup recipe plan.  Yes, I know, I've seen the pattern; three weeks and three pureed veggie soups (week one: Ginger Carrot Soup with Coconut and Miso and week two: Broccoli Soup with Blue Cheese Toasts) and now the acorn squash.  If I manage a week four recipe, I'll have to try something different.

It's just so easy with the wonderful fall veggies available this time of year (and available right in my own garden ... well, cold storage now).  In addition to the acorn squash that I grew, the sage was picked fresh from the herb garden.  And these crispy sage leaves?!  Sooooo delicious.  I'll remember to make extra next time as I had nibbled several on their own before the soup was served.

Ingredients:
3 lbs acorn squash, halved and seeded
3 slices bacon
1/2 medium onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 carrot, diced
Fresh sage leaves
Vegetable stock

Bake the squash at 350 degrees F until tender, 30-40 minutes. When cool enough to touch, peel and cut into chunks.

Cook the bacon until crisp in a frying pan.  Set aside bacon to use as a garnish, then transfer 1 Tbsp of bacon fat (or olive oil if you prefer) into a dutch oven or other soup pot.

Saute onion, garlic and carrot until onion is translucent.  Add in squash, 7-8 sage leaves and 3 cups vegetable stock.  Simmer about 30 minutes.







Remove all but 2 sage leaves and discard.  Puree soup mixture.  Season with S&P.  If soup is too thick, add more stock (I added another 1 cup).

Sage Crisps:  Reheat bacon fat (or heat 2 Tbsp olive oil).  Fry fresh sage leaves about 1-2 minutes, until they turn dark green. 








Serve soup hot with crumbled bacon and sage crisps.