Help! I Want to Roast a Squash!



Butternut squash, uncut!

Fall is near, and I thought I would take a moment to address one of the season's most difficult yet easiest cooking skills! Aren't those the most frustrating things -- the easiest yet hardest? Drinking lots of water when you're trying to lose weight, going to sleep an hour eaerlier when you want to do better at work, etc.? Those things always trip me up. It's like the harder the obstacle, the easier it is to focus, and the easier the requirements, the more I underestimate them and therefore the harder of a time I have achieving them. Crazy how that works. Anyways, back to the topic at hand.

One of the best ways to eat this fall includes taking advantage of SQUASH. You know, those weird looking gourds of things in baskets at the supermarket for ridiculously cheap prices (y'all know I'm all about the cheap eats.) Once I learned to cook and eat them -- I loved them and have never looked back (and neither has my wallet.) Never again will I pay $4.99 for 2 cups of pre-cubed butternut squash -- when a whole squash makes about 5 cups and costs about $2! Proposterous. I guess they think we're stupid -- or don't have access to a blog post such as this. Since when does using a knife bring about more costs? I'll wait.

Anyways, the possibilities for squash are endless. I thought I would take a break from #THApplefest to answer this question I received via twitter (check us out -- @tablehaven!) -- How can I break down a squash and cook it? Well, here we go.

1. At the grocery store, pick a squash (any squash, even though I used a butternut squash for this post) that is firm to the touch.
2. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F.
3. Lie the squash on its side on a hard surface, such as a clean kitchen counter or a cutting board if you have one.
4. With a large knife, cut the squash in half, from top to bottom.
5. Use a spoon to scoop out the seeds.
6. Now that you have two large (and seedless) halves, keep cutting each piece in half until you have chunks similar to the picture above.
7. Spray a pan with cooking spray and place the chunks on the pan. Then spray each chunk with cooking spray (If you have olive oil, feel free to drizzle some on the chunks.)
8. Sprinkle some salt and pepper on the chunks (optional: cinnamon! yum!!) and bake for 30-40 minutes.
9. Enjoy!!!

When you bake a squash, you can eat it as is, or cut it into smaller cubes and add it to a salad or soup for some depth. You could also heat some on the stove with spinach and garlic for a great (hearty!) side dish. It's also very filling for the "price" -- Butternut squash (pictured) has only 82 calories per cup!

I hope this answered your question!
Readers -- if you have any questions (ever,) feel free to shoot me an email at thehaventable@gmail.com or tweet me at @tablehaven!

 

Great Rule of Thumb

Follow the rainbow ~ if a food has a strong color, it's good for you! As you can see from the picture above, butternut squash is a deep orange, and is a great way to get in your vitamins and nutrients!

xoxo n