A Game of Squash: You'd Butternut Cheat!

Have you ever played squash? Someday when I also learn to play cricket, I'll dabble in the sport of squash. For now, the only squash that gives me a workout comes from the garden. This time of year, your winter squash is begging to get cooked. Check for signs of spoilage. If it looks good, wash it, chop it in half (use an axe or drop it from the rooftop for a hubbard), remove the seeds, wrap it in foil, place it on a baking sheet and cook for about 2 hours on 350 F. It's ready when you can scoop it like soft ice cream. If you want to hide it in something, you may want to puree it in the blender or a food processor. Now what to do with it? Here are a couple delicious recipes for winter squash (butternut, acorn, buttercup, hubbard, pumpkin etc.). My kids won't eat plain squash, so we cheat and hide it in homemade macaroni and cheese, chocolate cake, carrot cake, chili, broccoli cheese soup (they don't eat the broccoli either).

  For Squash Mac & Cheese you'll need:

• 1/4 cup butter
• 1/4 cup flour
• 1 Tbsp. salt
• 1 tsp. onion powder (use fresh if you like)-1 small onion, chopped
• 1/4 tsp. black pepper
• 1/4 tsp. garlic powder (use fresh if you like)-3 cloves, minced
• 1-2 c. milk
• 2 c. squash puree
• 1 c. shredded cheddar cheese (not packed)
• 12 oz. of your favorite noodles

In a large pot fill halfway with water for the noodles. Place on high heat on the stove. Add noodles when it boils and cook until al dente. In the meantime, in a medium saucepan, melt butter on medium heat. Sautee onions and garlic if using fresh, until cooked through, but not browned. Add spices  Stir in flour and let sizzle for a few seconds. Stir in milk until sauce is smooth. Stir in puree and cheddar cheese. Stir frequently until sauce thickens. To thin it add more milk. Mix with noodles and serve hot. My kids devour it, blissfully unaware that it's a "witta bit hewfy."

For Broccoli Cheese Soup, just add half the usual cheese and maybe some more milk to your regular recipe:

I found a carrot and butternut squash cake at bakerette.com. We harvested last season's carrots this week at the RPCG, so I really needed a home for the carrots. Plus we used our homemade applesauce. I cooked these in a muffin tin and they worked just fine:

These were a huge hit. The kids definitely made a racket over these! The broccoli cheese caused a different kind of racket. Sometimes cheaters prosper, right?