Stuffed Squash with Spinach and Quinoa

I made this yummy squash for dinner the other night, and thought it would be great to share the recipe for those of you hosting a vegetarian at Thanksgiving.

While there are usually enough sides at a Thanksgiving dinner to fill up even a hungry eater, it's nice to have something that looks like a centerpiece.

I used a 4-cup squash, but there's enough stuffing to fill one twice the size.

Also, I baked the squash while cooking the stuffing on the stove, then filled the cooked squash and served it. You could also stuff the raw squash and then cook it at 350°F for about an hour. Or you could use a slow cooker - a much-appreciated device when all the burners and ovens are full with other dishes. Put the raw stuffed squash in the slow cooker and cook on low for 6 hours. Fashion a piece of aluminum foil or parchment paper into a sling and nestle the squash in it inside the slow cooker. This will make getting the cooked squash out of the slow cooker easier.

But don't save this recipe for Thanksgiving. It's great on any fall or winter evening. The quinoa and beans give it a high protein content, the spinach (or any other green you like) provides a nutrition boost, the rosemary and garlic boost the immune system. (Although you can omit the garlic if you don't like it.) Skip the feta if you're serving vegans.

Here's what I did.

Stuffed Squash with Spinach and Quinoa
1 winter squash
2/3 cup pinto beans (or 1 14 oz can of a bean of your choice)
2 tbsp olive oil
1 cup diced onion
4 cloves garlic, minced
6 oz raw spinach, thick stems discarded, washed and coarsely chopped
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp smoked chile flakes
2 cups vegetable stock
1 cup quinoa, rinsed first in boiling water then in cold water a couple of times
2-4 tbsp chopped black olives
1/2 cup crumbled feta (or more to taste)
1 tbsp chopped fresh rosemary (or 2 tsp dried)

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Wash the squash and pierce the top with a knife a few times. Bake about 40 minutes until it feels soft and a knife slides easily in near the stem.

Pressure cook the beans for 23 minutes until tender. (Or cook them for a couple of hours in a pot of water on the stove. Or drain the canned beans.)

Cook the onion and garlic in the oil until soft. Stir in the salt, paprika and chile flakes. Cook another minute. Add the stock and quinoa, bring to a boil, lower the heat, cover and simmer until quinoa is cooked, about 15-20 minutes. Stir in the spinach and cook until wilted. Add the beans, olives, feta and rosemary. Stir to mix.

Cut the top off the squash and scoop out the seeds and any stringy guts. Spoon the stuffing into the squash, adjust the top jauntily, and serve.

Any extra stuffing can be served on the side. Sprinkle with extra feta if desired.

Serves 6

Roast Acorn Squash

The winter squashes call to me when I walk past the stalls at the Hollywood Farmers Market on Sunday mornings. Now I have a cart, I am worried that I will buy more squash than we can eat in a week. And while I love to decoratively pile amazing squash on our hall table and coffee table, we're heading back into 90 degrees, and squash will not last long in that.

So last week I limited myself to two. I used the butternut squash in a bean salad and as a side dish. The acorn squash I sliced and then roasted with cumin and chiles. It was just wonderful. And, after the slicing (with a knife that was well-sharpened by Russ at the Hollywood Farmers Market), it was easy to cook.

I like this squash so much that I take leftover pieces to work and gnaw them down to the skin.

Autumn is great.

Roast Acorn Squash
1 tbsp (or so) olive oil
sprinkle of dried chile flakes
sprinkle of cumin seeds
1 acorn squash

Preheat the toaster oven to 350°F.

Warm the olive oil in a small skillet. Add the chile flakes and cumin and keep warming until fragrant. Remove from the heat.

Meanwhile, wash and dry the acorn squash. Cut it in half lengthwise. (If there's a thick stem, cut it off first.) Scoop out the seeds and guts and discard. Put a half on the board, cut side down, and cut it lengthwise in wedges 1-2 inches wide.

Dip the wedges of squash in the warm oil, rubbing them around to pick up oil and the spices, then put them on a baking sheet.

Bake for 20-30 minutes until a thin knife pierces the skin easily.

Serves 3-4 (and makes great leftovers)

Butternut Squash Risotto

We harvested our two ripe honeynut squash yesterday, and turned them into this delicious risotto for dinner.

I don't think I've ever eaten such fresh winter squash — 3 hours from garden to table — and they were sweet and yummy.

In the past I've made this risotto with older butternut squash and it was great too.

Of course, it is hard to go wrong with risotto, especially if you use excellent vegetable stock.

Butternut Squash Risotto

1/2 cup finely diced onion

3/4 lb butternut squash, peeled, seeded and chopped in 1/2" pieces (about 1 3/4 cups)

1/2 tbsp butter

1/2 tbsp olive oil

1 cups arborio rice

1/4 cup white wine

3-4 cups vegetable stock

1/4 tsp salt

1/8 tsp ground white pepper
few grinds black pepper

1/4 cup parmesan

Melt the butter and olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the diced onion and squash. Cook over medium heat until the onions are translucent.

Bring the stock to a boil and keep it warm over low heat in a covered saucepan.

Add the arborio rice to the onions and squash and let it toast slightly, stirring a few times, about 3-5 minutes. Stir in the salt and white pepper.

Add the white wine. Stir a few times until it is evaporated. Add a ladleful of stock. Stir. Let the stock absorb into the rice, then add more stock. Keep adding stock, stirring, and letting it simmer until it's absorbed by the rice. Then add more.

When the rice is tender, add a few grinds of black pepper and the parmesan, and serve.

Serves 2-3

Green Spaghetti Squash

I found a bunch of cilantro, a few fronds of dill, and some parsley in the fridge so I decided to purée them into a version of chimichurri sauce and stir them into spaghetti squash.

I have to say, it worked very well.

The key is not to call it pesto. That makes diners imagine glorious piles of pasta with fragrant basil and garlic sauce. Green spaghetti squash would be a disappointment.

However, call it spaghetti squash with garlic butter, hazelnuts and green sauce, and it goes down very well.

I don't have a recipe, but this is what I did.

I washed a medium spaghetti squash, pierced it a few times with a knife, and baked it at 375°F for 45 minutes until it was soft. I cut it in half lengthwise and let it cool a bit. Then I scooped out the seeds and discarded them.

In the blender, I puréed cilantro, parsley and dill with a red jalapeño I pulled from the freezer, a little olive oil and a good amount of salt and pepper. Then I whirred in some water to make it more of a sauce than a paste.

I melted some butter in a skillet and added a couple of mashed cloves of garlic. I coarsely chopped a handful of hazelnuts and tossed them in when the garlic was fragrant.

I scooped the strands of spaghetti squash from their shell into the pot and tossed them in the garlic butter. Then I poured in the green sauce and stirred it together. I let it heat fully and then served it as a colorful and flavorful side.

Shiitake Mushroom Adventure

I was given a shiitake mushroom log at Christmas. I was pretty excited because I have never grown mushrooms before. And it came at the perfect time - the weather was cold and rainy, and our garage provided the perfect environment to grow the 'shrooms. The log grows inside a plastic bag, so it has stayed moist even as our days and air have become drier.

The other day, I picked our first crop - a bumper - and made this delicious stew with the winter vegetables I have in our fridge.

I often buy fresh shiitake mushrooms at the Hollywood Farmers Market. They are dark brown and thin-capped and very mushroom-y in flavor. The shiitakes I picked off our log are white and sweet - a different taste altogether and quite eye-opening. It's like the difference between a supermarket tomato and a home-grown tomato, but more so.

My first harvest!

I cut the caps from the stems and dried the stems on a rack on the kitchen counter to go into my next batch of vegetable stock. The caps added great flavor to this simple vegetable dish.

The key sauce ingredient in the stew is nutritional yeast. This is a good source of B vitamins and a vegan source of cheese-flavor. I'm told it's also good on popcorn, but I have yet to try that.

Vegetable Stew
1/3 cup chickpeas
1/2 lb Brussels sprouts
2 tbsp olive oil
6 cloves garlic, peeled and bashed
4 shiitake mushrooms, stemmed and sliced
2 cups peeled and cubed butternut squash
1 carrot, cut in large matchsticks
3 cups packed chopped green curly kale
1 cup water
1/4 cup tamari (natural soy sauce)
1/4 cup nutritional yeast

Cook the chickpeas in plenty of simmering water until tender, 2-4 hours depending on the age of the beans. Drain and set aside.

Trim the Brussels sprouts and cut them in half. Steam them about 5 minutes until tender and bright green. Set aside.

Shiitake log in its plastic bag

Warm oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add garlic, mushrooms, squash and carrot. Cook, stirring often, until tender, about 5 minutes. Add chickpeas and kale. Cook stirring often, until kale is bright green, 1-2 minutes. Stir in Brussels sprouts. Reduce heat to medium low.

Whisk together water, tamari and nutritional yeast in a small bowl. Pour over the vegetables in the skillet. Stir and cover. Remove from the heat and let stand 1-2 minutes for the flavors to blend.

Serve on brown rice.

Serves 4

Spicy Spaghetti Squash

Over the holidays, I cooked some soba noodles and served them with a spicy sauce made with Szechwan pepper and chilies. It was a yummy dish that I served with fried tofu and celery slaw. Larry said the noodles were so good he would even eat them cold for lunch.

I made more chili oil than the noodles needed, so I stored the extra in the fridge until I decided how to use it.

Then I saw tiny spaghetti squashes at the Hollywood Farmers Market - decision made!

I have to say, it was a yummy combination. The spaghetti squash is mild and a little crunchy. The chili sauce is zesty and moderately spicy, with the occasional crunch from a peppercorn.

I pierced the small spaghetti squash with a knife and baked it at 350°F until it was tender. This took only 25 minutes — it was a very small squash.

Then I let it cool a little, cut it in half lengthwise and scooped out and discarded the seeds. I scooped the flesh into a small dish, separating the strands somewhat, and tossed them with a few tablespoons of the chili oil.

Yummy. And I'm sure the sauce would be great on other vegetables too. Here's how I made it.

Spicy Chili Oil
4 scallions, white parts only, thinly sliced
1/2 cup canola oil
1 tbsp crushed red pepper flakes
2 tsp sesame seeds
2 tsp Szechwan peppercorns, coarsely chopped

Warm the scallions, oil, red pepper flakes, sesame seeds and peppercorns in a small saucepan over low heat. Stir occasionally for about 10 minutes until the oil sizzles and the scallions are golden. Remove from the heat and let cool.

This is the oil I stirred into the spaghetti squash.

For the noodle dish, I whisked 3 tbsp of the unstrained chili oil together with 1/4 cup tahini, 1/4 cup rice vinegar, 3 tbsp tamari (natural soy sauce) and 2 tsp roasted sesame oil. I tossed this sauce with the cooked noodles and the scallion greens and drizzled with more chili oil. I poured this over 12 oz of soba noodles.

Fancy Roasted Brussels Sprouts

Oven-roasting transforms vegetables and blends disparate flavors in fabulous ways.

This recipe looks a little strange, but is really delicious. The dates and pecans add flavor and texture - it will even convert people who think they don't like Brussels sprouts.

The picture to the right is of the dish after being reheated as leftovers. I forgot to photograph it the first time out of the oven when it was much prettier. However, the reheated leftovers tasted really good too.

Brussels sprouts are members of the cabbage family, so they contain all the estrogen-balancing and colon-health nutrients that cabbage and kale do. They are also good sources of folate, Vitamins C and K, fiber and omega-3 fatty acids. Plus they are adorable.

If you want to try Brussels sprouts but this recipe is too complex, click here to see my simple recipe for Brussels sprouts with lemon.

These tiny vegetables are delicious when prepared simply, but are strong enough to handle big flavors. They're definitely worth adding to the week's menu.

Roasted Brussels Sprouts and Squash with Dates and Pecans
10 oz Brussels sprouts
10 oz butternut squash or other winter squash
1/2 cup pecans
1/4 cup dates
2 sprigs fresh rosemary
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 tbsp dijon mustard
2 tbsp oil
2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 large clove garlic
1/4 tsp dried chili flakes

Preheat the oven to 375°F.

Cut any faded outer leaves off the Brussels sprouts and cut them in half through the stem end. Put them in a large bowl.

Peel the squash and dice it in 1/2 inch pieces. Add to the Brussels sprouts.

Chop the pecans. Take the pits out of the dates and cut them with scissors into bite-sized pieces. Add both to the bowl.

In a smaller bowl, whisk together the chopped rosemary, salt, pepper, dijon, oil, vinegar, minced garlic, and chili flakes. Pour this over the vegetables and mix until well combined.

Pour the mixture onto a baking sheet and spread it out. Bake 40-45 minutes, stirring once or twice during the cooking.

Serves 4

Eating the Decorations

This time last year we were munching our way through the winter squash I had bought as Thanksgiving decorations. This year, I was restrained in my squash purchasing, and instead decorated with flowers and nuts.

The bowl of nuts decorating the hall table were chestnuts from Ha's Apple Farm. I love chestnuts, and I planned that we would roast them in our outdoor fireplace after Thanksgiving dinner.

But we're not lighting our fireplace in this time of drought — the air is too dry as it is. So instead of roasting the chestnuts, I boiled them, and combined them with pumpkin in a stick-to-the-ribs soup. Delicious!

Boiled chestnuts were a revelation. They were moist and sweet — unlike the black-edged lumps I pull from the fire when I roast them — and I started dreaming of chestnut mousse and marrons glacés. But I regained my focus and added the chestnuts to this soup where they added a wonderful rich creaminess. Best pumpkin soup ever!

If you don't feel like boiling and peeling chestnuts, you can use a one-pound jar of whole, peeled nuts.

When buying pumpkin or winter squash for this soup, ask the farmer for a dry starchy one like hubbard or buttercup. Roasting the pumpkin gives the soup more flavor than those made with boiled pumpkin. Also, because I was using my homemade stock, I used 3 cups stock and 5 cups water. Vary the ratio depending on your stock.

Pumpkin Chestnut Soup
4 lbs pumpkin or dry squash like Hubbard or Buttercup
1 1/2 cups chestnuts
4 tbsp unsalted butter or olive oil
2 cups chopped onion
8 cups vegetable stock (or stock and water mixed)
3 1/2 lbs potatoes

Preheat oven to 400°F. Carefully cut the pumpkins in half and scoop out the seeds. Brush the cut surfaces with olive oil and place cut-side down on a cookie sheet. Bake 30-40 minutes until flesh is soft and slightly caramelized. Let cool enough to handle. Then scoop the flesh from the skins and cut it into chunks. Discard the skins.

Meanwhile, put the chestnuts in a saucepan and cover with cold water. Bring to the boil. Let simmer 5 minutes, then take the pan off the heat and let cool a little. One by one, remove a chestnut from the pot, hold it in a kitchen towel, and remove both the thick outer peel and the thin brown inner skin with a small sharp knife. Set aside.

Melt the butter in a large saucepan. Add onion. Cook, stirring, until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in the stock, cooked pumpkin, potatoes and chestnuts. Simmer over medium heat 45 minutes until vegetables are tender.

Purée the soup with a stick blender. Or let it cool and purée carefully in a blender. Add more stock if the soup is too thick (but it's delicious when it's thick). Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Serves 8-10

Roasted Winter Vegetables

There is nothing like roasting to bring out the inherent sweet goodness of winter vegetables.

The other night I served winter squash slices baked with cumin and chiles (you can see my recipe here), alongside roasted carrots and turnips. Yum.

Roasted Carrots and Turnips
3 turnips
3 carrots
1 tbsp olive oil
salt

Preheat oven to 400°F.

Peel the turnips if necessary and cut into 1/2 inch thick circles.

Peel the carrots and cut off the stem end. Cut them in half lengthwise and then into 2-inch lengths.

Put the vegetables in a roasting pan and toss with the olive oil and a sprinkling of salt.

Roast in the oven, turning occasionally, until the vegetables are lightly browned and tender, about 30-40 minutes.

Serves 2-3

Yummy Spaghetti Squash

I have finally found the absolutely most delicious way to eat spaghetti squash. It's probably not the healthiest, because it contains butter and cheese, but there's also garlic to boost the immune system.

I guess it's like eating cheese-y garlic bread, but with a base of low-calorie spaghetti squash instead of bread.

Even Larry, not a big spaghetti squash fan, enjoyed this side dish. Next time I see a small spaghetti squash at the market, he probably won't mind that I have to bring it home.

Yummy Spaghetti Squash

1 lb spaghetti squash

1 tbsp butter

1 clove garlic

1/4 cup grated parmesan

Wash the spaghetti squash with a little dish soap then rinse well and dry. Put on a baking dish and pierce a few times with a sharp knife. Bake in a 325°F oven for 30 minutes or so until it is cooked. (Larger spaghetti squashes will take 60-90 minutes or longer.)

Let the squash cool a little, then cut a small slice off each end (the stem end and opposite end). Then cut the squash in half lengthwise, separate the halves and scoop out the darker goopier guts and the seeds. Discard. Scoop the paler, slightly crisp strands of spaghetti squash into a bowl. Discard the peel.

Melt the butter in a small skillet. Add the minced garlic and warm until fragrant but not brown. Pour the garlic butter over the squash, sprinkle in the parmesan, and toss well. 

Serve immediately.

Serves 2

Spaghetti Squash

I am always tempted by spaghetti squash at the Hollywood Farmers Market. Larry does not understand this, and would prefer I lost my fascination with this vegetable. So I restrain myself most of the time.

Until the other day when I served spaghetti squash tossed in olive oil and garlic. Now I think Larry will not look so askance at my purchases.

I prefer not to cut into hard raw squash if I don't have to, so I wash the skin and then put it whole in the toaster oven at 350°F until it's soft. That can take 30-60 minutes, depending on the size and age of the squash. I have a slender knife I slide in to see if it's done, and I also squeeze it with my hand to see if it gives. When it's cooked, I leave it on the counter to cool a while, then cut it in half lengthwise and scoop out the seeds and the guts. With spaghetti squash it can be tough to discern the guts from the squash, but I err on the side of caution. With two forks I separate the strands a bit.

Ready for the garlic oil.

Then comes the good part. I warmed 1 tbsp olive oil in a large skillet and threw in 2 cloves of minced garlic. When they smelled good, I added the squash, stir-frying it so it got coated in the wonderful garlicky oil.

Even Larry enjoyed it.

As I always say, you can't go wrong with garlic butter - or even garlic olive oil.

Vegetable Stew

Once the vegetables are prepped, this stew cooks quickly. It's a satisfying, comforting stew, suitable for this season of cool evenings before the summer vegetables hit the farmers market. It's a good winter stew too -- add some hot chilies to give it a kick, if you like. The turmeric gives the potatoes a pretty yellow color.

Serve it on brown rice with a crunchy salad on the side. It makes great leftovers too.

Vegetable Stew

1 large onion

3 red potatoes

1 small butternut squash

2 large carrots

1 tbsp olive oil

14-oz can diced tomatoes

2 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp ground turmeric

14-oz can chickpeas, drained

Chop the onion coarsely in roughly 1 inch pieces. Peel the potatoes and cut them in 1/2 inch chunks. Cut the butternut squash in half lengthwise. Peel it, scoop out the seeds and stringy pulp, and dice the flesh into roughly 1/2 inch chunks. Peel the carrots, cut off the ends, and slice in 1/2 inch rounds.

Warm the olive oil over medium heat. Add the chopped onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until it is lightly browned, 5-7 minutes. Add the potatoes, squash, carrots and the canned tomatoes with their juice. Pour in enough water to barely cover the vegetables, cover and bring to a simmer. Stir in the cumin and turmeric, cover the pot, and simmer gently until the vegetables are tender, about 25 minutes.

Add the chickpeas, and season to taste with salt and pepper. You'll need at least a couple of teaspoons of salt. Simmer over low heat another 5 minutes to blend the flavors.

Serves 6-8

Roasted Root Vegetables

We had some totally cute root vegetables in the fridge this week: baby rutabagas, tiny turnips - I decided to roast them for dinner last night.

Usually I roast vegetables by tossing them in olive oil and salt and pepper and then cooking them in a covered casserole for 40 minutes or so until they're tender.

But last night I decided to roast them on a cookie sheet. This way they would get a little more browned in places, adding more texture.

And I think it was a success, even though I forgot to add the sprigs of fresh rosemary from the garden.

Here's what I did.

Roasted Root Vegetables
1 bunch baby rutabagas
1 bunch small turnips
1/2 a small butternut squash
4 shallots
4 medium red potatoes
2 large radishes
olive oil
salt and pepper
2 sprigs rosemary (optional)

Remove any greens and save them for another use.

Peel the rutabagas if they're hairy. Peel and chop the larger turnips, but leave the small (1 1/2 inch) ones whole. Peel and dice the butternut squash. Peel the shallots. Scrub and dice the potatoes. Peel the radishes if the skin is thick, and dice the flesh.

Toss all the roots in a bowl with about a tablespoon of olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Spread on a cookie sheet, add the rosemary if using, and cook at 450°F 35-40 minutes until the vegetables are tender when poked with a small knife. (The time will depend on the size and age of your roots.)

Serves 3-4

Winter Vegetable Stew in Kabocha

We bought the prettiest kabocha squash at the market last week. It made a beautiful serving dish for a rather colorless (yet delicious) winter stew.

I washed the squash with my Planet dish soap and cold water. Then I dried it and put it in the toaster oven at 350°F for about 45 minutes, until a knife slipped in easily.

I let it rest a little to cool off, then sliced off the top, scooped out the seeds and goop, and filled it with the bean stew. Very pretty. I scooped some of the squash into our bowls along with the stew, and it added a little sweetness and color.

Winter Vegetable Stew
1/2 cup dry white lima or gigante beans
2 tbsp olive oil
1/2 lb carrots, diced
1/4 lb turnips, diced
1 large onion, diced
1/2 lb potatoes, peeled and diced
3/4 lb shredded cabbage
2 cups water or stock
1 tbsp dill (opt)

Cook the beans in plenty of boiling water until tender, about 90 minutes depending on the age of your beans. This can be done a day ahead. Or use 2 15oz cans of white kidney beans or cannelini beans.

Warm the olive oil in a large pot. Add the carrots, turnips and onion. Cook, stirring, about 1 minute. Add the potatoes and cabbage and stir again. Pour in the water or stock. (I used 3/4 cup roasted vegetable stock from the freezer and 1 1/4 cups water.) Cover the pot and simmer 15 minutes. Add more liquid if necessary so it doesn't burn.

Season to taste and stir in the cooked beans (or the drained and rinsed canned beans) and the dill. Cook another 15 minutes, uncovered.

Serve over rice or in bowls or in a roast squash.

Baked Squash

I wrote late last year about how we were eating the organic squashes I had used as Thanksgiving decorations. A couple of weeks ago we ate the last one - a kabocha squash. I baked it in a 350° oven for 45 minutes until a knife slipped in easily. Then I cut it into wedges, scooped out the seeds, and served it with garlic butter poured over it. Wow. It was really good.

So last night I cooked another kabocha squash. I washed it with a drop of my coconut-based dishwashing liquid (Planet brand), dried it, then put it in the 350°F oven. I was able to pierce it easily with a knife after 40 minutes. I let it cool a few minutes, then cut off the top and scooped out the seeds.

I put it on a plate and filled it with a bean stew I had cooked on the stove. I scooped the stew onto plates, and used the serving spoon to carve out some of the flesh of the squash as well. It was a simple, attractive and nutritious dinner.

Steaming Pumpkin

We are still eating our way through our Thanksgiving decorations.

One of the squash was a long bulbous thing - quite decorative. However when I braised a little of it to eat with dinner one night, we found it bland and tasteless and a little stringy.

So I cut the rest of it into big chunks and steamed it until tender. When it was cool enough to handle, I peeled it and puréed it in the food processor.

I froze it in cup-size containers, ready to add moisture and a pretty color to muffins, scones, and maybe even pancakes. In these settings, it won't matter that the pumpkin has no flavor - the other ingredients will assert themselves.

I hope our last squash is more delicious.

Eating Pumpkin

We starting eating our Thanksgiving decorations this week.

Last night I took the beautiful heirloom pumpkin that had decorated our hall table all fall and popped it in the toaster oven.

Forty-five minutes at 350° and it had turned a gorgeous dark brown. A knife slipped in easily so I knew it was cooked.

I sliced it into wedges and served it, not really knowing what to expect.

And it surprised me by being the most buttery pumpkin I have ever eaten. It tasted like I had poured butter over it, although I had not. Wow.

Winter Squash

I've been writing a lot recently about winter squash because that's what is coming in to the farmers' market. I always buy organic squash, even for decorative purposes. The picture at right is my Thanksgiving centerpiece. After the holiday we will eat the squash over the next few weeks.

I just learned a disturbing thing, however.

It turns out that American farmers are growing (non-organic) winter squash as a remedial crop in contaminated soils. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are effectively pulled out of the soil by winter squash plants. These are contaminating chemicals, and farmers are consciously planting the winter squash to pull them out of the soil so their soil becomes healthier. This is to be lauded. But I'm not sure I want to be eating squash with PAHs in it.

Do these chemicals get into the winter squash we eat? Into the butternut squash soup we buy at the store? That hasn't been studied. But I can't imagine the leaves and roots and stems of the plant absorb the PAHs and not the fruits.

The only way to know for sure you do not have PAHs in your squash is to buy organic squash, and products made with organic squash.

For me the only difficulty this presents is deciding which of the beautiful organic heirloom squash to buy.

Roast Chipotle Squash

Move over Spiced Squash, Roast Chipotle Squash is even better!

Chipotles are smoked jalapenos. You can get them in cans with adobo sauce, which is a spicy tomato sauce. Look for them at Mexican markets and well-stocked grocery stores. Unfortunately I have yet to find them organically produced.

They are spicy and smoky and make squash taste delicious!

This is another of those recipes that is too easy to write down, but here goes.

Roast Chipotle Squash
1 kabocha, acorn or other winter squash
1 tbsp minced canned chipotles in adobo
1 tsp salt
3 tbsp canola or other light oil
2 tsp water

Preheat oven to 400°F. Wash the squash, then cut it in half and scoop out the seeds. Place the halves cut side down on a cutting board, and with a big sharp knife carefully cut them lengthwise into 2-inch wedges.

Stir together the chipotles, salt, oil and water. Slather this onto the wedges (the flesh more than the skin, because the skin might be too tough to eat after roasting), using about half the sauce. Put the squash on a cookie sheet and bake, loosely covered with foil, for 15 minutes. Remove the foil, turn the pieces and drizzle the rest of the sauce over the top. Bake uncovered until tender, about 15 more minutes. Sprinkle with salt and serve.

Serves 2

Roast Squash

There are so many adorable little squashes and pumpkins at the market these days that I always end up with a couple to serve as vegetable sides during the week.

Winter squash are not just great to look at. They are high in antioxidants, and contain polysaccharides that have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties.

My latest addiction is spiced squash, but that requires cutting the raw squash and sometimes that is just too much work.

It's easier to throw a whole little pumpkin or squash in the toaster oven at 375°F. When it's soft, 30-45 minutes depending on the size, I cut it in half, let it cool a little, then scoop out the seeds.

I either cut it in wedges to serve, or I use a half as a cute little bowl for whatever bean or grain dish I've cooked.

It's a simple use of a healthy vegetable.