SIMMERING SQUASH in my Crock Pot

Simmering Squash in my Crock Pot

LAST CHANCE WINTER SQUASH SOUP

How to eat what you have on hand…
End of winter finds me cleaning out the pantry just like my great gramma did – and indeed – finding a small box of our homegrown butternut squash.  They are all so tiny (4 inches long) & in fact – have no seeds … these little babies were the ones I grew in my only-slightly-successful circle bed of the Three Sisters…beans, squash & corn, the ancient inter-planted companion staple foods for simple nutrition & long storage. Mostly I struck out in that cute little circle bed – no beans to pick, a dozen small, short ears of corn & these few puny squash. Ok – I did have one fabulous and huge squash, but she seemed out of place with the others…

The bed was a converted hard pan walkway in partial shade that I dressed with compost & turned, so maybe I shouldn’t feel too bad – but, still – wished I could have eaten a lot of lovely sweet corn last year!! I won’t be trying corn again with my shade problems & space issues…look out Farmer’s Market!

Back to the cooking…

So, easy to make a dinner with them – after breakfast – as Richard is doing the dishes, I just cut them up slightly, clean out the centers & pop into a slow cooker for a few hours of slow steaming.  By afternoon they are cooked up and soft.  If you are at work all day, you can leave them as long as you need, it won’t hurt the result.

Dinner is almost ready when you walk in the door – 5 minutes to chop one large onion – sautéed until soft in olive oil, then add a scoop of Thai spicy sauce (you could just use Italian seasoning or even simply salt & pepper to taste) and use your handy stick blender right in the crock pot…or transfer everything to a jar blender & give it a whirl!  Leave chinks of squash & onion for texture.  This delicious & hearty soup dish has no protein, but is a perfect serving of slow burning carbs, with very little but high quality fat calories from the olive oil.  With an addition of a cold bean or chicken salad, it is a simple yet balanced meal for the busy cook and her(his) family!

I love squash & pumpkin soups all winter long, and am sad to see the last of them go with the end of these lovely little baby squash from my pantry.

So – DO try making a simple squash soup before it is too late!  Or, plant some of those seeds & by September you’ll be eating this yummy vegetable again… Seeds from my biggest squash are already to sow & start in the  “greenhouse that is becoming”…now, that is an exciting thought!  The miracle of the seed & the harvest, the on-going cycle of nature & the seasons…seed to squash to seed to squash to seed…

Blessings on your Planting and Eating,

MORE yummy squash planted soon – started in my own greenhouse…now, that is exciting & VERY LOCAL!

-Annie