December 2010
Newsletter
Food focus: Squash
Did you ever wonder where squash got its funny
name? Apparently it is a borrowing from the Algonquin for "eaten
green." Squash, of course, is one of the 'three sisters' in Native
American agriculture, the other two being beans and corn. When planted
together, the corn stalks provided "support for the climbing beans, and
shade for the squash. The squash vines provided ground cover to limit weeds.
The beans provided nitrogen fixing for all three crops." (Wikipedia)
All squash are in the cucurbita genus, which also embraces the cucumber and the pumpkin.
Summer squash include the thin-skinned zucchini and their yellow cousins; whereas winter squash is a catch-all that
includes acorn, butternut, delicata, Hubbard,
etc., vegetables that offer succulent innards but skin and seeds that we
usually eschew. Boiled or baked, squash will
provide starch and fiber and a host of vitamins -- A, C, and some of the Bs –
plus manganese, copper, and iron. If
you find them bland, get out your enhancers, like ginger or cinnamon or yogurt,
and some healthy fat, like butter or coconut or olive oil, and bland will be a
thing of the past.
In
the recipe below, if the delacatas are tender enough, the skin is good to eat,
too. In that case, be sure to buy
organic ones and wash them well.
Recipe of the Month:
Baked Delicata Squash
Ingredients:
One
small delicate squash for each diner.
Two
teaspoonfuls of butter or coconut oil per squash.
˝
a teaspoon of powdered ginger root per squash (or other seasoning that you
prefer).
A
little tap water and a baking dish.
Directions:
1.
Preheat oven to 350 F.
2.
Cut the squashes in half lengthwise and scoop out the seeds and strings.
3.
Place them facing up in the baking dish with a little water in it to cover the
surface by about an eighth of an inch.
4.
Put a teaspoonful of butter or oil in each cavity with a quarter of teaspoon of
ginger powder.
5.
Bake for 45 minutes or until the flesh is truly soft.
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