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As much as I love pumpkin you’d think that I would venture out into the great world of winter squashes. But no. Not until this winter did I finally get around to trying spaghetti squash. What a revelation! We’d have the occasional acorn squash but it was generally done up as an elaborate affair, stuffed with wild rice and other fixings. So much work. And even if a squash was not to be stuffed, it still needed to be roasted and that takes time. Plus, winter squash is generally on the larger side and it’s just me and James so they always seemed too much.
This has turned out to the be the winter of discovering squashes and how incredibly versatile they are. Like, they make an amazing sauce.
James has figured out he can boil them in the microwave faster than roasting in the oven. If you are going to puree them into a sauce they don’t need roasting. And so we have had butternut squash a number of times. Even small ones are big, but leftovers have turned out to be useful for other meals.
One of my favorite uses of squash sauce is mac and cheese. The butternut squash cheese is made rich and creamy with the addition of cashews. Boil (or soak overnight) the cashews along with the squash. Puree, add the spices, pour over your (cooked) macaroni noodles and dig in! Of course you can use whatever kind of winter squash you want. We’ve used acorn for this as well.
We added broccoli to ours and then sprinkled panko bread crumbs on top and baked it for about 10 minutes. It was supposed to give it a bit of texture and crunch but it didn’t come out as intended. Still tasted good though! We had leftover mac and cheese and leftover cheese sauce. Neither lasted long.
It is well past winter squash season now just as I am wanting to explore all the squashes. We did find a couple small delicatas at the co-op last week. They are the perfect size for stuffing, one for each of us. James is going to make some kind of pilaf, nothing fancy. Since the delicatas are small, they will be roasted and won’t take long at all. Something to look forward to!
Next winter I plan on going all in on the squash. I want to try every single variety that shows up at the co-op. For now, I am tired of winter and ready for a touch of spring. Unfortunately, winter is not done with me yet.
I am a big fan of winter squash. Spaghetti squash is probably my favorite. Your cheese sauce looks intriguing.
We have also had a very mild winter here on Long Island but I am still ready for spring too.
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The variety of winter squash is amazing too. And they all taste just a little different. Plus I just love looking at them. 🙂
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This winter I have a newfound appreciation for squash. It’s so good in the winter, comfort good, and also it is not expensive…..
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Good, filling and comforting. I think my garden this year will be overrun with beans and squash 🙂
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Tasty! I have similar recipe on my blog. Check 3 Vegan recipes Post maybe you like it ♥️😅☑️
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Will check it out! Thanks!
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Great post 😁
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Thanks!
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No problem 🙂 check out my blog when you get the chance 😁
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I like butternut squash soup but I’ve never made a sauce from it. That mac ‘n cheese recipe looks so good I’ll have to give it a try!
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Oh Jeane, butternut squash soup is delicious! Squash are such versatile vegetables 🙂
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I never would have thought of using butternut squash to make mac and cheese! Do you add nutritional yeast for a cheesy flavor? Jack and I used to roast acorn squash with stuffing. They’re small, great for two people, and roast fairly quickly.
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I know, pretty creative use of squash in my opinion. Yes, there is nutritional yeast and some other spices to get the cheesy flavor.
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This sounds amazing!
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So delicious Cathy! And filling but not heavy 🙂
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I share the love of Squash with you!! This recipe sounds YUUUUUMMMM!
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So much yum cirtnecce! 😀
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I need to give spaghetti squash another try. The first and only time I tried my family found it too bland. We tend to favor butternut and a squash we call “potimarron” whose flavor is more intense. Do you have “potimarron” in the US?
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Smithereens, it is because it is bland that it is good. It is the canvas upon which you can paint anything you like 🙂 Yes, we do have potimarron but here it is called red kuri. I have not tried it but if it shows up among the squashes at my co-op next winter I definitely will get one!
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One of the things that surprises Australians is how little Americans use what we call pumpkins (or winter squash). Pumpkin pie is not a common thing here – but baked pumpkin, boiled pumpkin, pumpkin soup, pumpkin scones, mashed or pureed pumpkin, roast pumpkin salad, stuffed pumpkin, are among the ways we use pumpkin. Butternuts, Kent or Japs, Queensland Blues, Jarrahdale, and Golden Nuggets (which from memory are close to your acorn and are more common for stuffing) are most common ones here. We rarely see Spaghetti Squash though I have cooked with them a couple of times when we lived in the USA.
Now that there’s just two of us I know what you mean about quantity, though you can find smaller ones squash here. I have taken this last summer to making maple roasted vegetables – pumpkin, carrots, parsnip in particular – and storing them in the fridge to make up Buddha Bowl type meals – with salad greens, and a selection of other things like chick peas, quinoa, dry roasted walnuts, steamed beets, steamed beans. I make a tahini dressing. Several of these ingredients in fact I make enough for two or three meals and keep in the fridge.
I’ve never heard of Red Kuri or Potimarron.
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