Adventures with Squash

"They're good, try them."


"But dad, I really don't wanna eat any."


"Son, your taste buds will change."





This was a common back and forth between my father and I at the dinner table in my house growing up. Every once and a while, my parents would insert and unusual and unfamiliar food (usually vegetable) onto our plates that was not welcome as far as my sister and I were concerned. This is not to say that I was a particularly picky eater in my early years. We had a relatively diverse menu from night to night during family dinners and I was open to most foods. Carrots, broccoli, peas, green beans, and asparagus were all welcome to join the flank steak and scalloped potatoes on my plate. However, like many children, I reserved the right to make a stand when it came to certain foods I found seriously unappetizing. For me, where I drew the line was squash. Didn't want it, wouldn't eat it, end of story. The smell, the color, the texture, the flavor, were all not for me. Originally developing from bad experiences with yellow squash and zucchini, this soon lead to my labeling of all squash simply as 'the devil' and a decade long boycott by my palate.



Now in college, I find myself craving fall, 'homey' flavors around Halloween and leading to Thanksgiving. With the weather getting a bit colder and football on saturdays and sundays, these fall flavors tend to remind me a little bit of home and watching the games with the family. Naturally I head to the produce counter in search of seasonal vegetables to accompany whatever protein is on sale. Enter problem #1: budget. At least one meat will inevitably be on sale at one point or the other, but what veg is both seasonal and affordable? Winter squash. With squash being one of the few foods I still am averse to, it is difficult to muster the courage to see what I can do with some butternuts and acorns. None the less, it is worth a try.



After a few weekends of trial and error, a few simple tricks produced a number of ways to make these squash meals cheap, healthy, and down right tasty (to my surprise). It just goes to show that sometimes it pays to reconcile old quarrels and in that way, squash and I have come to an understanding. My first attempts have been with spicy curry flavors with the butternut variety and apples/cinnamon with acorns. Soon I will tackle the one squash I have always enjoyed: pumpkin. Hopefully these posts about what I learned will help and/or inspire other recipes.