Adventures in Butternut Squash

The butternut squash. An interesting looking creature, but from what I understand, hard to handle. I'm so intimidated by it that I prefer to buy the Campbell's Select Butternut Squash soup at the grocery store and call it a day. But, I was given this bad boy last week and I've been staring at it, wondering what to do with it. Finally, today was the day I gave in.

I read on Hungry Girl that you should first cut one in half width wise, and attack it with a vegetable peeler to get rid of its thick skin. This part wasn't so bad, although it took a while to get to that yellow-orangish fleshy part. When that was finished, you cut your pieces lengthwise and scoop out all the seeds, like a cantaloupe. I was going to try two recipes today, but after I cut the squash in pieces, I decided against it. Because I had a *lot* of squash!

I decided to do something with the cubed squash on the right and freeze the ones I cut in strips. Well, squash is very watery, and so I read online that you should blanche the squash and cool it before you freeze it. I brought some water to a boil, and then blanched the squash for three minutes. It's now sitting on my counter, waiting to cool and be put in freezer bags and saved for later in that wintry little cabin :)

With the rest of the squash, I used E's suggestion for Roasted Butternut Goodness(1) cube the squash (1 inch), (2) lightly toss in flour, onion powder, garlic powder, salt and pepper,(3) drizzle with olive oil, and (4) roast in a 400 degree oven. The natural sugars in the squash caramelize and make a crust with the flour and spices. I have to admit that I think I put a little too much flour on it (d'oh! but at least I know about it for next time) but... geez!! That filled me up like I ate four potatoes! And I loved the flavor of the onion and garlic powders. I really recommend trying it. I ended up roasting it for about 20-25 minutes, flipping the pieces over in the middle. So, don't be scared of that weird shaped squash! It tastes yummy and can be easily handled. Because trust me, if I can do it, so can you!!