Winter squashes are varied and versatile

There are several different kinds of winter squash and many of them have a very distinctive taste. Pumpkin is probably the most popular squash and easiest to find. Butternut, blue hubbard, acorn, and spaghetti squash are also found in most stores. You might have found others at the farmers market.

Squash should be big, very dry, hard, difficult to cut and heavy for its size. The darker it is on the inside, the better.

It's easy to cook squash for use in other recipes. Cut the squash in half, scoop out the seeds, and place the open side down on a baking pan. Do not add any water to the pan. Bake it in your oven at 350 degrees for at least 1 hour, or until tender, depending on size. I use a fork inserted into the squash to determine doneness. If there is no resistance, it is done. I don't mind letting mine get lightly browned along the edges. Remove from oven. Here you can go two different ways. If you just want cooked pulp, let it cool, remove the rind, measure and use as desired. However, fresh-baked squash is an easy meal in and of itself. I would take the cooked squash and carefully cut it into a more appropriate serving size. Serve with butter and brown sugar, if desired. Let the eater remove the rind, or remove it before serving.

Most squash soups you will find at your favorite restaurant are pretty much the same, unless they make their own on site. Even then, you can make the soup with pretty near any squash you have on hand, though I would avoid using the spaghetti one, as the final product might still be a bit stringy, even if you run it through a food processor before serving.

A note about nutmeg — if you can grate some fresh nutmeg instead of store-bought ground nutmeg, you'll have a far superior flavor. Nutmeg nuts last for years in the jar, and using a micro-plane-style grater to shave some off results in a fresh and bright nutmeg flavor. I was sold on grating my own years ago and won't go back.

SQUASH SOUP

3 cups cooked squash (see above)

3 cups chicken stock

3/4cup heavy whipping cream

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon ground sage

1 1/2 teaspoon salt

4 tablespoons sour cream

Place pumpkin in blender. Add chicken stock to the pumpkin and puree. Pour soup into a large saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Stir in cream, nutmeg, sage and salt. Mix well and remove from heat. Serve garnished with a dollop of sour cream.

SQUASH CASSEROLE

1 large squash, cooked, seeded and skinned

1 cup sugar

1 1/2 cups milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 pinch salt

2 tablespoons flour

3 eggs

1/4 cup butter, melted

1 cup crushed vanilla wafers

1/2 cup butter, melted

1 cup brown sugar

In a 9x13 inch casserole dish combine 3 cups mashed squash, sugar, milk, vanilla extract, salt, flour, eggs and 1/4 cup melted butter. Bake for 45 minutes, or until set. In a bowl combine crushed wafers, 1/2 cup butter and brown sugar. Crumble over top of cooked casserole and return to oven until top turns brown.

SQUASH BREAD

1 1/2 cups flour

1 1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1 cup cooked squash

1 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 cup buttermilk

1 egg

2 tablespoons butter, softened

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Sift the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg into a large bowl. Mix in the pumpkin, brown sugar, buttermilk, egg and butter until well blended. Pour into a 9x5 inch loaf pan and smooth the top. Bake for 1 hour or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

SQUASH ‘EGGNOG'

3 cups cooked squash

1 pint vanilla ice cream, softened

4 cups milk

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon ground mace

1 cup whipped cream

1 pinch ground nutmeg

In a blender, blend the pumpkin, ice cream, milk, cinnamon, nutmeg, and mace in batches. Pour into individual cups. Top with whipped cream and a sprinkle of nutmeg.

TOASTED SEEDS

3 cups raw whole seeds (pumpkin, butternut, et cetera)

1 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons water

1 tablespoons butter

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Clean and dry seeds so there is no goo or strings. Melt butter onto a cookie sheet. Spread seeds evenly over the buttered sheet and sprinkle with salt. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes, shaking the pan every 4 minutes to ensure even baking.