bountiful gratefulness

Shh, let me share a secret with you.  I don't want to say it too loud just in case mother nature hears and decides to stir things up a bit.  I am loving the extended fall weather that we are having, mid-November and still no snow on the ground.  It's crazy wonderful. 

You know what else is great? Squash.  Every week the hubby comes home with a couple of them for cooking and so I've cubed, mashed, baked and souped them and still I am not tired of them.  How can that be?  Yesterday I baked an acorn squash for my lunch.  And since I'm in the sharing mood, it's quite simple really:

Acorn squash

Wash one acorn squash.  Cut the ends so the squash will be able to stand up like a bowl in the oven.  Next cut it in half (cross section).  Pull out the seeds and gunk and set aside.  There will be a few stringy stragglers but don't sweat it, they all go down the same way.  Place in baking dish

Next drizzle a bit of olive oil - 1 TBSP; maple syrup - 2 TBSP; ginger - 1 TBSP over the two squash halves.  Bake for 50 minutes at 400, adjusting cooking time and temp for your oven.  In the last 10 minutes of cooking, add some nuts (walnuts or pecans) if so desired.

At this point you could roast up the seeds (separate them from the gunk) for a little after-dinner snack.  A sprinkle of sea salt in a shallow dish and you are all set. 

I'd be remiss if I didn't mention that my kids don't really care for their squash this way.  They prefer it pureed in soup so don't be too surprised if your squash delight gets snubbed by the younger pallets. But really as long as they are eating it, it really doesn't matter what format.  Enjoy!