butternut squash

We had an heirloom butternut squash from our farmer that we needed to use this week. I was hesitant to buy it because of the difficulty in cutting it up. This time was much easier, so I think having a good knife (and being prepared to be patient) made all the difference. It weighed about five pounds, so it was the centerpiece for two meals. As an heirloom it was sweeter and darker orange than other butternut squash I've seen - it actually reminded me a little of canteloupe when I cracked it open.

The first night we made a savory squash bread pudding, making use of the pasture-raised eggs we can also get from our farm. I personally do not like french toast, so I was not a fan of the bread pudding. My spouse liked it but even he thought it needed more seasonings. The gist of the recipe was: mix eggs, milk, small chunks of cooked butternut squash, and torn-up pieces of bread, then bake until it is cooked. It also had onions and spices like nutmeg and allspice.

The next night we made butternut squash soup. I have had version of this soup made by others, and don't really like the sweetness typical of recipes for this dish. We also did not have carrots or celery at the market this week, making many recipes out of our reach. So I found this recipe which was PERFECT! The potatoes and the cayenne pepper make all the difference in turning this traditionally sweet soup into a savory meal. Loved it so much I've eaten a bowl at nearly every meal since then. I tasted the soup after putting in the level of spices they suggested and ended up tripling most of them - with the exception of cayenne, which I just dumped in whatever we had left (probably a full teaspoon, 4x the amount suggested in the recipe).