Glorious Fall

Glorious fall—and especially October—is my favorite time of year. I must admit I like it a little cooler than it is this year, but I won’t complain. Driving through the countryside in the beautiful bluff country is a breathtaking and exhilarating experience. Everywhere you look the gold, maroon and bright red leaves stand out against the still-green background, waving their colorful leaves in the wind and sometimes tossing them into the air.

Now is the time to stop at the farm-stands and farmers’ markets you find along the way for the last of the tomatoes (we still haven’t had a freeze), a few cucumbers, lots of broccoli and cabbages—but best of all—the colorful and delightful pumpkins and squashes.

They come in every shape and color from dark green to bright orange and grayish white and every shade in between. Their homely warts and bumps only add to their beauty and foreshadow an array of delicious dishes packed with vitamins A and C as well as lots of fiber and tons of flavor! It’s a feast in every sense.

All squashes and pumpkins are gourds: fleshy vegetables with seeds on the inside and protective rinds outside. Preparation of both is the same. The pumpkin is more variable in moisture content, so it is a good idea to buy the smaller, sugar pumpkins if you are going to make your own puree. However, it is possible to render the large, jack-o-lantern style pumpkin into a delicious puree—just a little more bother. Canned pumpkin puree is fine, but it has been scarce the last two years. So far, I have been able to find it on the supermarket shelves but it isn’t Thanksgiving yet.

To prepare your own pumpkin puree you can boil, bake or steam the pumpkin. Halve pumpkin and remove seeds (save to roast, if you wish) and stringy portion. Cut into small pieces, then peel. Cook in boiling salted water to cover for 25 to 30 minutes, or until tender. Drain and mash or put into food processor to puree. When cool you can use immediately, refrigerate for 3 or 4 days, or spoon into freezer containers and freeze for several months. This puree is wonderful for soups and baked goods.

Winter squashes are too numerous to list, but in our market the most common are buttercup, butternut and acorn. Buttercup is my favorite because of its deep orange, mealy, sweet meat. Here is the simplest and one of the best ways to prepare buttercup squash:

1 large buttercup squash
¼ cup butter (half a stick)
½ cup packed brown sugar
½ tsp. salt
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
Nutmeg or cardamom to taste

Cut squash in half; remove seeds and stringy portion. Prick skin with a fork in several places. Place both halves on microwave-proof plate and microwave on high for approximately 10-12 minutes or until tender. When cool enough to handle, remove flesh from skin and put into food processor while still warm. Add butter, brown sugar and salt. Process until smooth. Place in casserole and dot with more butter. Sprinkle with nutmeg or cardamom if you wish. Bake, uncovered, for 30 minutes at 350.

Here’s a great breakfast (or anytime) recipe.

Pumpkin Nut Waffles

2 ½ cups sifted cake flour
4 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp salt
¾ tsp. ground cinnamon
¼ tsp. ground nutmeg
3 eggs, separated
1 ¾ cups milk
¾ cup canola oil
½ cup canned pumpkin puree
¾ cup chopped toasted pecans

Sift together dry ingredients. Beat egg yolks. Combine with milk, oil and pumpkin. Add to dry ingredients. Beat egg whites stiff. Fold into batter. Pour onto hot waffle iron. Sprinkle with a few chopped nuts and bake. Makes about 8 waffles.

Here’s a great slow-cooker soup recipe from the November issue of Family Circle magazine:

Gingery Butternut Squash Soup (makes 6 serv.)

1 small (3 lb) butternut squash, seeded, peeled and cut into 2-inch cubes
2 cloves garlic, crushed

1 Tbsp canola oil

1 large onion, chopped

1 Tbsp grated ginger

3 cups vegetable broth

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. sugar

¼ tsp. black pepper

Place squash cubes and garlic in slow cooker with ¼ cup water. Cover and cook on HIGH for 3 hours. Meanwhile, heat oil over med-high heat in skillet. Cook onion for 5 minutes, stir in ginger and cook 1 minute. Remove squash from slow cooker and discard garlic and liquid. Puree half of squash in food processor with half of onion mixture and 2 cups of the broth until smooth; pour into slow cooker and repeat with remaining squash, onion mixture, 1 cup broth and ¾ cup water. Stir in salt and pepper, then cover and cook an additional 30 minutes. Top with cheese toast if desired.