I’ve never really been one to cook much winter squash. Maybe a butternut here and there, but otherwise, I see the squash at the store, note their festive appearance, and then keep on walking for no other reason than it just seems like a lot of work. Carving pumpkins, I know from experience, is a pain in the ass. There’s a reason why Halloween comes but once a year, and I’m pretty sure it has everything to do with those stupid pumpkins.
But things are getting a whole lot squashier around here. Why? Because after falling in love with my summer CSA to much eye-rolling on your part (yes, I did notice), we decided to sign up for Drumlin Farm’s winter farmshare, despite the newer, stricter farm work requirement. More whining to come.
What in the world, you might ask, is a winter farmshare? A big bucket of snow?
No, here in Massachusetts, it’s snow and squash. Lots of squash. Drumlin has a root cellar to keep their autumn-harvested squash (among other things, I hope) daisy-fresh all winter long. Root cellars, which are basically caves dug into a hillside where food can be stored at optimum temperature and humidity, are the reason people around here survived the winters in the olden days before Venezuelan mangoes could be injected into your bloodstream at will. (sweet, sweet mangoes…)
The cave at Drumlin, I imagine, is packed floor to ceiling with nothing but squash. Squash in many different shapes, sizes, and colors. So far, in the past two weeks (which is still, technically, the tail end of the summer farmshare), I’ve gotten armloads of delicata squash, buttercup squash, kabocha squash, sunshine squash, and pie pumpkins. Wow! I sure hope they taste different.
So, here I am in the midst of a squash-squishing frenzy. Lasagna. Soup. Ravioli. I’ll be honest, I’m getting a little sick of squash and Old Man Winter has yet to punch me in the face with his icy fists. So, if you have any favorite squash recipes, do me a favor and e-mail them to your least favorite bloggers (or favorite bloggers, whichever group doesn’t include me) and I’ll send them some squash. Thanks.
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