Squash (Winter)
Cucurbita maxima and C. moschata
I
have two favorite winter squash: the butter- My squash would have done much better if
nut, for which I hunt down the ones with I’d slipped a plank under the just-forming fruit
long, narrow (2- to 3-inch-diameter) necks, and to lift it from the earth. (This coming year I
the delicata, with its plump cucumber-like shall try a robust trellis.)
shape, yellow and green skin, and sweet pale For many people, the cutting up of winter
orange fl esh. squash can be daunting , especially the harder
Germinating squash plants don’t take kindly acorn or hubbard. One way to ease this is to
to frosts, so I kept my starters indoors until use a microwave. Now here I hesitate to give
after Memorial Day and even then protected specific times because ovens vary (and so do
them with a glass cloche overnight until they squash), so begin at high power for just 2 min
got too big for their britches. You can also use utes. Using a large (12-inch) chef ’s knife, make
the plastic milk jugs with the bottom cut off an experimental cut. Another 2 minutes in the
as an alternative but decidedly unattractive microwave may be needed to soften it up just
cloche! enough to cut safely.
Winter squash attract beetles and borers,
so you should invest in row covers to protect
them until the flowers bloom. (By the way,
if you get a profusion of flowers, they can be
dipped in a fine tempura batter and deep– The Numbers
fried, but frankly that’s more for folks who love For each 100 g baked (3.5 oz ; ½ cup): 37 calories, 0 g
anything deep-fried, as I used to in times now fat, 0 g saturated fat, 9 g carbohydrate, 1 g protein,
long passed!) 3 g dietary fiber, 1 mg sodium
240 • GROWING AT THE SPEED OF LIFE
