This morning I decided it was finally time to tidy up the bean teepee area. Which included of course, harvesting the remaining Anna Swartz Hubbard squash.
I must admit, I am pretty pleased with how I fared poundage wise this year with these squash. 184 pounds 1 ounce. Hot diggety! Now comes the hard part. Storing it all. So far we have only cracked open one of the squashes {I’ll show you what I did with it later today}. If I remember correctly, when I grew these a few years ago, 2 of them kept until the following April, which I thought was amazing considering I’m not a true Pilgrim, and don’t have a real root cellar for storing things like squash.
Fall is officially here, the growing season is winding down, and I feeling kind of bummed. What am I suppose to do when it’s all over? Besides becoming a professional kale farmer that is.
I need your suggestions… What should my next project be?
~Mavis
P.S. Also, if you have any suggestions on what I am suppose to do with all this freakin’ squash… that would be great too.
Learn more about how to store all sorts of fruits and vegetables naturally with the book Root Cellaring: Natural Cold Storage of Fruits & Vegetables
Jesse says
You could cook the squash, mash it and freeze it batches to use for soup or breads over the winter.
Jennifer Gron says
Sounds like your next project should be to dig/build a root cellar. I’ve been asking my husband to do that for me for years now. He always says it sounds like a good idea, but still hasn’t done it!
Erin Kerbs says
I made a “box” with pvc pipe and plastic to put over one of my raised beds. It is covering my last tomato plant, a bunch of swiss chard, garlic, potatoes, celery (it’s an experiment to see what happens), parsley, and some flower bulbs. All of the veggies are doing very well. I’m going to plant some kale and some more chard too. Maybe you could try a hoop house or something? To experiment on a few more cold weather crops. I’m thinking of doing radishes too, since I have a little bit of summer left.
Saralie says
Start a fresh bread business!
cptacek says
I cooked 5 spaghetti squash last weekend, scraped the flesh out, and then dehydrated it. Those 5 squash took up all the tray space on my dehydrator when I started, but when it was done, it only filled 2 quarts.
Lynn says
Cooked and blended till smooth squash makes a GREAT replacement for Pumpkin recipes….where pumpkin puree is called for. If you have a large enough freezer, I would put in freezer a lot of squash puree.
However, before you freeze all your squash save several fresh ones for this AMAZING fall dinner that we love so much.
It calls for a pumpkin…..but it works for squash too! Really really good. Trust me.
Roasted Pumpkin/Squash with Cheese “Fondue”
Ingredients:
1 (15-inch) piece of baguette, cut into 1/2-inch slices (7oz total)
1 (7-lb) orange pumpkin or favorite squash
1-1/2 cups heavy cream
1 cup reduced-sodium chicken or vegetable broth
1/2 teaspoon grated nutmeg
2-1/2 cups coarsely grated Gruyère cheese (6 oz)
2-1/2 cups coarsely grated Emmental cheese (6 oz)
1 tablespoon olive oil
Directions:
* Preheat oven to 450°F with rack in lower third.
* Toast baguette slices in 1 layer on a baking sheet in oven until tops are crisp (bread will still be pale), about 7 minutes. Transfer to a rack to cool.
* Remove top of pumpkin by cutting a circle (3 inches in diameter) around stem with a small sharp knife. Scrape out seeds and any loose fibers from inside pumpkin with a spoon (including top of pumpkin; reserve seeds for another use if desired). Season inside of pumpkin with 1/2 tsp salt.
* Whisk together cream, broth, nutmeg, 1 tsp salt, and 1/2 tsp pepper in a bowl. Mix together cheeses in another bowl.
* Put a layer of toasted bread in bottom of pumpkin, then cover with about 1 cup cheese and about 1/2 cup cream mixture. Continue layering bread, cheese, and cream mixture until pumpkin is filled to about 1/2 inch from top, using all of cream mixture. (You may have some bread and cheese left over.)
*Cover pumpkin with top and put in an oiled small roasting pan. Brush outside of pumpkin all over with olive oil. Bake until pumpkin is tender and filling is puffed, 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 hours.
Number Of Servings: Serves8 (main course) or 12 (side dish)
Preparation Time: Active time:25 min Start to finish:2 hr
Kathy says
In addition to pumpkin pie, squash can be pureed to make a creamy soup or an ideal baby food . Another idea is to produce a mashed squash or winter squash casserole topped with candied nuts; also, slices of hubbard can be topped with a bit of brown sugar and a sprinkling of nutmeg or pumpkin pie spices for a sweet treat. For the more creative type, it is possible to make hubbard squash raviolis, served with a cream sauce. It freezes incredibly well.
Kat D says
If you have more than you will use before next season, start dropping weekly boxes of donations at your local food pantry. You can still claim the poundage in your growing totals and help some families have some healthy meals. I always end up with too many pears, cherry tomatoes, carrots, and such – I bring them to school and let my students take as much as they want. A few will stop in at the end of the day and take whatever is left home with them to share with their families. Sure beats cramming more in the freezer and having it end up compost in a year or two.
Mimi says
I recommend sausage and/or cheese making, great fall activities. Very fun and you can customize your recipes to match whatever tastes you feel like.
Jen H says
Seems like you could substitute squash for several of the pumpkin recipes in October’s Sunset magazine, especially the empanadas, which would probably do ok in the freezer. http://www.sunset.com/food-wine/kitchen-assistant/fall-pumpkin-recipes-00418000073411/ .
Mavis says
Thanks Jen H. I already see a few things I would like to make. Thanks for the link. 🙂
Chelsea says
Strange, my pole beans are still producing a handfull of beans everyday and the leaves are green and bushy. Must be because I get a lot less sun in my yard?
Talaena says
Your next project…put your OCD skills to use at my house and make it sparkle like yours!!! 🙂
Otherwise, you can make a few squash lasagna to freeze for easy meal nights. I made a butternut squash lasagna a while (my house is paleo) and it was very good!
Elizabeth says
We don’t like squash so would never grow it. My husband will eat it so the few I buy are just from farm stands. They store well, so I bake him a half now and then, and then scoop out the other half and put in freezer.
How about community activism or an area of social justice for your next project. Do you volunteer anywhere? Salvation Army? Homeless shelters? They would certainly appreciate extra help and extra food.
Mari the Kiwi says
Is Kale the only vege you are planting for winter?? He I plant Brussel Sprouts, savoy cabbage, cauli – there are so many colours of cauli and broccoli I will grow some of each. (orange, yellow, green, and purple and white, parsnip, turnip and non hearting lettuce. U could also plant peas in your greenhouse. U might be best to try to get ready grown plants at this time of the year but all of the above mentioned are fine in frosts. If in doubt, put a cloche over the beds.
Mavis says
This winter I am growing kale, Swiss chard, beets, carrots, spinach, lettuce and peas in the greenhouse. Wahooo. I’m really curious to what grows and how well.