Linda Marrone: Ring in fall with winter squash (recipe)

It seems cooler weather is almost here, in the early morning and very late at night but I’ll settle for that because of the beautiful fall days we have been having.

Besides apples and pears, my next favorite fall thing is winter squash. Butternut tops my list then acorn. My friend Sharon prefers Kabocha, but I find them really hard to cut in half. Basically, to prepare any of the above squash you cut them in half, scoop out the seeds and then I place them face down in a shallow pan with a little water in it and cook at 350 degrees for about 40-60 minutes depending on how big of small it is.

Once they are done, you can eat them plain, with a little butter and salt and pepper, or the way I like them, butter, cinnamon, and brown sugar. You turn them over, add your ingredients and put them back in the oven for about 10 minutes more. If you undercook them just a little and dice them up, they make a great addition to soups, stews, pastas, enchiladas, and tacos.

They keep well in a cool, dry place. We keep ours in the garage along with onions, potatoes, and garlic, our last haul from the Farmers Market.