Last Squash

We tried something new last fall when we harvested the butternut squash.  Marian Morash recommended cutting the vine rather than the stem that holds fast to the squash.  Her reasoning was that the point where the stem joins the squash is commonly the weak point that allows decay to enter the squash.  We followed her directions and the last squash nearly made it to April.  This is the longest that the squash have remained in prime condition.

This is the condition of the squash when it was brought into the kitchen from the basement.  It has yet to be washed.  The dried vine branching out from the stem makes an interesting looking sculpture.  Our past habit was to simply cut the stem at harvest.  Marian's method greatly increases the distance between the cuts and the fruit.  We plan to harvest the pumpkins this way in the coming year.  They got the old stem cut and the last of them went directly to the compost pile weeks ago.

Butternut squash is our favorite for a number of reasons.  Its taste is fantastic but look at the amount of fruit absolutely free of seeds and the sticky strings that accompany them.  This is as close to a hassle free garden product as one can get.

Slicing away the washed skin is all that is needed to prepare the food for the pot.  The thickness of the slices and the size of the cubes match the specifications of the recipe.  Salmon, kale, garlic and yogurt blended very well with the squash.  We will not have that meal again until the new crop is harvested.  For these special meals we use our garden produce.  That is a slight exaggeration since the fresh kale came from the grocery store.  Someone else caught the fish but the squash is the heart of this meal and it was grown here.