Squash

Our first cooking and preparedness class was about squash. Our class presenters were Ellen, Annette B. and her neighbor, Suzie (I think that was her name). Ellen started off by showing us all how to make a pumpkin pie from the actual pumpkin. Did you know that you can make aproximatley 12 pies from one pumpkin? It depends on the size of your pumpkin of course. But how economical is that? Here is her recipe:

Crust
1 3/4 Cup flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 cup sugar
2/3 cup shortening
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
2 to 4 Tbsp. of ice water


Filling:
15 oz pumpkin
2 eggs
12 oz can evaporated milk
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup brown sgar
1/4 cup honey
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp. ground ginger
1/2 tsp cloves
1/4 tsp allspice
1/2 tsp nutmeg

Preheat to 425. Bake at 425 for 15 minutes. Reduce to 350 and bake for 30 to 40 more minutes. If using a 10-12 inch pie pan you may need to increase cooking time to an hour.

Our next demonstration was by Annette Bell showing us how to make Zucchini Soup. This recipe was super quick and we all agreed it was very tasty.

Zucchini Soup

3 cups zucchini, cut in cubes
1 cup Onions, chopped
1/2 cup bacon, diced uncooked
1 Tbsp. parsley, chopped
1/2 tsp. basil
dash pepper
2 cups chicken broth

Place all ingredients into a saucepan. Simmer for 15 minutes, puree in blender. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese and croutons.

Our last presenter was Suzie who showed us four different types of cooked squash. I believe she had grown each one and she had spaghetti, butternut, delicata and acorn. We got to taste each one. It was interesting to try all of them at the same time and be able to tell a difference in texture and taste.

Can you name each one?

We learned that the difference between a winter squash and a summer squash is that the winter squash has a thicker skin. You can take the whole squash and cook it whole in your oven without cutting it up. This is how Suzie does it. She cut them open in front of us and you could see the steam billowing out. A great tip on how to cook them!

Darilyn May brought some Pumpkin bread that is made with whole wheat flower and very little oil. It is a recipe that you can use your food storage with. It was very good and moist. The recipe was found at Everyday Food Storage. Check out this sight. It's a must read for everyone wanting to cook from their food storage.

Whole Wheat Pumpkin Bread

Ingredients:
1 cup canned pumpkin
1 cup white sugar
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
3 egg whites (or 2 T. dryPowdered Egg + 1/4 C. Water)
1/2 cup fat-free milk (1-1/2 T. Dry Powdered Milk + 1/2 C. Water)
1/4 cup canola oil
2 cups whole wheat flour
2-1/2 tsp. Baking Powder
2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
1/4 tsp. salt

Directions:
PREHEAT oven to 350ºF. Grease a nonstick 9x5-inch loaf pan; set aside. Mix pumpkin, 1 cup granulated sugar, the brown sugar, 3 of the egg whites, milk and oil in large bowl. Add flour, baking powder, pie spice and salt; stir just until moistened.

SPOON the pumpkin batter into prepared pan.

BAKE 1 hour to 1 hour 5 min. or until wooden toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Run knife or thin spatula around edges of pan to loosen bread; cool in pan on wire rack 10 min. Remove bread from pan to wire rack; cool completely.


The answer to the squash quiz is 1. Delicata 2. Acorn 3. Butternut 4. Spaghetti