First, we went to Costco. It was there that my wonderful 3-almost-4-year-old picked out some ingredients that make my heart melt. Oh yes. This little love bug picked brussel sprouts, artichokes, and summer sausage. What more could a mommy ask for at the grocery store? It's truly delightful that she enjoys a variety of fruits and vegetables. She was intent on getting butternut squash, it was packaged in the cooler section pre washed, cubed, and peeled. I explained to her that I already have a few squashes at the house and she said, "We do? YAYYYYYY!" It made me giggle along with the rest of the people in the cooler.
On to Squashes!
I love squash! Last year I found some delicata squashes. They were the nummiest squash to grow on this planet. I have yet to see any this year, but I found some Sweet Dumpling Squashes and Some Gold Nugget Squash. The little sticker on the Sweet Dumpling squash says: Orange sweet meat, good oven baked or microwaved. And the Gold Nugget Squash says: very sweet with golden orange meat. Fine grained, very smooth, good baked or microwaved. I am super excited to get squashing. Anyone out there have any good recipes for squash? No, I am not a fan of the popular acorn squash with butter and brown sugar... just not a fan of acorn squash. I do enjoy spaghetti, butternut, delicata, pumpkin, and hubbard squash.
I was curious as how to cook the little squashes in the microwave and came across this when googled:
http://www.post-gazette.com/food/19991118farm8.asp
Microwave: The squash can be microwaved whole. Just pierce the skin with a fork a few times, put it on a paper towel in the microwave and zap for 6 to 10 minutes on high. Once cooked, slice and remove seeds, taking care because it will be extremely hot.
Or slice in half top to bottom, scoop out seeds and place cut sides down in a microwave-safe dish with about a 1/2-inch of water. Depending on the size, it might take 5 to 8 minutes on High. Test with a fork. It should be tender but not mushy. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Conventional oven: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake whole or sliced in half, cut sides down on a cookie sheet. Bake for 35 to 45 minutes until tests tender with a fork.
Variation: For those with an insatiable sweet tooth, serve with a sprinkle of brown sugar and chopped pecans.
I also came across a comment on another page where the person said they were going to try making this squash stuffed... hmm I wonder if I could make a stuffed squash, sounds like a REALLY inviting challenge! It's on. I will let you know how it turned out!
On another note, when we got home today, Aurora was in a rush to get up the stairs. Poor thing, the stairs got the best of her and she some how flipped backwards and bonked her little head on the floor. I could tell by her cry that it really hurt. When I got her upstairs and we settled in the door, I got her an icepack that she carried around with her for several minutes before she discarded it and Morrigan started carrying it around. I got a change to look at her noggin low and behold there is a huge goose egg on her knocker. That has to hurt! Makes me cringe just looking at it.
Morrigan was trying to be helpful and get the groceries out of the stroller, she managed to get the loaf of bread out. I snagged that from her before it could be crushed in to apple strudle pound cake. Then as I was putting it in the kitchen she so graciously helped me by crushing a couple eggs as she got the carton out of the stroller. What a little helper! She is getting so big! She is kind of saying Aurora now, she sounds like this: Ahhhrowh rwa. It is super cute. She just adores her big sister. She's giving high fives, signing more (a huge accomplishment at 18 months for her! yay!) She lifts her shirt when I say "Morrigan where's your belly?" or even when I say nothing at all. That girl loves her little belly. She's drinking out of an open top cup 95 percent of the time. Progress. She has her formal speech evaluation, hearing, and vision (I think) tests coming up. Aurora has her 4 year check up coming up too, she's getting too big herself. She has such a large vocabulary, some of the words she says impress me every day.
Well, that is it for now. Goodnight.
