“Remoted – Hybrid” – Day 960 (Wednesday) – squashed

A week or two or maybe three ago, I bought an acorn squash and this week, after moving it out of the way on the counter at least 10,000 times, it was finally dealt with. I couldn’t remember how I used to roast it, but that is what recipes and the internet are for.

Roasted acorn squash.

The first step, cutting the squash, is always the hardest. My cutlery is ok for most kitchen tasks, but halving an acorn or a butternut squash is not one of them. During each fight with the rock hard thing, the blade  gets stuck like the legendary sword in the stone. I half expect the blade to snap from the handle and remain irretrievably lodged in the squash. It's slow progress slicing and rotating and trying to pull the knife out and repositioning it and slicing some more. 

After some very unladylike language, the stupid thing was finally halved. It was loaded with seeds, which was very good news, as those are delicious roasted. The seeds and stringy stuff were removed, the squash halves were brushed with olive oil and sprinkled lightly with salt and pepper, and planted in the oven for 40 minutes at 375 degrees.

The seeds were separated from the stringiness and set into a small container. They were rinsed, and a paper towel set over the top to drain the water. A miscalculation on the placement of said paper towel resulted in half the seeds spilling into the sink and down the drain, so the final roasted volume was significantly diminished. There may have been additional bitching and moaning during this process.

Roasted squash is tasty. Even Winston likes it, which is very good news. It was added to his food for a couple meals with good results. Meaning the bowl was emptied. Some went into soup. Tonight, the remaining half squash was filled with shredded chicken, topped with cheese and heated in the microwave. 

The effort of dealing with acorn squash isn't always fully balanced by the taste. Before there is another dalliance with a squash, there may need to be an investment in a better quality knife. Or a chain saw.