Seven more jars of sweet relish, three pints of tomato juice and a loaf of zucchini bread and I'm almost caught up with the garden produce again! The strawberries got mashed and added to the special 4-cup container in the freezer. When that's full, it will be exactly the amount I need for another batch of that delicious strawberry jam.
We won't discuss the zucchini bread. OK, we will discuss the zucchini bread. It was my first loaf of the year, and I wanted to make it especially for my youngest son. Scott is diabetic, so I Googled for recipes using Splenda, and came up with two that sounded good. The one from Splenda called for unsweetened applesauce, and I was out, so I chose the other recipe. Bad choice. That loaf is so heavy, one needs a forklift to pick it up. I tried a slice, and it was so dry I choked on it. I sliced off another piece and put it in the toaster. When it popped up, I tried to lift it out of the slot with the tongs, but it just broke into pieces. I ended up tipping the toaster upside down and shaking the zucchini bread pieces onto the counter, where I slapped some butter on them and lapped them up like a dog. It didn't taste too bad that way.
We won't discuss the zucchini bread. OK, we will discuss the zucchini bread. It was my first loaf of the year, and I wanted to make it especially for my youngest son. Scott is diabetic, so I Googled for recipes using Splenda, and came up with two that sounded good. The one from Splenda called for unsweetened applesauce, and I was out, so I chose the other recipe. Bad choice. That loaf is so heavy, one needs a forklift to pick it up. I tried a slice, and it was so dry I choked on it. I sliced off another piece and put it in the toaster. When it popped up, I tried to lift it out of the slot with the tongs, but it just broke into pieces. I ended up tipping the toaster upside down and shaking the zucchini bread pieces onto the counter, where I slapped some butter on them and lapped them up like a dog. It didn't taste too bad that way.
On to today. It was time for the moment of truth. Was the butternut squash, that was so callously taken from the garden last Saturday, ready to eat?
It was a good sign that I had to get out the special equipment to cut the squash in half. When butternut squash are ripe, they are very firm.
Ahhh, a beautiful deep gold color. It's a winner!
I scooped out the seeds, then placed the halves, cut side down, in the roasting pan. 
I poured about an inch of hot water around them......
Then covered the pan with foil.
I popped on the lid, and baked it in a 350 degree oven for an hour. It was a very large squash!
When it was done, I cut off the ends and set them aside for another use. I put the hollowed out pieces in a baking dish.....
Then filled the cavities with brown sugar and a big pat of butter. I returned them to the oven for about ten minutes, to melt the butter and sugar. If I'd have had more time, I would have basted the tops of the squash with some of the butter/sugar mixture and left them in the oven to brown a bit. But dinner was running late, so I skipped that step.
After taking them from the oven, I loosened the squash up with a fork, lightly mixing it in with the butter and sugar. Mr. H likes a bit more brown sugar sprinkled on his at this point, but there is plenty in the squash cavity for me.
The rest of the squash was spooned out of the skin and pureed in the food processor. It was lovely and smooth and thick.
So thick the spatula stands alone! This is the perfect amount for a "pumpkin" pie tomorrow!Tuesday's Garden Dinner
Salad of Lettuce, Tomatoes, Cucumbers and Shallots (tomatoes, cucumbers & shallots)
Ranch Dressing
Pan Fried Pork Chops with Sauteed Onions and Peppers (red bell peppers)
Baked Butternut Squash (butternut squash)
Green Beans (pole beans)
Oh, I so love butternut squash. I'm almost jealous, except I don't do sweet, just butter/salt or roasted with olive oil. Oh man, the Delicata just wasn't good enough.
ReplyDeleteI love the visual of you chasing bits of banana bread around.
Stefaneener, have you ever tried butternut oven fries? Just cut into strips like French fries, toss with a bit of olive or canola oil and bake them in the oven until crispy. I find sometimes they work great, other times not, I think it has to do with the moisture content.
ReplyDeleteAllI can say is...
ReplyDeleteY U M ! ! !
I've never tried the butternut....How do you think it compares to acorn>similar taste?
ReplyDeleteYour dinner looks so good. Sorry about your zucchinni bread. I neighbor brought my hubby some over the other day. He spent the evening in the bathroom. I don't think her recipe was so good either...but at least yours didn't this!
:D
I forgot how much I like butternut squash. Yours looks so yummy.
ReplyDeleteAbout the zucchini bread, I’ve used my own tried and true recipe except for a few substitutions. K is borderline diabetic, so we try to cut down rather than cut out sugar. I substitute Splenda for sugar and use 1/3 wheat flour 2/3 white flour (white flour turns to sugar too). It has a bit of denseness to it, but it still holds together.
What the? Tomato juice and beer??? Mr. H is weird....blech. That butternut squash looks very good, and you're gonna have to share the pumpkin pie recipe - 'cause I'm making puree' from mine this weekend!
ReplyDeleteThe butternut definitely looked like a winner. Beautiful color. I have several beautiful buttercup squash that look close to being ready for harvest and a pumpkin that is not far behind them. The squash and pumpkins all seem to be early this year - probably because we had a decent summer season for once! LOL!
ReplyDeleteThe garden dinner looks delicious!
WOW! Looks so yummy! My butternut and acorn squashes met an untimely demise.
ReplyDeleteMMMMM....I love butternut squash. Almost as much as spaghetti squash. I'm glad it was ripe for you.
ReplyDeleteThat dinner has me drooling right now.
ReplyDeleteIs the applesauce not allowed for dietary reasons or do you just not like it? I only ask because I use applesauce quite frequently in place of oil when baking and things come out very moist, of course the sugar has not been replaced either. 8)
Marrissa, it was "yum"!
ReplyDelete********
Sue, I think butternut is a bit sweeter than acorn, and it is "meatier" with a smaller seed cavity and all the good stuff in the neck. It's good baked or mashed, and I guess butternut soup is delicious, although I've never tried it.
I wonder what your neighbor could have put in her bread to cause the bathroom breaks?
********
GrafixMuse, I've made my own recipe for zucchini bread using half sugar and half Splenda, and it was fine. I remember trying it with straight Splenda and it was really dry but not heavy like this one was. I was just trying to avoid using any sugar at all, but I guess he learns to like it dry or not at all. He's having some severe problems right now, so he's really watching his blood sugar levels (he's had Type I diabetes for 27 years).
********
EG, you've never had a red beer? I can't see how anyone can stand to drink beer in any form (nasty tasting stuff!), but all my beer drinkers like red beer. I just like my tomato juice plain.
You don't read my blog every day, do you? You missed the whole "pumpkin" blog, with directions on how to prepare the pumpkin AND the recipe for pumpkin pie. Shame on you ;-) Scroll to the bottom for the recipe. I used brown sugar for color, because that pumpkin wasn't quite ripe, but I like it better with white sugar.
http://annieskitchengarden.blogspot.com/2009/08/august-5-2009-its-pumpkin-day-in-august.html
********
KitsapFG, I have never tried buttercup. Next year it will be Waltham Butternut for me again, I've never grown one so prolific, and powdery mildew resistant to boot. There must be at least ten more out there that are ripe now, although none as large as that first one. It is a huge vine, though...takes up a lot of real estate!
*******
Connie, good to see you back! Sorry about your squash, but I'm looking forward to seeing some pictures of your garden on your blog.
********
Ribbit, I bought a spaghetti squash last year, and we didn't like it at all. I topped mine with spaghetti sauce, then dumped it down the disposal. How do you fix yours?
********
Kelly, I LOVE applesauce! I just didn't have any on hand, and didn't want to go to the store. I also use it in place of oil in many recipes.
Man, I wish hubby ate squash. Yours looked so good, but he won't eat cooked squash in any form. He'll only eat raw zucchini in a salad.
ReplyDeleteI hate to tell you Granny, but brown sugar just doesn't make it here in the northeast. When you cook your next butternut try using maple syrup instead. The squash looks so delicious even with the lack of maple syrup. I might yet get squash from my garden. Maybe.
ReplyDeleteSB, Mr. H won't touch sweet potatoes, but he loves squash. They are so similar in taste, I don't understand why he likes one and not the other.
ReplyDelete********
Daphne, No, no, no. My dear Grandma made hers with brown sugar and so brown sugar is the way to go! Maybe if I lived in the NE, and pure maple syrup didn't require one to mortgage the house, I might think differently ;-)
BTW, I make it using sugarfree maple syrup for my son. I know that doesn't taste the same as your lovely pure maple, but it has to be done.
Wow, I'm sold! I haven't ever really tried squash, and the squash I grew this year I had to rip out due to bugs and wilt, but I am headed to the farmer's market this weekend to see if they have some of that butternut! That is beautiful and if it tastes half as good as it looks, I will be happy!
ReplyDeleteErin, if you don't like it, you can always make pumpkin pie (I have one in the oven right now), pumpkin bread, or pumpkin cookies! It really is richer than real pumpkin.
ReplyDeleteGranny - red beer? I've heard of green beer, but not red. No wonder you people talk funny...you're weird! Ha! I remember that post now....Thanks for the link to the recipe.
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome, EG. I made that pumpkin pie recipe yesterday, using butternut squash.
ReplyDeleteI almost spit coffee on my computer when I was reading about the zuke bread and scrolled down to see a knife and hammer on the screen! ROFL! Getting ahead of myself, I thought those ended up being what you used on the bread! Oh, ha, still laughing....
ReplyDeleteButternut squash is my favorite! I love making soup with it.
Did I read correctly, tomato juice in beer? Isn't that sacrilege, haha.
ReplyDeleteThe butternut looks great. It must be one of the best squash to grow, they have so much flesh. I've heard the squash vine borer doesn't like them either. I like my squash with lots of butter & brown sugar too, so good!
Momma_S, I'm just going to have to give butternut squash soup a try. Do you have a good recipe to share?
ReplyDelete********
Dan, I cannot believe you guys have never had red beer! Every beer drinker I've ever known has used tomato juice in their beer on occasion.
http://cocktails.about.com/od/cocktailrecipes/r/red_beer.htm
Here's the recipe I've used twice, and my modifications...
ReplyDeletehttp://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Butternut-Squash-Soup/Detail.aspx
I cut the cream cheese in 1/2, chicken or veg. stock instead of bouillon, and add a dash or two of nutmeg. I've frozen leftovers in ziplocs, and it reheats well.
Let me know if you make it. I've always bought precut squash, so if you do make this, I know yours will taste a million times better (especially if you oven roast the squash)!!
Well I will have to try that the next time I have beer around. I don't drink beer much though, I like the hard stuff :-)
ReplyDeleteMomma_S, thank you! I have lots of squash, I'll give it a try.
ReplyDelete********
Dan, I'm an iced tea gal myself. With an occasional Margarita.
Granny,
ReplyDeleteHere is the recipe I used last year for Zuch bread. I sub'd Splenda for all of the sugar. I didn't think it dry at all.
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Moms-Zucchini-Bread/Detail.aspx
Hope it helps!
SusanCol
SusanCol, thank you! That's almost identical to the recipe I use for zucchini bread (mine has 1/4 cup less sugar). It's a good recipe, but I've never tried it with all Splenda in place of the sugar. I'll try it.
ReplyDelete