Squash

 

Easy to grow, easy to store and yummy to eat, winter squash is one of my favorite crops to grow. My seeds had a low germination rate this year because of last year's short season - nine out of ten didn't even come up. Still we harvested about 1,100lbs of winter squash for winter eating and chicken feed, what a blessing!

 

Squash is divided into several different species, and varieties within each species will cross with each other. The two most common species are Cucurbita pepo and Cucurbita maxima.

 

C. pepo includes most summer squashes (including zucchini), acorn squash, small gourds and many pumpkins.

 

C. maxima includes some pumpkins, banana squash, buttercup, hubbard and turban squashes.  With larger leaves and larger seeds than C. pepo, as well as a longer storage life, they also take a bit longer to grow. This group needs to be cured for a week to ten days at 70-80 degrees before storage.

 

C. pepo Winter Luxury Pie Pumpkin is one of my favorites. In my climate they can be anywhere from 2-15lbs. They have always been gone by February so I can't say how long they will store.

 

What is a pumpkin? Everyone knows what they are, but they really are not any particular species. Any winter squash that is somewhat round and orange could be considered a pumpkin.

 

C. pepo Bitterroot Acorn is a genetically diverse squash varying in color and in size (1 1/2-3lbs). Any that are left rapidly go bad in January.

 

C. pepo Costata Romanesca Zucchini is a favorite I've talked about before. In order to save seeds from summer squash, they need to grow as large as they will and harden like a winter squash. This one was hand pollinated and "seed" lightly scratched onto the surface while it was soft so we would know to leave it on the vine.

 

C. maxima Sweet Meat Squash is a delicious good keeper ranging from 8-15lbs.

 

C. Maxima Bitterroot Buttercup, another good keeper, is 2-6lbs.

 

C. maxima Australian Butter Squash is new to me. It grew 6-12lbs this year.

 

My favorite method of growing squash is to dig a long trench and fill it with compost. I plant the seeds 10-12" apart and 1/2" deep. Early in the season I try to keep up on the weeds, but healthy squash plants with soon smother most of them. Fruit that resists a fingernail scratch is ready to be harvested. They can handle a light frost, but be sure to get them inside before a hard freeze. Go over the field several times as the vines begin to die back - I always miss some the first time around. Store them in a cool, dry place where there is no danger of freezing. For me that is the barn, but I've heard of storing them under a bed. Check them often and remove any that begin to rot or get soft. These can usually be salvaged if you catch them quick enough and cut off the bad spots. Fruits that don't have stems, were harvested before they were ripe, or were exposed to too much frost will be the first to go bad.

 

What to do with them? All of the squashes I grow make delicious pumpkin pies, cooked at 350 until tender then pureed in a food processer. Several times a week we slice one in half, scoop out the seeds and bake at 350 until tender - 1-2 hours depending on size. Serve with butter and maple syrup or brown sugar. I also cook them for the chickens.

 

Saving seeds from squash is fairly easy. If you have only one variety within a species you can simply save the seeds you scoop out when you go to cook the fruit. If you have more than one variety within a species, you will need to hand-pollinate. In the evening tape shut the blossoms that are about to open, making sure to get both male (just a flower on top of a stem) and female (a flower on top of a tiny green fruit) flowers. The next morning remove the tape and rub pollen from the male flowers inside the female flowers and tape them up again immediately, making sure no bees get in there with pollen from another plant. Mark the squash you hand-pollinated. The seeds will continue to ripen inside a fruit for about three weeks after it has been picked.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bitterroot Style Cornbread

2/3 cup butter
2 cups cornmeal (the best is freshly ground homegrown organic flint corn)
2 cups almond flour
4 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. sea salt
1 1/2 cups water or milk
4 eggs
1/4 to 1/2 cup honey depending on how sweet you want it
1 tsp. vanilla

If you have time, soak the cornmeal and almond flour in the water or milk for several hours or overnight. Preheat the oven to 425. Place the butter in a 9x13 pan and put it in the oven as it heats. Whisk everything else together. Take the pan out of the oven and tilt it around so the butter coats the sides, then pour the excess into the batter and mix it in. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown.

Pear Leather

An older couple from church gave us several boxes of pears from their orchard, so I've been busy making them into pear leather. They did not get sprayed this year so are smaller and have more bugs, but I'm happy not to have the pesticides and think it is well worth a little more work with a knife. Following Mama's recipe, I remove the bad spots and cores and put them in the food processor, skins on, with 1 T lemon juice and 1 1/2 T honey for every six cups of pears. I spread the puree out on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and dry them in the warming oven set to low for about 48 hours. I take them out when they are still sticky, since they seem to harden more once they cool off. The leather makes a nice winter snack, if it stays around that long!

Gluten Free Coconut Scones

Gluten Free Coconut Scones

1 cup almond flour
1/2 cup brown rice flour
1/2 cup tapioca starch
1/4 cup potato starch
2 1/4 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp xanthan or guar gum
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) cold butter
2 eggs
1 T. honey
1/3 cup cream or coconut milk
zest of a small orange
3/4 cup shredded coconut
1/3 cup dried cranberries or 2/3 cup frozen blueberries (optional)

Preheat oven to 400. Put a baking stone in the oven to heat, or cover a cookie sheet with greased parchment paper. Mix dry ingredients and cut in butter. Add eggs, honey and cream or milk and blend well before stirring in orange zest, coconut and berries. Roll the dough into a ball and place on a little flour on a cutting board. Pat into a circle 3/4" thick and slice into eight triangles. Bake 10-12 minutes or until they start to turn golden brown.

Buttery Goodness

1/2 cup softened butter
1/3 cup raw honey
3/4 tsp. vanilla

Whip together and serve with the scones.

Mama's Birthday Cake

I had some fun making a barn cake for Mama's birthday. It came out a little messy, but it still looked like a barn so I'm happy! I used my Chocolate Almond Cake recipe with vanilla frosting. I put some of the frosting in the blender with a slice of cooked beet to make the "red". For the grass I did the same with dried peppermint leaves. For the dark gray roof I mixed in a tiny bit of activated charcoal powder. I sprinkled on some coconut sugar for the path. It tasted great!

Chocolate Almond Cake

This one is one of my specialties, a cross between a cake and a brownie.  It is quick and easy, and even people who aren't gluten-free rave about it.

1 ½ cups almond flour

½ cup cocoa powder

½ cup evaporated cane sugar or coconut sugar

½ tsp salt

2 tsp baking soda

¾ tsp guar gum or xanthan gum

5 T oil (I use sunflower)

1 T vinegar (I use brown rice vinegar or apple cider vinegar)

1 tsp vanilla

1 egg

1 cup of water (Will vary according to how fine your almond flour is. Start with a little and add more until it is the usual consistency of cake batter)

Preheat oven to 350. Grease an 8” pan. Mix dry ingredients and dust greased pan with the mixture.  Add wet ingredients and mix well. Pour into pan and bake for about 20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out almost clean.

Vanilla Frosting

½ cup/1 stick butter, softened

1 lb. powdered sugar

¼ cup water (more or less)

1 tsp vanilla

¼ tsp cream of tartar

Fudge Frosting

½ cup/1 stick butter, softened

½ cup cocoa powder

3 cups powdered sugar

1 T water (or more depending on how thick you want it)

1 tsp vanilla

Pinch salt

Beat butter until fluffy. Gradually add remaining ingredients and beat a few more minutes.

Bread Day!

Bread? After my speech about carbs in How Fattening is Fat? Don't worry, this isn't ordinary bread. This is the moistest, yummiest, healthiest low-carb bread you have ever tasted!

Gluten Free Almond Bread

This bread is delicious hot out of the oven. It also makes good sandwiches and delicious French toast.

3 cups almond flour

1 cup tapioca starch

1 T xanthan or guar gum

2 T sugar

1 tsp baking soda

1 T baking powder

1 tsp salt

5 eggs

6 T melted butter or coconut oil (or half of each!)

1/4 cup honey

1 cup water

1 ½ T vinegar (make sure it is gluten free; I usually use apple cider vinegar)

Mix the almond flour and water. Cover and let soak overnight. Soaking neutralizes enzyme inhibitors in nuts, making them easier to digest and their nutrients more accessible. If you did not plan ahead, you can skip the soaking and mix the almond flour with the dry ingredients. The bread will still be healthier than anything you can find in the store. Preheat oven to 350. Mix dry ingredients. Grease two 8”x4” loaf pans and dust them with flour mixture. Beat eggs and mix them with other wet ingredients. Add to soaked almond flour, then slowly add dry ingredients. Beat on high (or stir fast) for a minute. It should be the consistency of thick cake batter. If necessary, add more flour or water until it is. Spoon into pans and bake for 25 minutes. Cover with foil and bake until done (10-20 minutes). Let sit in pans until cool enough to touch, then run a knife around the edges and turn them out unto a rack to finish cooling. 

The loaves are not very tall and make a very small slice of bread when cut the ordinary way. You can slice them longways, sideways, slant-ways...

My Favorite Gluten Free Zucchini Muffins

These are not very sweet - a bread not a cake, but they are really good! We like to eat them with butter, but they could be iced when cool or sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar before baking. Makes 24

2 cups almond flour
1/2 cup potato starch
1/2 cup brown rice flour
1/2 cup ground flax seeds
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp allspice
2 tsp gluten free baking powder
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cream of tartar
1 tsp xanthan or guar gum
1/4 tsp salt
4 eggs
2/3 cup melted butter
1 cup coconut sugar or Rapadura (evaporated cane juice)
2 cups shredded zucchini

Preheat the oven to 350. Mix the dry ingredients. Grease your muffin tins and dust with some of the flour mixture. Mix wet ingredients and add to the dry. Blend and spoon the batter into pans. Bake 15-20 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Let sit in pans ten minutes before placing muffins on a cooling rack.