Heavenly Divine Squash Pie

Delicata squash

It was a big decision to name this pie. It was to be either heavenly or divine. Or both. The filling is fluffy-light compared to the much loved traditional pumpkin pie. It seems to be "spiked" (even tho the alcohol bakes away). As it bakes it warms the house with a wonderfully spicy aroma that feels perfect on  a crispy, chilly autumn day.

Although any squash or pumpkin can be used, a creamy squash such as Delicata adds to the dreamy texture. If you DO use a stringy type, please puree it in a blender first. 

If you'd prefer to do without the pie crust, bake the filling in custard dishes to make dreamy little puddings.

Makes one nine inch pie.

Make whole wheat pie crust for a single crust pie. Recipe here. Roll out the dough and fit it into a 9" pie plate. Trim the edge of the crust to 1/2" beyond the pie plate. Fold the edge under and crimp.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Two large eggs: crack the eggs into a large mixing bowl and whisk. Add the following ingredients one at a time and whisk after each:

1-1/2 c. sour cream

2 c. squash, cooked and peeled

3/4 c. maple syrup

1/8 c. rum

Stir in:

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp ginger

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1/4 tsp cloves

1/2 tsp salt

Pour the filling into the dough-lined pie plate up to 1/2" of the top of the crust. If there is extra filling, pour into a custard dish and bake (for less time) beside the pie. Bake the pie for 35-45 minutes, until the filling is set; custards for much less time. Cool. Serve plain or with whipped cream. -jmm

Storing Winter Squash

Winter squash has been a garden mainstay for us for many years. Each year we store three or more varieties. Because of this the ins and outs of storing it have become clear.

Squash cleaned and ready to be put in storage

First, in order to store a squash it must have developed a hard shell, or, in other words, to have become entirely ripe. Some varieties will develop a corky-looking stem. The color of the squash should be fully developed- Butternut, for instance looks yellowy or greenish as it grows, and becomes a dull buff color when mature. Blue Hubbard develops a bluish color. But the ultimate test is, before picking, to tap it with a fingernail. If your nail leaves an indent the squash is not ready to harvest.

We’ve heard advice saying when harvesting a squash to keep at least two inches of stem attached. The method of harvesting is to cut through the stem using a hand pruners. We try to do this but sometimes the stem breaks off. We haven’t noticed that this presents a problem in storage.   

Another piece of advice we’ve seen is this: after harvesting, always handle a squash as carefully as if it were an egg. We’re not sure about this either. It seems like good advice and we try to follow it. But squashes are made of odd shapes and sometimes one takes a tumble. 

We clean them, washing off any dirt using cold water, and, if needed, a veggie brush. If there are spots, lesions, or bite marks from some animal with Dracula-like teeth (some squashes had these this year), they are not likely to keep. Cook them right away and eat or freeze. The side of the squash that laid on the ground is paler than the rest, and that is not a problem.

Squash in the closet

Advice also says to cure them by keeping them dry and at room temperature for about ten days. Not sure of the importance of this, except to make really sure that they are completely dry for storage. We dry them off after washing and lay them out on newspapers for a few days, then assign the most energetic one of the two of us to lug them upstairs to the closet.

What we do know for sure is that winter squash need a dry environment for successful keeping. We place them on newspapers on the floor of an unheated closet. Even in a dry, cool place they must be checked at least weekly for newly developed spots or other signs of deterioration. If anything like this shows up, the squash is still good- cook it right away and eat or freeze. 

The fridge is no place to keep squash, even for a short time. There is too much humidity and they will spoil quickly. Advice has told us to put them in the basement elevated above the floor. The one and only time we tried this they all failed at the same time- right at the end of December, and then we had to cook all of them. The dry, unheated closet on the other hand, has allowed us to store squash way into March. A great food and so easy to store! (For more info on winter squash, see our blog post of Sept. 6, 2010). -jmm

Winter Squash and Saving Seeds

Winter squash is a staple for us, so we were greatly disappointed last year when some of our squash crop did not match the catalog description. These resembled extra large zucchini with some of the coloring of Delicata. They had nothing to offer for flavor. The one thing they did very well however, was to last the winter flawlessly. They had grown a very hard shell which had to be chunked up with a shovel to make compost out of them (who can eat bland squash?)  

Butternut squash climbing the
pole with the pole beans

This year we changed our supplier and did our seed shopping in the *Fedco Seed catalog. This by the way is a great catalog to read on a snowy day in January when gardening is something you can only dream about. They give you plenty to read in this little book- great descriptions and many informative sidebar tidbits. 

Back on the subject of squash, according to the catalog there are six different species of them, with three of those commonly available to gardeners. Anyone who saves seeds needs to be aware of these different species. Squash seeds are very easy to dry and keep- and available in handfuls whenever you cut one open for cooking. 

Delicata squash on the stone wall

However, as Fedco explains, if you plant two varieties within one species, through the process of pollination they can mix with each other. This means you can get some weird looking “things” in your garden that you never expected. So, to save seeds it is important to grow only one of each species. And, even if you’ve taken care to plant only one of a species, squash grown by your neighbors as much as 1500’ feet away can share pollen with yours. Much to look out for! And, apparent from the strange crop we got last year, cross-pollination can even happen to a seed supplier.

Summer squash and pumpkins belong to these same species also. There is actually no such thing as a pumpkin, they are all squash. Here are the three species with some of the common varieties within them.

Curcurbita Pepo: Delicata, Spaghetti Squash, Acorn Squash, Jack-o-Lantern Pumpkin, Zucchini and other summer squash.

Curcurbita Maxima: Hubbard Squash, Buttercup Squash.

Curcurbita Moschata: Butternut Squash, Cheese Pumpkin.

Although seed saving may be risky in regards to next year’s crop, it doesn’t hurt to try it as long as you have the space to also buy seeds and plant your stand-bys. Who knows, you might even invent a new variety! And too, plant at least one variety each year that you haven’t grown before. There are plenty to pick from, and there’s exquiste eating to be had from many of them. -jmm

*Fedco Seeds, P.O. Box 520, Waterville ME 04903-0520 This catalog is full of great info and exquisitely drawn porttaits of plants.