Hokkaido Squash Jam

Purée the cooked squash in a blender to obtain a smooth and relatively liquid purée. Add 2 cups sugar, 10 oz. fruit, either fresh, such as apples or pears, or dried, such as apricots, raisins or prunes, and 1 tbsp. vanilla. Return the mixture to the heat and cook for about 20 minutes more, stirring often with a wooden spoon (a metal spoon may react). The heat should be low to prevent the jam from sticking to the bottom of the pot. Place into jars with a vanilla or a cinnamon stick and cover while still hot.

Swiss Chard & Sweet Potato Au Gratin

You can swap the sweet potato for thin slices of winter squash...
Serves 12

• 1/4 cup (1/2 stick or 2 ounces) butter
• 1 small onion, finely chopped,
• 3 pounds Swiss chard, leaves and stems separated and both cut into 1-inch pieces
• Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
• 2 cups heavy cream or whole milk
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 2 pounds medium red-skinned sweet potatoes (yams), peeled and cut into 1/8-inch thick rounds
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh Italian parsley
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh thyme
• Fine sea salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 1 1/4 cups (about 5 ounces) coarsely grated Gruyére cheese
  Prep greens: Cook onion in 2 tablespoons butter in a wide 8-quart heavy pot over moderately low heat, stirring, until softened. Add chard stems, pinch of nutmeg, and salt and pepper to taste and cook, stirring, until vegetables are tender but not browned, about 8 minutes. Increase heat to moderately high and add chard leaves by large handfuls, stirring, until all greens are wilted. Season with salt and pepper then transfer greens to a colander to drain well and press out liquid with back of a large spoon.
  Make sauce: Combine cream or milk and garlic in small saucepan; bring to simmer; keep warm. Melt two tablespoons butter in a medium heavy saucepan over moderate heat and stir in flour. Cook roux, whisking, one minute, then slowly whisk in warm cream/milk and boil, whisking, one minute. Season sauce with salt and pepper.
  Assemble gratin: Preheat oven to 400°F. Butter deep 9×13 baking dish. Spread half of sweet potatoes in the prepared baking dish. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, a quarter of the herbs and a 1/4 cup of the cheese. Distribute half of the greens mixture over the cheese, then sprinkle salt, pepper, a quarter of the herbs and 1/4 cup of the cheese over it. Pour half of bechamel sauce over the first two layers then continue with the remaining sweet potatoes, more salt, pepper, herbs and cheese and then the remaining greens, salt, pepper and herbs. Pour the remaining sauce over the top of the gratin, pressing the vegetables slightly to ensure that they are as submerged as possible. Sprinkle with the last 1/4 cup of cheese.
  Bake gratin for about 1 hour until golden and bubbly, and most of the liquid is absorbed. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.
  Do ahead: You can make the entire gratin but not bake it up to a day in advance and keep it in the fridge. You can also make and bake the gratin and reheat it. Gratins reheat well, but they take almost as much time to gently heat through as they do to bake in the first place, especially deep ones like this. As for reheating, already baked and frozen, I will find out very soon! But I am near-positive it will be fine.

Whipped Amber Turnips & Winter Squash

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Place squash, skin side up, in a shallow baking pan, add 1/2 inch water and cover tightly with aluminum foil. Bake 25 to 35 minutes or until squash is tender. Meanwhile, place the turnips in a saucepan. Add water to cover and the bay leaf and salt. Heat to boiling over high heat. Reduce the heat to medium and cook for 15 minutes. Add the potatoes, cover and cook until the vegetables are tender, 15 to 20 minutes longer. Meanwhile, melt the butter in a small skillet over medium heat. Add the shallot, nutmeg and pepper. Cook, stirring frequently, 3 to 5 minutes, until tender. Drain the turnips and potatoes. Discard the bay leaf. Use an electric mixer and a large bowl and beat the turnips, potatoes, shallot mixture and cream until well combined. Cool the baked squash about 5 minutes or until it's easy to handle. Turn each cavity up and sprinkle with brown sugar. Fill the cavity of each with the turnip mixture. Heat the broiler. Broil the squash, 3 inches from the heat, until the whipped turnips start to brown, about 2 to 3 minutes. Arrange the squash on a serving plate and sprinkle with paprika. Serve immediately.

BAKED SCALLOP SQUASH

Cut large white scallop/pattypan squash in half lengthwise. Place open sides down in shallow baking pan add water to cover half of squash. Bake in 375 degree oven until tender. Scoop out seeds & discard. Scoop out flesh and transfer to bowl. Mix in butter, sour cream, or olive oil, sea salt or tamari soy sauce, and spices of choice such as ginger, nutmeg

Squash & Fennel Soup

source: firehorserider.com It's so simple to make. I think the hardest part is peeling the squash. Once that's done, it only takes ten or fifteen minutes to throw all the ingredients into the pot. Walk away for an hour and come back and blend. It doesn't get any easier. Here's how: In a soup pot, pour a little olive oil or non-hydrogenated vegan "butter" and allow to warm on medium. Add five or six cloves of minced garlic and a red onion, diced. Chop a carrot or two and one or two stalks of celery and add to the garlic/onion mix. Stir on medium for a few minutes. Meanwhile, peel the beautiful winter squash. I actually use a sharp vegetable knife rather than a peeler. If the skins are thick, I find a knife just works better. Cut the squash into cubes and toss into the mix. Wash and dice a fennel bulb and add to the mix. I get beautiful fennel at the Venice Market and use the entire plant from bulb to leaf, but if you're in a place where all you can find is the bulb, that'll do just fine. Cover the veggies with water and turn heat to almost high. Throw in one or two cubes of veggie bouillon and bring to a boil, then turn down the heat and let simmer for 45 minutes to an hour. Turn off the heat, add a splash of maple syrup, some sea salt to taste, fresh ground pepper to taste, and if you have access to a Japanese market, this wonderful condiment called "nanami togarashi" is the secret ingredient for this soup. It's a blend of chilis, black sesame, seaweed and citrus, and I find it gives this creamy, sweet and licoricy soup a wonderful hint of exotic spice. Blend the soup with a Braun hand blender or in a food processor until smooth, and adjust the seasoning to your liking. Just looking at this soup will make you feel good.

FEATURED VEGGIE- WINTER SQUASH

NOTE: Cook Large Scallop Squash Like WInter Squash: (from Mariquita Farms)
In case you've never tried to cook winter squash, it couldn't be simpler: Cut in half with a big sharp knife. Remove seeds. Put in a baking pan cut side down, with a little water in the pan. Or rub the cut side with a little oil first. Bake in a medium oven (325, or 350, or 400, etc.) until it's easily pierced with a fork. Remove, and eat. Possible toppings: many like maple syrup, I like salt and pepper. I've also added my cut, seeded halves of winter squash to the crockpot with some water, and let it cook that way for a few hours. This method works especially well when all you want is the cooked flesh to puree for a soup or other dish. When a fork can easily pierce the squash/pumpkin pieces, I remove it and scrape the flesh into my food processor and whirl a bit. Then I freeze in 1 and 2 cup increments. Soup and pie are obvious and delicious choices, I also put 1 cup of this puree into nearly every batch of muffins, waffles, cookies, pancakes, biscuits etc. that I make. I just take an existing recipe and add my cup of squash puree. It nearly always works, and my kids are none the wiser.