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It's Thursday night, so I'm back with another edition of Weekend Menu Planning, where I share ideas from blogs in the BlogHerAds food network about tasty menu options you may want to try. This week I'm singing the praises of roasted winter squash, something I could happily eat several times a week. Roasting winter squash at high heat concentrates flavors and brings out the carmelized sweetness of the squash, making it a sum-is-greater-than-the-parts kind of treat. Plus, roasting is one of the easiest ways to cook vegetables. If you're in the northern hemisphere, markets are full of squash at this type of year, and we food bloggers have some delicious ideas for how to cook them.
If you're already well acquainted with winter squash, go ahead and skip ahead to the recipes. But if you're not a winter squash cooking veteran, you may want to know that winter squash is called pumpkin in some parts of the world. The short explanation about winter squash is that any squash with a hard skin (which allows it to be stored over the winter) is winter squash.
If you're worried you can't tell butternut from buttercup, you may want to take a peek at the Winter Squash Glossary at Culinate or read about winter squash at Wikipedia. However, winter squash varieties are pretty much interchangeable in recipes, so don't stress over that, although many people do have their favorite varieties.
Lolo from Vegan Yum Yum correctly says roasted squash is a dish that's pretty hard to mess up, and I agree! I think her Roasted Delicata Squash with Thyme looks gorgeous, and if you want a vegan squash recipe, you can't go wrong with this one. (Roasted Delicata Squash with Thyme from Vegan Yum Yum is pictured above.)
From Food Blogga comes Roasted Acorn Squash with Honey-Lime Glazed Pepitas, which Susan created as a new Thanksgiving side dish, but I can't see why you can't eat this delicious looking squash any time of year. (Roasted Acorn Squash with Honey-Lime Glazed Pepitas from Food Blogga is pictured above.)
Roasted Acorn Squash with Green Chiles from Karina's Kitchen sounds like it would taste wonderful, and the recipe also comes with some good advice from Karina about love. Karina calls this one roasted squash with attitude. (Roasted Acorn Squash with Green Chiles from Karina's Kitchen is pictured above.)
Maki from Just Hungry says this squash wasn't the prettiest, but fact that it was "so tasty, dead easy to make, and of this season" convinced her to share the recipe for Sweet and Spicy Roasted Kabocha Squash. Kabocha is a squash variety I haven't tried, but I've been wanting to. (Sweet and Spicy Roasted Kabocha Squash from Just Hungry is pictured above.)
Another slightly spicy roasted squash variation is the delightful-sounding Roasted Acorn Squash with Chile-Lime Vinaigrette from The Traveler's Lunchbox. Melissa says this dish stole the show at her Christmas dinner, and I can see why! (Roasted Acorn Squash with Chile-Lime Vinaigrette from The Traveler's Lunchbox is pictured above.)
Finally, since I adore roasted winter squash, I couldn't resist sharing my own Easy Recipe for Agave and Balsamic Glazed and Roasted Buttercup squash. This was my first time trying buttercup squash (I'm usually a butternut kind of woman) but I loved this squash. (Agave and Balsamic Glazed and Roasted Buttercup Squash from Kalyn's Kitchen is pictured above.)
If you have a good recipe for roasted winter squash, please let us know about it in the comments! You can find the Weekend Menu Planning suggestions from other weeks by clicking the label Weekend Menu Planning.
Kalyn Denny writes about food and at BlogHer.com and shares her passion for low-glycemic cooking at Kalyn's Kitchen.
