Tonight will mark the official beginning of fall, and I couldn’t be more excited. The change of seasons is always my favorite part of the year, and I am ready for summer to slip into autumn (I know, I’ll be eating my words in just a few months). The change has already begun here in Chicago, making me eager to bust out the scarves and thick socks. I even broke out the down comforter the other night…but that might have been jumping the gun just a bit.
And while I know I’ll soon be missing the tastes of summer (fresh fruit!), I am ready to indulge in the warm spice-filed flavors that these upcoming months are known for. A little bit ago, a friend of mine shared some of the veggies she received from her weekly CSA share. Part of this generous bounty was a pretty little carnival squash, which made its culinary debut a few nights ago. Cut into wedges, topped with a bit of butter and brown sugar, and baked for a good 45ish minutes, it made a tasty side dish.
This afternoon, the few wedges that were still left over made their second appearance. Squash is such a versatile vegetable, and though I considered making soup (another great autumn/winter food), seeing this recipe got me thinking about creatively using a better variety of ingredients in my baking. And so, squash bread it was! Can’t be too much different from using zucchini or carrots — not to mention pumpkin. Right?
To prep the squash, I used a spoon to scrape it from the rind, and gave it a few pulses in the food processor to smooth it out (I added a bit of milk to help things along). Remember, this squash had already been cooked.
The verdict? It was pretty tasty! The bread has just right amount of sweetness to temper a subtle vegetable-y taste (very similar to carrot cake or zucchini bread), and the cranberries and pecans are great flavor addition. I would definite experiment with this again — imagine adding ginger or sliced apples.
Carnival Squash Bread with Pecans and Cranberries.
about 1 cup of pureed pre-cooked squash
1/3 cup melted butter
1 egg, beaten
1 cup light brown sugar
1 1/2 cup flour 1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla
a handful of pecans, roughly chopped
a handful of dried cranberries
Preheat your oven to 350F. In a large bowl, mix butter, pureed squash, sugar, egg, and vanilla. Next, mix in your spices — I only added cinnamon because I’m still stocking my pantry post-move, but nutmeg, cloves and/or allspice would be equally as lovely. Finally, mix in your baking soda, salt, pecans, cranberries, and then fold in your flour.
Pour mix into a greased loaf pan and bake for about 50 minutes. Let loaf cool before slicing, if you can resist the urge to dive right in. Having very little self-control when it comes to baked goods, I never seem to be able to wait.
Yes, that is a pizza pan doubling as my cooking rack. And yes, I did take this photo after gobbling up a warm slice. Don't judge.
In case you were curious, this smells FANTASTIC while it’s baking. Totally put me in the mood to curl up with some hot apple cider and a good book. Or run around and play in a pile of leaves. September, October, and November, it’s good to see you again.
I too love the change of seasons. There is something special about fall with the pumpkin picking, apple cider drinking, and squash bread eating. jk about squash bread, I think I might stick to pumpkin, but I give you credit to try new things. I think it’s the nuts and cranberries that I don’t trust.
Are you reading any good books lately to go with your new snack?
Oh, but it was really pretty good, Burgy! Didn’t taste like squash at all (in fact, when I ate it as part of my dinner that first night, it tasted so much like pumpkin that I thought it’d work out pretty well in bread form).
I recently finished Stieg Larsson’s The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, which was a quick read–kinda fluffy and perfect for summer. Just started Saul Bellow’s Herzog and am enjoying it. How about you?