Guest Post: Farmer's Market in the Fall - Winter Squash

Fall brings what in my opinion are some of the best deals of the year – including those on squash. While the grocery stores sell squash by the pound, the farmers market sells it by the piece.

Winter squash can be fun - there are many varieties with subtle differences in flavor. The farmers market usually has a wonderful selection, and if you know what to look for you can usually get a deal that will beat most grocery store sales. On a recent trip I picked up some squash samples to weigh them in and see just how much your dollar can buy. Prices will vary by market, vendor, size, and success of the crop, but the prices here are pretty consistent with what I’ve seen at the Royal Oak market over the last few years. Squash weights will also vary widely, and for these I selected some of the largest squash left in the bin about halfway through the market day. I took pictures of the squash with a dollar so you could see the relative size. A larger squash isn’t always the one with the most mass; some may have a larger cavity than others.

Pie pumpkin
$1 (weighed 3 lbs; $0.33/lb)


Sweet Dumpling
$1 (weighed 1 lb 8 oz; $0.67/lb)


Butternut
$1.50 (weighed 3 lb 4 oz; $0.46/lb)


Acorn
$1.50 (weighed 3 lb 1 oz; $0.49/lb)

Orange Buttercup
$1.50 (weighed 3 lb 6 oz; $0.44/lb)

Green buttercup
$1.50 (weighed 7 oz; $0.34/lb)

Heirloom “Peanut” Pumpkin
$3.50 (weighed 8 lbs 3 oz; $0.43/lb)*

*Purchased at the Greenfield Village farmers market (a special event). While this is one that people will primarily buy as part of the fall décor, I verified with the vendor that this was indeed a good pumpkin to cook up.

A note on heirloom pumpkins: Many varieties of heirloom pumpkins are being sold as decorative pumpkins and pumpkin stacks. Last year after Halloween one of the vendors at the farmers market had their decorative pumpkins on clearance ($1 or $2 each for some pretty sizable squash). I had asked if I could use them to cook with, and the vendor hemmed and hawed, claiming they were edible but probably not too good (it was obvious he didn’t know much about the pumpkins). After some research this year, I am now disappointed I didn't take advantage of this great deal. My instincts said that if it’s an heirloom it probably would taste good since in the past pumpkins were grown primarily to eat, not sit on the front porch. My advice: ask the vendors about the varieties they have. You can always use Google to research how it fares as food. Then if you are tempted to buy one as a centerpiece you can cook it up after the party’s over, or if you luck out and find someone trying to ditch all the “decorative” pumpkins you can snatch up a good deal. Here are some good cooking pumpkins I’ve found masquerading as holiday decorations:

• “Peanut” or Galeuse d'Eysines
• Rouge vif d’etampes (this is the pumpkin Disney modeled Cinderella's carriage after)
• Lumina
• Cheese
• Mosquee de province
• Jarradale
• Fairytale
• Queensland Blue
• Winter Luxury Pie pumpkin (if anyone finds one, please let me know - many claim that these are one of THE best for pies!)

Maple Spiced Squash (serves 5-6)
2 medium acorn (or other) squash
1 cup maple syrup, dark amber
½ stick butter
¾ teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon powdered ginger
¼ teaspoon nutmeg
¼ teaspoon allspice
Kosher or sea salt
Optional: 1 shot whiskey

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Halve the squash and remove seeds, and sprinkle lightly with salt. Place squash cut-side up on a baking sheet and bake for 30 minutes. After baking, remove from oven and let cool for 5-10 minutes, until you can safely handle the squash.

While squash is cooling, heat maple syrup over medium-low heat. Add butter, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and allspice, and whiskey. After butter is melted, turn to low and let warm for 5-10 minutes.

When squash is cool enough to handle, quarter each half and remove skin. Cut squash into sections about ¾” thick. Place in a large baking dish, drizzle syrup mixture over squash. Flip squash to coat. Cover with lid or aluminum foil, cook at 400 degrees for 15 minutes, remove and flip squash, recover. Cook 15 minutes, remove and flip squash, place in oven without cover for an additional 10 minutes.

Squash Ravioli with Herbed Butter Sauce Recipe from Family Fun Magazine

Toasted Squash Seeds
If the only ‘pumpkin seeds’ you’ve ever had are the bleached, over-salted ones from the grocery store, you MUST try toasting your own! They are literally 100x better tasting, and probably 10 times better for you.

Almost any type of winter squash seeds can be toasted up for a yummy treat. The main limiting factor is that some seeds are more labor-intensive to extract from the squash “guts” than others. Try toasting up different seeds to find your favorite (though only toast up 1 variety at a time; they have different cooking times).

Toasting them up is simple; line a cookie sheet with aluminum foil, spray the foil with cooking spray. Place seeds in a single layer, and spray seeds. Lightly sprinkle with sea salt or kosher salt. Turn the oven onto it’s lowest setting, and place seeds in to toast. Check on them after 5 minutes, and use a spatula to flip them. Check in every 5 minutes until they seem close to done – when they start to brown they’re done. You can always take a couple seeds out to taste them to see if you want to pop them back in for a little bit.

Many thanks to Becky Stacy for sharing this information! Becky is a working mother of an 8-month-old son trying to cut costs so she can become a stay at home mom within the next year or two. She is a Food Network addict and enjoys playing around with new ideas in the kitchen.