Sweet Potato Squash smells just like pumpkin...

I had never heard of or seen sweet potato squash(aka Delicata squash). I had only decided to get it because of a few factors. One because it was locally grown (according to the sign outside the grocery store locally grown means in "Ontario" but I have a feeling it was closer than just the province I live in because of where I live and the farm land that surrounds it.), and two because it's almost autumn (remember just because it's September doesn't mean it's really fall till the 22-23 of the month :) ) and squash is in abundance and I need to learn how to make more dishes with this wonderful plant.

Now I got lucky and because it was locally grown the nice people who either harvested or the people who got them at the store put a nice little sticker on the outside of the squash telling what kind it was and a very easy way to cook it.

Pre-heat oven to 350F. Cut the sweet potato squash in half length wise and scoop out the seeds and guts. I don't know if these seeds are like other squash where you can roast them and turn them into a snack but if I find out for sure, I'll do it with my other one. This is when I noticed a very familiar smell to this little squash. It smelled almost exactly like pumpkin! the inside looked like pumpkin to (even the seeds!). I felt like it was almost Halloween and I had just opened up a pumpkin to carve! Unfortunately this didn't last long because I needed to get this cooking for dinner. So I cut small thin pieces of butter (the sticker said to brush melted butter onto the flesh of the squash, I didn't want to melt butter that was going to be melted anyways :P ) and salted and peppered it. The other option it suggested was to use brown sugar, which is what I'm used to with acorn squash and would have made it much sweeter. I then set each half on a baking sheet and let it cook in the oven for about 45 minutes - an hour.

The hubby was pretty apprehensive about trying it till I took a fork and scraped some of the flesh out of the shell (can be served in the shell or scrape shell and just put it on the plate, another option is to smash it like potatoes) and told him to take a bite. He looked surprised that it actually tasted good. His words were "It's good! It does taste like sweet potato!" Lucky for me he enjoyed it. The little one on the other hand of course said "I don't like it," and tried to get away with only eating it with a glass of milk to wash it down.

This would be fine if he didn't say after he finishes the milk and before he finishes the food that he was full. He even thought he'd be clever and say "But I want strong bones!" I then countered with the fact that a serving of winter squash (1 cup) has 3% calcium, 33% vitamin C, 214% vitamin A, 6g of fiber, etc. Realizing I was talking to a 9 year old, I then said "It does some of the same stuff as milk and more by keeping you from getting sick and keeps you healthy. But if you want milk after you finish it you can have a glass."

I don't think this made much of a difference to him, but for those of you that are not wanting to eat your squash, find a way to cook it so you like it and remember what great things it does for you health wise!