GLAZE YOUR GOURD
Take advantage of local squash to create delicious recipes
Take advantage of the abundance of local squash, says food columnist
I like to take advantage of the abundance of local squash that’s available now and serve them often.
Summer squash, like zucchini and its relatives, are great stir-fried, sautéed with green onions and added to scrambled eggs, or chopped and added at the last minute to chili or minestrone. Winter squash, with its dense flesh and hard skin, can be baked, steamed, simmered or roasted. Season it simply with salt and pepper, or gussy it up with curry spices, chili flakes, or brown sugar. It can be stuffed, made into soup, pureed or turned into pie filling.
This is one of the first squash recipes I tried, years ago when I was learning to cook. Squash, parsnips and maple syrup team up to make a side dish to complement poultry or pork, or a vegetarian entrée. Don’t overcook the vegetables, because if they are too soft, the pieces will break as you try to arrange them in the serving dish.
You could garnish this dish with toasted walnuts or dried cranberries, instead of, or in addition to the chopped parsley.
Maple Glazed Squash and Parsnips
Adapted from “Family Circle Illustrated Library of Cooking, Volume 1.” Rockville HousePublishers Inc., New York, 1972.
1 bunch medium-size parsnips (about 750 g/1½ lb)
2 small acorn squash, about 350 g/ ¾ lb each
300 mL (1¼ cups) maple syrup 30 mL (2 tbsp) butter or margarine 15 mL (1 tbsp) chopped parsley
Pare parsnips. Quarter lengthwise and cut into 7.5 cm (3 inch) pieces. Halve the squash crosswise, scoop out seeds and stringy membrane, and cut into 1.5 cm (½ inch) slices. Do not peel.
Cook parsnips and squash, covered, in boiling lightly salted water in a large skillet until almost tender. Drain and set aside.
Heat maple syrup in the same skillet. Add butter or margarine, stirring until melted. Return parsnips and squash to skillet. Cook over medium heat, basting frequently (a bulb baster is best) about 15 minutes, or until vegetables are tender and richly glazed.
Remove squash with a slotted spoon; arrange slices, overlapping, around the edge of a heated shallow vegetable dish.
Spoon parsnips into the centre, and drizzle remaining syrup over vegetables. Garnish with chopped parsley.
Finally, I encourage you to consider the issues and vote in Monday’s federal election.
On Thanksgiving weekend, we celebrated with a feast around a friend’s table; being with family and friends, sharing a Thanksgiving meal is a privilege that I value and want to be able to repeat for years to come. We didn’t discuss politics at the table, but I am left thinking about the effect that decisions made by the people we choose to represent us will have on future Thanksgivings.
Will Canadians have enough income to afford such feasts? How will increasing housing costs affect people’s ability to feed themselves every day and on special occasions? What will be done to ensure universal access to safe drinking water and affordable food? Will farmers and fishers be able to earn a decent living? What about seasonal workers? Where will the jobs be? How will food producers fuel the equipment needed to do their work? How will food production change in response to climate change? What new crops will be grown, and different species fished? How will production change to meet the needs and wants of our changing Canadian population and our trading partners? What kind of trade deals will our country strike? How will food be distributed to markets? How will that affect the environment? What kind of transportation systems will Canadians use to get from where they live to where they work, shop, and visit? What will weather patterns look like in the future? Will Canadians be wellinformed about healthy eating? How will people learn basic food skills? Where will scientific discoveries lead us, when it comes to nutrition, obesity, food production, processing, and storage, food safety?
These are some of the questions I think are important. I do not presume to tell you which party to vote for, but by all means get to a polling station and cast your ballot.
There are a few days left to find out how the parties would answer the questions that are important to you, and make a decision on how to vote. Please do.