Winter Squash and Winter Melon Recipes

[Amaranth]

The winter squash are starting to get ripe here. Winter melon are getting close. Recently made some roasted butternut with curry spices which was delicious.

What other new and exciting things can we do with winter squash or winter melon?

[CathyA]

I make a butternut squash pie, which is great. To me, its even tastier than pumpkin pie. I usually just wait for my squash to cure for a month or more, then I bake them and stir the pulp up with my immersion blender and freeze it. We love it just plain with our meals in the winter.
What is winter melon? I've never grown that. I always seem to be in a race against the squash bugs, to get a good crop.
I have made butternut squash risotto, but I wasn't terribly fond of that. Its also good with butter and Parmesan cheese.
I'm getting hungry! Its such a nutritious food!

[SteveinMN]

I've had great success over the years with this recipe even with less-adventurous adults and with kids. It calls for canned pumpkin because that's what most people can find most of the year, but you could use a pie pumpkin or a sweet squash like a kabocha or kuri.

Szechwan-Style Chicken

Recipe originally from Libby's; serves 6-8

16 oz can pumpkin
1/2 c firmly-packed brown sugar (or heatable sugar substitute, if necessary)
1/4 c soy sauce (you could use Bragg's liquid aminos, if you have them)
2 T cider vinegar
2 T minced garlic
1/2 t crushed red pepper flakes (or more to taste)
1 c water
2 T oil
1/2 c finely-chopped green pepper
cut-up broiler chicken
1/2 c chopped dry-roasted peanuts
hot cooked rice

In large bowl, combine pumpkin, sugar, soy sauce, vinegar, garlic,
and red pepper; mix well. Stir in water. Heat oil in large skillet,
Dutch oven, or electric fry pan. Add green pepper; saute 1 minute.
Remove peppers with slotted spoon; add to pumpkin mixture. Brown
chicken in remaining oil, using additional oil if needed; drain.
Sprinkle nuts over chicken. Pour pumpkin mixture over chicken.
Cover; simmer 30 to 40 minutes or until chicken is tender, basting
occasionally with sauce. Add a little water to thin the sauce, if
needed. Spoon hot sauce onto large platter. Arrange chicken pieces
over rice. Spoon about 1 c sauce over chicken. Serve with remaining
sauce.

[awakenedsoul]

I've been harvesting Cinderella pumpkins. Just made some pumpkin soup. I made stock from a chicken carcass. I added the cubed, peeled pumpkin, and cooked it until tender. I pureed it, then added some milk and cheddar cheese. Delicious! I loosely followed from memory a recipe for cream of brocolli soup. I just substituted the pumpkin. My dog loves baked pumpkin, too!

[Rosemary]

Hmm, love the idea of using pumpkin puree as the basis for a stir-fry sauce. Will experiment with that!
I love roasted winter squash... plain, with cinnamon, or with sauteed greens and/or black beans.