This year truly is the year of the squash.
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We have them coming out of our ears (well the muck pile anyway).
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We have big ones, little ones, round ones, lumpy ones and even as the picture at the top shows SQUARE ONES!!
Last night for tea we had Pumpkin Curry, not a huge success, I didn't make it spicy enough.....oh well, I can try again......I'm not short of squash or two or three......!
The ones in the muck pile are the results of a discarded plant in the compost bin last year. I needed some space so LH tipped the compost bin onto the muck pile and dug it in. Then in Spring we noticed something growing so left it to see what would develop. Well....we now have a HUGE plant and about 40 knobbly, bobbly squashes, that we don't even know the name of. Move aside any of the leaves and you find these lovely little specimens. ~ 
Oh well, I'm getting out the cookbooks and looking for recipes to use up this lovely glut. At least squashes store quite well so we won't have to have them for every meal.
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Just outside the polytunnel I have four Butternut Squash plants that have suddenly come into their own, with the most adorable little Butternut squashes developing, (can you tell it's the first time I have grown these). I love baby plants as well as baby animals.
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A slice of squash in your porridge anyone?
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Sue xx
Wow ! I bet you learn to cook those every which way !
ReplyDeleteBrilliant! Love the muck pile too!! x
ReplyDeleteOur butternut squashes have done well too, but not quite as well as yours!
ReplyDeleteUh oh !
ReplyDeleteIt was -1C last night..I've a feeling all the squash will be goners! Must check.
Jane
What a great haul Sue!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the pics of Archie, Missy was away at l'Hotel du Parents last week so I shall be showing her those later!
Take care
Sarah x
I'm Italian. A great way of using pumpkins is making gnocchi di zucca. Do you know the recipe?
ReplyDeleteVery easy and rewarding!
Here's my recipe for butternut squash curry. It's a winner with the vegetarian members of the family.
ReplyDelete1 onion, peeled and chopped
1 butternut squash, peeled, seeds removed, cut into cubes
1 medium sized potato, peeled and cubed
1 chilli, top cut off and slit (seeds left in)
Curry powder to suit (I use Kohinoor)
Clove of garlic, crushed, or finely chopped
Pinch of asafoetida (optional)
Can of coconut milk
Juice of a small lime
The first time I made this, I found the potato took longer to cook than the squash, so I put the cubed potato in the microwave for 1-2 minutes before adding to the curry.
Fry the onion until translucent, then add the garlic and chilli, and fry for a further minute. (Leaving the chilli whole allows the flavour and heat out, without making the curry too hot.)
Add the curry powder and asafoetida and stir around for 1 minute. (Add a little water if the powder sticks to the base of the pan.)
Add the potato and squash. Stir around for 1 minute.
Add the coconut milk.
Simmer for 15 - 20 minutes until the squash and potato are cooked through.
Remove the chilli, add the lime juice, and serve the curry on its own or with boiled rice.
Love your blog!
Wow, they look fab! I don't have a garden at the minute so really miss growing stuff (ok, so the extend of my growing was tomatoes & chillis, hardly up to your standard!) Someone recently mentioned spiced pumpkin muffins to me, I thought I might give them a try, I'll let you know how they turn out. xx
ReplyDeleteAh wonderful squashes Sue, I love anything that grows all on it's own and our pigs are currently enjoying our own "Muckheap" squashes, I'm sure I'll find more over the next few weeks too.
ReplyDeleteSadly my growing season is almost over although I'm tempted to try extending it by moving some plants indoors. First I better find some new recipes for the glut of green tomatoes that await me in the kitchen!
Suzy x
Totally awesome!
ReplyDeleteI love the square pumpkins! I am a sucker for all things pumpkin & squash. Chop up & roast them w/ rosemary & lavender, yummy creamy soups, PIE, mashed squash topped w/ swiss chard, in curries w/ peas & other veggies, PIE, and pie.
I came here from googling "knobbly squash plant" because I am trying to find out what plant we have growing in our compost pile. Your image came up, and I got all excited cause they look a bit like what we have... and then I found out yours also were growing from compost. :-P Were you ever able to find out what they were?
ReplyDelete