Eating all that squash

If you recall, I really outdid myself with squash in 2023.  We are down to 12 from 21 in total, still hanging out in the living room:  the "small" ones are lined up on the windowsill and the remaining four Big Ones in the corner on their own cotton mat.  Many of the "small" ones are actually bigger than those I have grown in previous years--I would call them "big" if it weren't for the massive ones on the floor!

So how to get through (at an estimate) around 150 lbs of squash?  Well, first off it's luckily a very good keeper.  The son and I harvested these in mid-October and the majority of them have stayed perfectly sound with no special treatment.  A couple started to develop a soft spot, but were discovered quickly;  after cutting out the soft spot, the rest of the squash was still good to eat, which we did.  

The big squashes have been mainly simmered in the slow cooker, pureed and then frozen in muffin pans to make nice little portions.  We do this for quite a few things;  after freezing, the "muffins" go into a freezer bag.  I can take out the portion I need easily.  I particularly like to put a couple into a stew to thicken it up, and if paired with a tablespoon of vinegar, makes the stew look and taste as though it has tomatoes in the broth.  Not sure if it would work as a tomato substitute for something like pizza, but maybe I should try.

The puree is also a tasty side vegetable in its own right, particularly with some butter swirled in, and I have used it in place of mashed potato for the top of shepherd's pie too.  It's rather like sweet potato in taste, color and texture.  Of course it makes a great pumpkin pie too.

The smaller, easier to chop squashes--i.e. the ones that don't require a hatchet--are very nice cut into bite size pieces for stir fry, stew, curry, etc.  Big or small, I don't peel them as there is no difference in taste or texture with the skin and flesh.  However, I don't bother trying to cook/eat the seeds as they have a very woody outer casing;  I have some saved for this year's planting, but the chickens can have the rest.