A guide to winter squash: Butternut Squash

Butternut squash is the most common and the cheapest of all winter squash. Because it is pretty time consuming to peel and cut, I don't recommend going to the trouble of making it into anything even slightly complicated, such as soup. Just pop it in the oven and let it go! Magical things will happen. 

The traditional way to cook butternut squash usually involves warm spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, all spice and brown sugar. But don't let that limit you. It also pairs extremely well with herbs like sage and rosemary, as well as mild acids like meyer lemon and balsamic vinegar. And oh man, is it tasty in Mexican food! Try roasting butternut squash simply with salt, pepper and olive oil, then toss it in a bowl with some quinoa, black beans, cilantro and queso blanco. 

I've said it before and I'll say it again: use a sturdy vegetable peeler and a big, heavy knife that you sharpen regularly. I like to peel butternut squash, then cut it horizontally so that I have a flat surface with which to work.

Lemony Butternut Squash
-serves six as a side dish

4 cups butternut squash, chopped into 1" cubes (about a 4-5 pound squash)
1/3 cup meyer lemon juice*
1/2 cup olive oil
3/4 cup water
1 (heaping) T chopped fresh sage
1 (heaping) t kosher salt

Preheat oven to 500. Toss all ingredients together in a casserole dish. Bake for 25 minutes, toss, then bake for another 25 minutes.

*It is important that you use meyer lemons. They have the same acidity as regular lemons without the intense tartness. Don't you dare use pre-squeeze lemon juice! (It will ruin this dish.)

P.S. I've been working on my photo editing skills- what do you think?