From That to This: Acorn Squash

Just because October in California doesn't feel like fall doesn't mean you can't still enjoy all of the fall things you love. You may have to get a little creative, but there are countless ways to make this warm hot, no-tree-changin' season into one that feels a little more like a good ol' Ohio autumn.

The easiest thing to do, beyond dressing in fall colors, is eating to suite your season. Of course, there is the classic PSL (which I love), but there's also cider, soups, other pumpkin flavored things, and one of my favorites: squash - specifically, acorn squash.

Acorn squash is one of the easiest side dishes to make for a delicious autumn dinner. All you need is four ingredients and you're ready to go!

Ingredients:

1 acorn squash

butter

cinnamon

brown sugar

To begin, preheat your oven to 400°F. Then cut your squash in half and scoop out the seeds with a spoon (think pumpkin carving or eating cantaloupe). Once that's done, use a knife and cut a grid into the inside of each half (this is the part that looks like a bowl and is not the skin). You do this so that the flavors can soak into the whole squash instead of just the very top.

Thoroughly coat the inside of the squash with spreadable butter (around 1/2 tbsp for each half). Then rub each half with 1 tbsp of brown sugar and sprinkle them with around 1 tsp of cinnamon.

Put the halves bowl-up in a baking tray with an inch or so of water in the bottom. This helps prevent the skin of the squash from burning with the baking dish.

Bake for an hour and fifteen minutes and voila! All you have to do is remove the skin and you're ready to eat.

I even tossed some of the left-overs in a salad I made for lunch the next day!

Do you have any foods you especially like to eat in fall?

Peace,
Sarah