Winter Squash and Your Microwave...It Can be Done!

The microwave...what an amazing little creation.  Things that would take an hour in the oven take merely minutes.  So easy.  I have been cooking corn in the microwave for years but never considered preparing anything with as much substance as a winter squash in the wave box...until yesterday.  I was speaking with another farmer and his wife when she said, "You know you can pop Delicata in the microwave and in minutes you have your meal."  What a novel thought.  So of coarse last night I selected the perfect Delicata squash and began my trial run.

Delicata is similar to butternut squash but with a more chestnut-y kind of flavor...really great. Also it has much thinner skin for easy peeling/slicing. It's a nice item if you want to mix things up and retire the Butternut for a day two.

 Apparently you can also do this little trick with acorn squash, spaghetti squash and butternut - you'll just have to adjust the times since they are much larger with thicker skin.

So here's your very short instruction list on microwaved Delicata squash....

1. Slice Delicata in half.

 2. Remove the seeds.

 

3. Place in a baking dish with open side of squash face down.  Add a small amount of water to the dish to keep it from drying out.  Place in the microwave for 8-10 minutes.  Round and round it goes! 

4. Test to see if it is fork tender.  If no, place back in the microwave for another minute or so. If yes, flip squash over and put a little butter in each half.  Then...if you're feeling like you need something sweet, sprinkle with a little brown sugar (like oatmeal...could be a nice breakfast dish) or go the other way and sprinkle with season salt if you're in the mood for savory.  Pop back in the microwave for 30 seconds to fully melt the butter and you're done! Grab a spoon and dig in!