Cooking with PUMPKINS & SQUASH
Rambunctious, rambling pumpkin and squash vines are almost as uncontrollable as our desire to consume their fruits once fall colors start to show. This enthusiasm spills over into the kitchen, where pumpkins and squash, including acorns, butternuts, bananas, buttercups, turbans, and Hubbards, can hardly be contained. Pumpkins are delicious served plain — grilled, steamed, baked, boiled, or roasted whole in hot embers. Native Americans used pumpkins and squash in everything from breads to soups.
No matter how you cook them, pumpkins and winter squash offer a boatload of color, flavor, and nutrition. The specific nutrient profile depends on the cultivar, of which there are many, but these members of the cucurbit family are generally a good source of dietary fiber, vitamin A, vitamin C, riboflavin, potassium, copper, manganese, vitamin E, thiamin, niacin, vitamin B6, folate, iron, calcium, magnesium, and phosphorus — and as an added bonus, they’re low in fat and calories.
The seeds and seed oils from pumpkins and squash are good for you, too. The seeds are loaded with protein and fiber, and make a crunchy, delicious snack or salad topping. The oil from certain pumpkin seeds, most notably from the ‘Styrian Hulless’
