Thursday, March 13, 2008

Ladies and Gentlemen, The Very First Bounty Contest


Ladies and Gentlemen, the time has come for the very first bounty contest. I'm looking for your favorite butternut squash recipe. And this is how it all began:

Growing up I do not remember pumpkins being sold in supermarkets. There were people who grew them in their backyards, but I only knew them as sweet&sour pumpkin pickles and I must say I did not crave them ever.

When I lived in Japan I got introduced to kabocha, and a gentle love affair started to unfold. Once back in Germany, I noticed that pumpkins were making their appearance on farmers markets. I started trying halloween pumpkin (uh, not my favorite) and acorn squash (wow, can't believe I missed that for the first 30 years of my live). And then last week I got a beautiful butternut squash. And now I'm at a loss as to what to do with this beauty.

I've tried a couple of pumpkin recipes so far. Some were a big hit with me and my hubby. And some... I've tried making pumpkin gnocchi with acorn, and failed miserably. Failed with flour, with potatoes, and with semolina. Acorn probably contains too much water. But roasted acorn - hmmmm. I wouldn't want to live without it. All in all more successes than failures and in the process I've turned into a pumpkin lover.

Now with this new baby I thought it is time for some inspiration. I've never had or cooked butternut squash so I need some help here. So send me your favorite pumpkin recipes, old or new, that have appeared on your blogs or that you post for this occasion. It does not need to be a butternut recipe, any type of pumpkin is fine as long as it will work with butternut, too. The recipe me and my hubby like best will be the winner, and there will be a little surprise prize :-).

Send me your recipes by Easter Sunday, March 23 midnight your time, to aprilday AT web DOT de, with Re: butternut (so I can tell your mails from spam). Now it's your turn, I'm looking forward to your creativity ;-)

PS: Yes I am aware of the fact that the season when everybody is crazy about pumpkins is over already. But doing unseasonal things sometimes is much more fun. So, fill me in on your butternut secrets already :-)
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Edit: I'm afraid my directions were a tad bit confusing, so here a clarification: The recipes you submit do not need to be new, however, they need to be posted on your blog, so I have somewhere to link to (Still thanks, chocovegan. The simplest things are sometimes the best :-)).

Additionally, in case of something you've featured before it would be great if you could just briefly repost your recipe and link to this post, if that doesn't mean too much trouble, just to give it the look and feel of a contest :-)

14 comments:

Lindsay (Happy Herbivore) said...

butternut squash is one of my favorite foods! I'l have to send you a recipe for butternut squash soup! P.S. Love the photos !

LizNoVeggieGirl said...

ooh, what a fun contest! I love butternut squash! :0D

Anke said...

hehe, great, I'm looking forward to your faves :-)

Billy said...

I don't have any butternut squash recipes, but I'm interested in seeing what other people submit.

BTW, thanks for the comment on my blog (I replied over there).

Also, I've added your blog to my vegan blogroll.

Billy said...

Also, I notice you have a BlogHer graphic on your blog. Do you write there? If so, can you link me to your BlogHer profile? If you don't want to respond here, feel free to email me.

Thanks!

ChocolateCoveredVegan said...

My favorite butternut squash recipe is sooooo boring: All I do is put it in the oven, with a few holes, at 400 for an hour, then I scoop it out and eat it plain. I look forward to seeing others' more-interesting recipes!

Vaishali said...

Anke, great contest idea! I love butternut squash and will definitely try to come up with something interesting. Also cannot wait to see what everyone else comes up with!

J said...

I love butternut squash, I'll have to remember to send you the recipes I have for it.

Anke said...

@ bill: I once registered with BlogHer, but haven't written there for months.

@ chocolatevegan: hehe, the simplest pleasures are sometimes the best :-)

ChickPea said...

Thanks for taking a look at my blog! Coincidentally, I just prepared butternut squash for the first time this evening. All I did was steam in the microwave then put it in the pot with vegetable broth and my favorite spices. I pureed it with my new stick blender, and voila! Butternut squash soup! Not terribly creative, but tasty nonetheless.

Unknown said...

I love to simply roast pumpkin in the oven (with the seeds). Just cut the pumpkin into slices and roast for an hour with some sunflower oil, and remove the seeds before serving. Roasting squash is something I've never tried yet.

Anonymous said...

what a great idea! i will send you my favorite :)

Vinelady said...

Here is my contribution: Thai Squash Soup.

http://cookingaboard.blogspot.com/

VeganCowGirl said...

I am on it!