The Complete Squash Guide

One of the best foods of autumn is squash. This versatile veggie can be transformed into a warming soup, a hearty roast or adelicious side.The only problem -how can you tell which is which and what do you use the for. Luckily there is a guide to help you pick the right gourd.

Florence Fabricant created this for yesterday's New York Times Foo section. It is definitely a  keeper, especially for home chefs , new to cooking squash.. There is a description along with a picture for the twelve kinds which will be helpful for those thinking of serving it for Thanksgiving. The most popular and the most known is the acorn squash. This familiar round globe is covered in a leathery dark green skin.The skin or peel is not for eating. The flesh is fairly sweet and it's best for roasting or stuffing.Ms. Fabricant also recommends cutting it up in chunks and pureeing them.Another popular one is the butternut. Again, this is a popular one, usually a foot long in length. It has a fat bottom and light tan skin.It's sweet and nutty tasting and can be mashed or baked into a layer cake.Cute, round squashes are the carnival and cheese pumpkin. The first is reminiscent of the acorn and has a lovely maple flavor. The cheese pumpkin is more savory and can be incorporated into pies, soups or purees.Another sweet tasting gourd is the delicata.It has green and white stripes with a thin skin.The best use? Turn it into a creamy and thick bisque. The Honeynut is the newcomer in the family. It sprang from Cornell University's labs.It's a hybrid of the butternut squash, but sweeter and richer in taste. It would be ideal for desserts.

Looking for super cute? Then try the squash with the super cute name. Jack-Be-Little. This orange or white ball can be filled with soup, a gratin or even a custard. It is mild tasting, perfect for a strong main dish.Craving sweet potatoes?Try the gourd with the exotic name - kabocha. Its' nubbly rind can be eaten with the flesh. Roast pieces or use in soups and stews.Another exotic cucurbita is the Japanese kuri.This is an anomaly in the squash family. Its' flavor is more like chestnut. This makes it perfect for stirfries and stews. The creamy white mashed potatoes is an albino version of its' cousin, the acorn. The inside is dense and scooped out to be fluffed with butter and salt.Ms. Fabricant also recommends halving them and serving with cheese. Spaghetti squash is the most popular with gardeners.Ir's an easy, problem free grow in almost every summer backyard garden.  It's oval and yellowish - about the size of a football. Its' name derives from its' string like flesh that can serve as a sub in for pasta. Then there is the sweet dumpling.It resembles the carnival squash but is green and white in appearance.The skin is thin and edible and can be roasted , stuffing or baking.

Squash is a must have at any fall meal. Cook or bake it for a delicious side or dessert. It'll add color and flavor to the meal.

Simply Ramen, Simply Good

Ramen soup sometimes get a bad rap. After all most people associate it with those brittle bricks of noodles with the flavor packet nestled inside.Yet it's so much more than that. Imagine fresh noodles in homemade broth along with the addition of meats and vegetables. Home chefs can, thanks to a new cookbook.

Simply Ramen (Race Point Publishers ) was written by Amy Kimoto-Kahn , a Yonsei or fourth generation of Japanese American (her great grandparents emigrated from Japan to the US). She gives us an entire cookbook dedicated to the soup which can be made not just for lunch and dinner but for breakfast too.Another plus comes at the end when she lists the best ramen houses in Tokyo too. Yet it's the recipes that bring good Japanese cooking into the home. There are other recipes too such as tamogoyaki, Japanese omelets,basic rice and a tasty cucumber salad with a seafood topping.. There's the surprise of a Korean potato salad  recipe along with pickled vegetables and beef and chicken croquettes topped with a funky ketchup- soy sauce mash up. What I like about the cookbook is the way that Ms. Kimoto-Kahn breaks the recipes down into sections, They're devoted to chicken, beef, pork and seafood as well as to veggies and spicy versions. there is also a section dedicated to the broths that make up the soup .It's shared with toppings (yes, ramen soup can have toppings) such as braised  pork, and marinated half cooked egg.

The book is a great how to for all those novice ramen makers.It is a labor intensive project that does require a pasta maker. however it's no difficult than making homemade spaghetti or linguine.The plus is that the noodles can be made in large batches and stored for future use. The dough is a mix of cake , bread and wheat flour along with a baked baking powder that can be easily made.Then there are the bases, Home chefs can choose from miso,  tonkotsu base,a blend of two soups, the soy rich shoyu base and the shio base. Chicken lovers can try the chicken meatball ramen made with nod to Ms. Kimoto- Kahn's husband's Jewish heritage of matzoh balls.There are lush recipes that involve Kobe beef and lobster along with new creations that feature crawfish and cheese. Vegetarians will love the all vegetables ones,from the nasubi  or simmered Japanese eggplant to the kabocha, Japanese winter squash served with tempura battered arugula.Pork and fish are also represented in such dishes as spicy pork tantanmen and furikake salmon. Home chefs can try the chilled ramen and cold broth for those hot summer days.

 Simply Ramen shows that ramen soup is not those bricks of tasteless noodles jazzed up with flavor packets. It's homemade noodles simmered in a homemade broth with toppings. Buy the book and start making your own tasty and fresh creations!