As American As Squash????

This time of year gets me thinking back to the indigenous peoples and what they ate at the time of the first Thanksgiving. The phrase American as apple pie is kind of inaccurate because the early English settlers brought that over.. What really is true American food? All good for you natural stuff like unprocessed fruits and veggies - not the burgers (from Germany) or the fries (from Belgium and France) like we all think.

Squash corn or maize make up the heart of the indigenous diets.This was supplemented by any meat or fish that original peoples hunted. The American staple , succotash is really native in its 'origins. What is great about the staple is that they can be made a variety of ways, even to this day. Squash can be baked and then mashed. Corn can be ground for fritters or for pone or cornbread. Beans can be mashed or boiled and then flavored. Pumpkin , part of the squash family was also cooked and probably mashed. All these are loaded in antioxidants and vitamins giving the natives a better diet than the European settlers.

The tribes that the Pilgrims ate with gave them maple syrup , cranberries, apples and pears to add Io their vitamin starved diets. Also oysters and fish were in abundance, both loaded with nutrients. Most of the early settlers from the Virginia colonies up to the Massachusetts , relied on the Indian for food. Here in New Jersey the Lenni Lenape , showed the settlers how to gather shellfish from the great Raritan Bay along with hunting wild turkey and geese. There was also wild asparagus and onions too.

As American as apple pie??? Not quite. Try as American as popcorn and squash. The native American knew how to eat and how to respect the earth. They passed that down to us - and we should be grateful for those beliefs.

Get Squashed

This is the season for squash. The markets and farms are rife with all sorts of them. What I love about it is that they're versatile. There are so many recipes that you can cook squash everyday and not be bored with it. Not only that squash can be made by the novice as well as the more experienced cook.

The two squashes that are popular right now are the butternut and the acorn squash. The butternut is an elongated bell shaped veggie. The flesh is a creamy orange color and it has a mild taste. It's the better of the two for making soups because it will produce a rich creamy puree. You can also make kabobs from it as well as a squash gratin. You could also use butternut squash to make a type of squash sweet pie similar to pumpkin.

Acorn squash is smaller,resembling what else - an acorn. It has a deep green color with an smooth orange flesh. Because it has a thick rind, butternut squash can't be peeled it has to be baked. You can bake it in an over for forty minutes or even a microwave for eight minutes. I like it with butter in it with brings out the taste in my opinion.

It's the squash season.Bring home a couple of butternuts and acorn. Prepare them anyway you can.They're delicious additions to the autumn diet!