Butternut Squash will Grow in Trees

But they have a hard time of it.  If you have been following my postings you will know that Ralph, the butternut squash was intwined up the dogwood tree to make room in the flower bed. Ralph continued to grow and when it was time to pick him he was so firmly lodged in the tree that I had to cut him out.  We ate him last night.  My guests have a difficult time eating anything that has a name.  We had a potluck supper of local food.  Ralph was made into the squash casserole with feta cheese and pecans.  We are very grateful to Ralph.

FrontPorch Fridays

This is a great neighborhood.  On crisp fall mornings when all the cars have pulled out and headed for work, children's voices can be heard from the bus stops.   It's then that the stay-at-homers may gather on front porches and chat before beginning daily chores.  It's not unusual to be cutting grass in the yard and to have a kindly soal offering to help or when a yard tool is broken and the weeds are getting very high.  One neighbor has a tiller which faithfully tills each vegetable garden on the block.  We share tomatoes in the summer, snow shovels in the winter, newspapers, garden tips, and sometimes meals.


This summer we have started FrontPorch Fridays.  The entire block is invited to gather on my front porch.  If you see me at 6:00 on Friday, come on up and I'll give you a glass of wine.  If you don't drink wine bring your own; it's mostly about conversation.  We talk about the weather, some politics, families, but mostly we talk about the neighborhood.  Who has lived here the longest.  How the second house on the left looked twenty years ago.  What happened the year of the flood.  We love it when the newest neighbors join in.  That's when we can share the most about the neighborhood.  We love our neighborhood!

The second principle of creation is interconnectedness or community.  As we look at all living beings we recognize the need to be connected.  All creatures in a given natural community are interconnected with one another and with the elements that sustain them.  Creation as a whole functions as a living, maturing system.  Just as every part of a living body is in communion with every other part, so everything in the universe is in communion with everything else in the universe.  All that exists is interdependent and interrelated in an unbroken bond of communion.  As humans we need to be connected to others (our families, friends, neighborhoods) as well as the natural environment around us.

I see our neighborhood as an example of a natural community.  We know that by being interconnected, supporting one another, accepting one another in all our similarities as well as differences, we function more effectively.  It's a happy way to live.  We are living out the principle of interconnectedness and the FrontPorch Fridays are one way of strengthening our community.  Besides, it's a lot of FUN!

The Enchantment of Diversity

Baptisms at our church are wondrous!  This morning I stood as the procession entered and was enchanted by the obvious diversity of color and texture that the participants brought to our parish family.  Our Lady of Nazareth Church is pretty homogeneous: white middle class American suburbia.  But this morning we welcomed two infants into the waters of baptism and as members of our parish family.  What diversity they brought not only in skin color, language, and culture, but also in dress.  The women of the African immigrant family wore the traditional dress of their country, bright reds, pinks, yellows and green with intricate textures handmade by skilled dressmakers.  Fabric was wrapped and tucked, smocked and pleated to fit around the body.  The effect was dazzling.

I reflected on the beauty we find in diversity.  The many shades of green on the mountain sides; the wide array of colors found in flowers as they bloom throughout the season.  Diversity is the first of the ecological principles.  All nature is made up of many species of animals, plants, insects, and living things we cannot even see.  The more different life forms there are in a given place, the healthier is that place.  It is God's plan.

1Corinthians 12:12  As a body is one though it has many parts, and all the parts of the body, though many, are one body, so also Christ.....There are many parts but one body. 


It's the same for us, the more different kinds of people, the healthier are our communities.  When we wrap our arms around all our differences, learning to love and share our gifts, we grow strong together.

Cooking Butternut Squash

In any recipe winter squash, sweet potato or pumpkin can be replaced with butternut squash. Use it in pies, puddings, and main dishes.  

One special way I like to serve it is with feta cheese.

Butternut Squash with Feta Cheese

1 medium butternut squash, cooked and peeled

1/2 cup orange juice

1/2 cup toasted pecan halves

1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese

Place all ingredients in a baking dish and bake at 350 degrees until hot. This can be served as a main dish and is especially good in winter.

Cooking Butternut Squash

My favorite way to eat butternut squash is as a soup.  Here is my recipe.

Butternut Squash and Carrot soup

1 small to medium butternut squash

2 cups thinly sliced carrot (4 medium)

3/4 cup thinly sliced leek or chopped onion

1 tablespoon butter or margarine

2 cups chicken broth (vegetable broth is quite acceptable)

1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/4 cup half-and-half or light cream, or milk

1. Cut squash in half and remove seeds.  Put seeds in compost pile if you want volunteers in your garden next season.  Put it in a baking pan with about a half inch of water and cover loosely with aluminum foil. Bake squash at 350 degrees until it is tinder.  Let cool and peel away the skin.  Dice into chunks and set aside.

2.  Saute onions and carrots in butter in a medium saucepan until they are beginning to be soft.  Add squash, pepper, and nutmeg.  Blend until smooth.  If using a blender do only one cup at a time.  The mixture is hot and there is a possibility of being burned if one is trying to do too much at a time.  I use a hand held blender which I find very suited for cream soups.

3.  Add cream or milk and chicken broth and gently heat.  Serve at once and ENJOY!

Butternut squash is low in fat (until you add the cream) and very rich in vitamins.  When stored in a cool place (not freezing), it will last all winter.  Your family will never go hungry when you grow butternut squash.

Will Squash Grow on Trees?

I love butternut squash!  It grows almost wild in my garden because the seeds I put into my worm composting bin come up voluntarily every season.  I have squash all over my garden and also in my flower beds.  This summer Ralph, I name my squash plants, took over the flower bed.  When I say take over, I mean, he grew everywhere, even outside the defines of the bed, over the pathways, down beside the house and into the patio.  So I was about to pull him out when I saw not one but two about to mature squash.  They had been hidden under the leaves.  So I decided to see if he would grow when twined up into the dogwood tree.  

The question is.....will squash grow in trees?  I applied the ecological principle of interiority.  Every living thing and every natural element has interiority, that is they are endowed by the Creator with both a sacredness and an integrity, a wisdom of their own.  Would Ralph, as a squash plant, know how to grow in a tree? 

After a month, I decided that yes, despite the fact a squash plant has not twining abilities, no small clinging tentacles to allow it to attach to a surface, with my help it would grow in the tree.  So the one squash which I carefully nestled in the joint of two limbs matured, turned yellow and it was time to harvest.   I reached for it, tried to lift it from it's nest only to find that it had grown into the limbs of the tree itself.  The only way I can harvest Ralph's offspring is to cut it in half where it rests and take it out in pieces.