<p>dmd77 - at least your roasted potatoes take as long as mine 
You are very efficient!</p>
<p>What is so special about Penzeys? We do not have one, but is it worth visiting when I am travelling?</p>
<p>Penzeys has a huge variety of reasonably priced fresh spices and dried herbs. By the way, their gift packs make great gifts for students with new apartments.
[Penzeys</a> Spices Home Page](<a href=āhttp://www.penzeys.com/]Penzeysā>http://www.penzeys.com/)</p>
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<p>Nice! How long do you roast it then?</p>
<p>dmdādo you peel the squash before roasting? I am looking forward to lots of squash soup in the fall, but I roast, then peel, which takes a while and necessitates waiting for it to cool a bit. Whatās your method?</p>
<p>(dinner sounded yummy.)</p>
<p>Garland - I donāt peel my squash before roasting. I thought it would stay a little moister, but maybe not.</p>
<p>If you are not using the squash for soup, the delicata squash is soooo good and the skin is edible.</p>
<p>I cook squash by cutting it in half and putting it cut-side-down in a roasting pan (silpat). I add water to about 1/2" deep. No peeling, no nothing. I roast at somewhere around 350 to 400 (depending on what else Iām cooking at the same time) until it is easy to stick a knife in it (usually around 30 to 60 min). Then I scoop it out of the shell (with a spoon) and toss the shell on the compost pile.</p>
<p>(And I cook the chicken until itās done. Timing is so dependent on how thick it is, whether itās been brined, etc. If necessary, I just cut into it to check. But I saw on a cooking show that you can tell how done it is by poking, so now Iām trying poking before I slice.)</p>
<p>Penzeyās in person is SO MUCH BETTER than the UPS truck. I took DH there yesterday (for the first timeāand Iāve been buying their spices for ten years!) and he really got interested in opening all the jars and sniffing and tasting. I bought way more spices than Iād planned toāwhich is not a problem!</p>
<p>Okay, dmd, thatās basically what I do, except I try to actually peel it off after roasting. Never thought of scooping with a spoon. Cool! (I use butternut from the garden, workinpādefinitely not edible peel.)</p>
<p>OK - now please talk about canning tomatoes :)</p>
<p>I made butternut squash soup the other day (with onions, chiles, curry powder, milk), but I peeled and cut it up raw, added to cooked onions and chiles, covered with water and cooked. I hate cutting and peeling it when itās raw, itās so hard to do. Maybe Iāll modify the recipe to use dmd77ās method.</p>
<p>I love Penzeyās! About a dozen different kinds of cinnamon alone. We have one about 40 mins away, and I get there occasionally.</p>
<p>I donāt can tomatoes, I just wash, dry, place in ziploc bag and freeze. When needed, I take them out and either stick them in hot water (skin will come off) or just thaw slightly chop and cook. They need to be cooked as they will be very soft, but they taste great.</p>
<p>Iāve started using quinoa recently since S2 became a vegetarian. I tried it a few years ago, using a brand I picked up in the store, and hated it. Iāve learned more recently that this is considered the best brand, it tastes great, and it doesnāt have to be washed ahead of time:</p>
<p>[Bobās</a> Red Mill Organic Grain Quinoa, 26-Ounce Packages (Pack of 4): Amazon.com: Gateway](<a href=āhttp://www.amazon.com/Bobs-Red-Mill-26-Ounce-Packages/dp/B000EDG3UE/ref=sr_1_1?s=gateway&ie=UTF8&qid=1285682033&sr=8-1]Bobāsā>http://www.amazon.com/Bobs-Red-Mill-26-Ounce-Packages/dp/B000EDG3UE/ref=sr_1_1?s=gateway&ie=UTF8&qid=1285682033&sr=8-1)</p>
<p>I buy it in bulk (4 large packages at a time) from Amazon and store in freezer. Iāve found some good recipes, for example:</p>
<p>[Curried</a> Quinoa Salad with Mango Recipe at Epicurious.com](<a href=āhttp://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Curried-Quinoa-Salad-with-Mango-232544]Curriedā>http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Curried-Quinoa-Salad-with-Mango-232544)</p>
<p>[Roasted</a> Vegetable and Quinoa Salad Recipe - MyRecipes.com](<a href=āhttp://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=1809152]Roastedā>http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=1809152)</p>
<p>[Quinoa</a> and Black Beans Recipe - Allrecipes.com](<a href=āhttp://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Quinoa-and-Black-Beans/Detail.aspx]Quinoaā>http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Quinoa-and-Black-Beans/Detail.aspx)</p>
<p>These three sources have many quinoa recipes, rated and reviewed.</p>
<p>I didnāt realize that tomatoes could be frozen, Mom2M. Iāll have to try your method, now that I am worried about chemicals leaching into canned tomatoes (a staple around here).</p>
<p>I also freeze tomatoes. I donāt bother taking the skin off when I use them, though, as I just puree the heck out of them in my blender, then cook down for a fresh sauce.</p>
<p>Even while working we ate from scratch. I would cook up a storm on Saturday or Sunday and we had leftovers that week. In about 3-4 hours, I had meals ready for the week. Much less time than doing it every night.</p>
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<p>Whole Foods sells butternut squash already cut up. Totally worth the expense, IMHO.</p>
<p>I agree it would be. Unfortunately, I shall have to continue peeling (using the roast-first method), because my Hās garden doesnāt.:D</p>
<p>TJs sells it cut up too though Iād hold out for garlandās husbandās!</p>
<p>I find the roast-first-then-scoop method has two advantages: first, itās easier, and second, the roasting adds a bit of sweetness as the sugars brown (a series of reactions called Maillard reactions, very cool chemistry: [Maillard</a> reaction - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia](<a href=āhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maillard_reaction]Maillardā>Maillard reaction - Wikipedia)).</p>
<p>Iām not much of a cook but we seldom eat prepared foods. I have always worked as a full-time professional and we always eat dinner together as a family. </p>
<p>I just keep it basic. You know, some veggies, raw, steamed, sometimes grilled. Some protein like free range chicken, fish, occasional steak. Baked, grilled, broiled. And some starch, like rice, potatoes, pasta. I donāt make my own pasta though. If one of us thinks ahead, we spend 10 minutes throwing some meat in the slow cooker with potatoes, spices, veggies, and its ready at dinner. </p>
<p>I usually pick it up on the way home, maybe for two nights in a row so we tend to eat fresh and whats on sale. </p>
<p>I feel like Iām missing something though. I dunno. But I donāt really find it more than 20 minutes out of my day. Maybe the food I make is just boring.</p>
<p>I tried making squash soup with the cut-it-up-and-peel-the-chunks method of dealing with the squash. It cooks much faster that way, but it does take a lot more time to cut up and peel the squash. OTOHāyouāre not using the oven if itās a hot day!</p>