I’ve completely thrown seasonal cooking to the wind when it comes to baby food. To be honest, it was an inner struggle for weeks leading up to my decision. We’re all about seasonal food – simply put, it tastes far superior to hot house multi-continent shipped produce. That being said, I also wanted to give Henry a wider variety of foods, and hopefully instill in him a like, enjoyment and glee for all food. Though summer time seems to contain the most abundant in-season produce selection there was something in me that really wanted him to try everything. I didn’t want to create a picky kid. I am picky enough for this entire household. He shall not steal my crown.

Of course the toddler years are right ahead of us and I hear these walking tornadoes can be absolutely in love with peas and carrots at lunch and thumb their noses at them during dinner. It scares me. I’m not the kind of mom who will spend an hour fixing dinner, place it in front of my kid, he refuses to eat, and then spend another hour fixing something else to entice his enormous appetite. It’s just not going to happen. I really dislike doing dishes.

So I wanted to conclude our orange rampage with my most loathed vegetable (which is tied in the lead with lima beans, brussels sprouts, beets, asparagus, fennel, eggplant, okra, sugar snap and snow peas, and pretty much every other vegetable) squash. As with most orange vegetables, they seem to have a higher sugar content which means baby devours them without complaint (why this didn’t work on me I shall never know). I made acorn and butternut, and once the orange effects start dissipating I might introduce some spaghetti squash and pumpkin in the fall months.

We used the same method here as the past two: 1 pound to 1 cup vegetable to water, it’s just the magic ratio for us, though I’m finding as we get into fruit and green things this ratio changes. I also just gave these to Henry straight up, no spices added or anything fancy. I’m actually not even sure what goes with squash since I have not eaten it since I was force fed it at the age of 8. I’m thinking perhaps some black lentils or curry powder would go well, but I’m really unsure. How would you serve it to your wee tots?

Acorn Squash Puree
Makes about 2 cups or 15 1-ounce cubes

1 2-pound acorn squash, once skin, seeds, and guts were removed I had about 1 pound of flesh
1 cup water

Peel and divide acorn squash and remove inner seeds and guts. Cut into roughly 1-inch pieces. Place squash and water in a sauce pan over medium heat. Bring to boil, then reduce heat, cover and simmer for 25 minutes or until squash can easily be mashed with the back of a fork or spoon without resistance. Remove squash from heat, and let it cool in liquid. Puree squash and liquid together until smooth, then freeze in small portions.

Future Purees: I’m not sure about pairings, I’m thinking black lentils and a few pinches of curry powder would work well, or a few pinches of cumin and ginger — though I’d love to hear all the ideas you all have. I do think, however, for future purees I will probably cut the squash into wedges and then roast them in a 350-degree oven. The skins will shrivel a bit and the flesh will become super soft and velvety and will slide right out of the skin.

Butternut Squash Puree
Makes about 2 cups or 15 1-ounce cubes

1 1.5-pound butternut squash
1 cup water

Peel and divide butternut squash and remove inner seeds and guts. Cut into roughly 1-inch pieces. Place squash and water in a saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat, cover and simmer for 25 minutes or until the squash can easily be mashed with the back of a fork or spoon without resistance. Remove squash from heat, and let it cool in it’s liquid. Puree squash and liquid together until smooth, then freeze in small portions.

Future Purees: Again, folks, not to sound like a broken record, but what could you/would you add to butternut squash to make it more interesting? Baby gobbles it up regardless, but now that we’ve introduced it I would love to start dressing it up a bit, giving his palette more flavor. I’m thinking caramelized onions with sage would be good — I mean everything tastes better with something caramelized; I’ve also seen a lot of winter squash recipes that include chickpeas. Help a mama out here.