Blue hubbard squash, harvested on Oct. 11, 2012 (Click on photo to enlarge.)
Noticed a little brown spot on my in-storage blue hubbard squash, an indication it is going to go bad. Not wanting to lose the entire squash, decided to use it immediately. Actually I am quite surprised that it kept so well for so long. It was not quite ready when I harvested it in October, but because wide spread frost was in the forecast, ready or not I had to bring it in or risk losing it all together.
Cross section of the blue hubbard. Notice the little brown spot on the right half.
Peeled, seeded and cut into about 1¼-inch cubes. The cubed squash weighed about 4½ pounds (that’s a lot of squash), so decided to bake it (at convection 350°F or 375° regular for 35 minutes) using 2 different flavors.
Left tray: tossed with maple syrup and a pinch of salt
Right tray: tossed with garlic slices, ginger slices, oil, salt and ground white pepper
Served part of the squash cubes flavored with garlic and ginger as a side dish for dinner. Did not like the texture.
Used some of the same squash cubes to make a Cream of Squash Soup (left photo). Liked this a lot. Loved the contrast of the pine nuts and the velvety texture of the soup. (Substitute any cooked winter squash for the blue hubbard squash.)
Do not have a recipe, but this is what I did:
◊ Add baked squash to broth (vegetable or chicken. I used chicken broth from my freezzer), bring to a boil and simmer for 5 minutes.
◊ Add freshly grated nutmeg.
◊ Puree using a stick blender. Salt & pepper to taste.
◊ Garnish with scallion green, pinenuts and a few drops of Asian sesame oil. (I think some heavy cream and a pat of butter would be nice too.)
The scallion green is from my windowsill garden. That was my harvest for the week.
Not sure what I want to do with the tray flavored with maple syrup (tasted a few cubes but again did not like the texture). So placed all the cubes into freezer bag, dated, labelled and placed in freezer. Will think of something at a later date. This also give me the opportunity to find out if blue hubbard squash freezes well.
◊ ◊ ◊
Gardening Tip
Many gardeners are already busy with indoor seed starting. Click here for Two (2) Must Have Seed Starting Tools. They are two of my indispensible seed starting tools and I think they will become yours too.
… … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … …
Copyright © by Norma Chang. All Rights Reserved. Do not use/repost any photos and/or articles without permission.
Visit Daphne’s Dandelions http://daphnesdandelions.blogspot.com/ for more Harvest Mondays
Garden to Wok 
Norma, that is a beauty of a squash. I have not had that type but your soup looks so creamy and delicious but with a little crunch of the pine nuts. Take care, BAM
Hello Bam,
It was very creamy and the crunch from the pine nuts made a delicious contrast.
Hi Norma, I have just started reading your blog. It is so friendly and informative. You inspire me to start some seeds. I have to stop by in Spring to see your garden. Hi to YT.
Hello Kusum,
Thank you and thanks for visiting. What are you planting? Looking forward to seeing you in spring.
I don’t think I have ever had this kind of squash. The soup looks very creamy and delicious, Norma.
Hello Angie,
The soup was creamy and delicious.
My winter squashes stored very well this year too. I recently had to toss the remaining ones though as the sudden onset of bad spots just ran through the lot of it like wildfire. We had a good run on them for a long time though before that happened. Your squash soup looks and sounds heavenly.
Hello Laura,
Sorry to hear about your squash loss, I had no idea bad spots could run through the lot. Were they stacked together? I keep space between each of my squash but should go and check to see if all is well.
What a lovely looking alternative squash! Looks fab & so does the interior! 🙂 Yummy!
Hello Sophie,
It is an unusual looking squash with a lovely blue color.
I love it that you are so experimental. But I wish your experiment was farther along, because I am down to my last winter squash, a beautiful 5 lb butternut. Some will go into a squash and apple casserole, some will go into butternut soup, definitely with cream, and some will go— where? Freezer? or a casserole with roast pork?
Hello Lou,
Butternut squash with roast pork casserole, that sounds great, may be that’s what I should do with my maple syrup roasted squash, but on the other hand it may be too sweet, need to give this idea some thoughts.
looks delicious!!
Hello RRB,
It was delicious.
Norma, I am still amazed that your squash keep as long as they do. I have tried storing some in my garage and they never seem to last more than a couple of weeks!
Hello Alyssa,
Where you are maybe your garage is too warm or if your squash was purchased from a food market it may be hanging around for a while before you purchased it.
Pie? Or souffle? since it already has something sweet I’d go for – Oh…. pumpkin whoopie pies. LOL… pumpkin smoothies…but then again I’m not against pureed with a little brown sugar and choppped pecans on top if the texture is bad. LOL.
Hello Barbie,
Souffle sounds good (I am not a pie person). Pureed and topped with chopped pecans would be nice, that’s what I will do, thanks.
I wondered also if the maple flavoured squash could be turned into pie? Love the soup – we roast our pumpkin (as we call them here) before making soup as well – it seems to enhance the flavour!
Hello Celia,
I am sure it could be pureed and turn into pie. Yes, roasting the squash does enchance the flavor, I really love it.
Your squash looks divine my friend, delicious flavour and wonderful colour 🙂
Cheers
Choc Chip Uru
Hello Uru,
Thanks.
Love the look of your squash. I don’t think I’ve heard of that variety before. I hope it proves it freezes well xx
Hello Charlie,
There are so many different varieties of winter squash, it is impossible to know them all. I hope it freezes well too.
That squash was a real beauty, Norma, and no wonder you picked it before the frost hit. Would have been a shame to lose it. Great idea, too, of not just roasting it but, also, using 2 different sets of seasonings. That will give you so much more latitude when it comes time to further prepare it.
Hello John,
Yes, it is a good looking squash but I will not be growing it again, occupied a lot of real estate for just 1 underweight squash.
Thanks. Some days my brain works well and comes up with great ideas.
That’s a beautiful squash. The blue hubbard is a common New England variety. Because they are so large, the stores usually break them into pieces and sell the pieces by weight. A common use is whipped squash, essentially pureed with butter and sweetener, maybe brown sugar or maple syrup. The hubbard is also used for squash pie (like pumpkin, but lighter colored and a more delicate flavor). You can also put the puree into waffles or pancakes. Or bake it in a casserole with a pecan streusel.
Hello Dave,
I did not know blue hubbard squash is a New England variety, learned something new, thanks. Unfortunately mine was very underweight, only 7 pounds (the package said 15-40 pounds). Thanks also for the cooking information, I will go for the puree with butter and maple syrup.
Norma, can I ask what you didn’t like about the texture? I am funny like that too so was curious. Otherwise, the squash is so pretty and colourful. Soup is always a good squash choice. Maybe you can mash the other one with some potatoes? Like a purée of sorts.
Hello Nazneen,
It had a little crunch to it which I did not expect and caught me off guard (I think it would hold up well in a stew), but it pureed to a silky texture which surprised me and made me very happy. I think I am going to puree it with some butter and maybe a bit more maple syrup and garnish with chopped toasted nuts and toasted coconut.
I have never heard of the name here Down Under and the shape is new also: but am grateful for all the ideas I have garnered to use during our coming pumpkin season! One benefit of having to read the post so long after all the others 🙂 !
Hello Eha,
I learned from one of the bloggers that blue hubbard is a common New England variety.
Maybe you could do some kind of Thai-inspired soup, with a sweet and citrusy flavor?
Hello Lisa,
Great ideas, thanks.
This squash looks great. I wondered what you were going to do with such a huge squash, but your soup looks so tasty. I could eat that everyday! I agree with you – the sweetened squash topped with mixed nuts and maybe a dollop of whipped cream!
Hello Tokyohamster,
Oh top with whipped cream sounds delicious, I will sprinkle on some toasted coconut too.
Ooo that sounds great!
I love a pumpkin (or squash as you call it) soup. Ginger and garlic are great flavours to use in it. I particularly like mine with curry spices as well.
Hello Liz,
I had thought of adding curry to the soup but then decided agaianst it.
Ooohhh…that soup looks (and sounds) absolutely perfect!
Hello Melissa,
I really liked it a lot, so silky smooth.
I’ve never had this kind of squash before nor I’ve seen one. But the inside looks very much the same and that photo of your creamy soup is very inviting. I hope you are having a wonderful week, Norma! Stay warm. 🙂
Hello Ray,
I found out that blue hubbard squash is a common variety in New England. The soup was delicious, any winter squash will make good substitute. A wonderful week to you too.
Yum~ the soup looks delicious!
I’ve never had hubbard squash before, just curious how would you compare the texture squash to kabocha squash?
Hello Mac,
I like the taste and texture of the kabocha squash a lot better. That was my first and my last time growing blue hubbard.
What a beautiful specimen from your garden, and it is indeed amazing it has lasted this long. You’ll be out there growing new things in no time. Although they are claiming we are going to be belted with another 10-20 cm of snow tonight. I’ve had enough…it’s been a hard winter. Of course, I’m still coughing and croaking so perhaps that’s what’s getting to me and not the weather.
There is something so incredibly creamy about a squash soup, my palette tastes as if whipping cream was added, it’s just so rich and luxurious. I love the contrast in textures with the pine nuts too. Our chef in Lyon added vanilla to his pumpkin so I suspect adding it to squash might have the same effect…I’m still a bit out on that one, not entirely my taste, but perhaps it’s something one needs to acquire!
Hello Eva,
Weather the way it is, I am wondering when I will be able to get into the garden, many areas are still snow covered.
Vanilla in savory soup, not sure, cinnamon perhaps or may be a touch of curry.
So sorry to learn you have not fully recovered, let’s hope spring comes real soon and with the warmer weather better health.
What a great looking blue squash!
Hello YC,
It does have a nice blue color.
Wow, that was a large squash that you were able to use for several meals. The soup looks and sounds delicious!
Hello Foodie,
Actually it is small, only weighed 7 pounds, the seed package said 15 – 40 pounds. Cannot imagine what a 40 pounds squash would look like.
I adore this paired with a fine dusting of nutmeg…your green thumb prowess never ceases to amaze me, Norma!
Hello SM,
Don’t know about “green thumb prowess”, I have my share of failures.
It is so nice that you are able to snip the scallions that you need from your windowsill garden when cooking. I also really like to idea of adding pine nuts to your squash soup. I might add a little drizzle of walnut oil. Now I’m hungry!
Hello Barb,
Yes it is especially when all I need is a bit for garnish. Your walnut oil sounds great and made me think why not truffle oil????? That would surely kick it up a notch!!!!!
Oh yes, that’s a great idea!
Roasting squash is my fave! So many options, such a lovely vegetable.
Hello Natalie,
Thanks. Roasting squash does concentrate the favor.
Dear Norma,
Your soup looks so hearty especially for the cold weather. I love roasting squash and pumpkin in winter as it gives the kitchen such wonderful aromas as well as keeping the place warm.
Hello Chopin,
Agree, roasting also concentrates the squash flavor and makes it so much tastier. I am so ready for spring and warmer weather.
My girlfriend used to serve blue hubbard squash at Thanksgiving. She roasted it, mashed it and topped it with butter.
Hello Karen,
I will try this method with the blue hubbard I have in the freezer.