but I've kept my last lentil-squash dish in the fridge for at least a month and it's still good 

Squash freezes pretty well, because it is such a dense vegetable (not like your lettices or whole tomatoes, etc).
My favorites are: butternut and acorn squash. They have about 10 million different uses. You can mash them, simply, like potatoes, or make amazing soups/purees out of them, or you can make squash latkes (like potato latkes), hash browns, curries... like I said, endless. The other nice thing about squash is how big they usually are. One butternut squash, depending on what you're making, can be anywhere from 1-5 different preparations.
A simple squash soup:
1) cut the squash in half length-wise and deseed(whichever type, but not spaghetti squash)
2) drizzle a little olive oil, salt and pepper (light on the pepper, as it tends to burn in high temps) onto the halves and put in a baking pan face up. Pour some boiling water around the squash until it comes up to about halfway on the squash
3) bake at 350 until you can easily insert a fork and it comes out clean (like you would want for mashed potatoes)
[[4)While that is cooling, sautee some onions and mushrooms in a pan]]
5) scoop out the squash into a blender, add some vegetable stock/chicken stock and start blending together. If you did step 4, go ahead and add those ingredients in too (I do step 4 because I love onions and mushrooms)
6) as this mixture is blending together, decide which way you want the soup to go:
Southwestern? Add in some cumin, cayenne pepper, and chili
powder, salt, and pepper
My favorite: add in some allspice, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt and
pepper
7) add in your spice blend, and some cream for consistency and
creaminess
This is a very basic version of the soup...it can really go a bunch of different ways. I tend to like it as a nice blend of savory and spicy
As a side note: the reason why I said not to use spaghetti squash earlier, is due to the fact that it does not mash up. It has a very fibrous, stringy inside. Now, although this sounds disgusting, it isn't. The inside breaks apart like, well, spaghetti. It makes an interesting substitute for spaghetti sometimes, if you're trying to avoid grains. I've used spaghetti squash in place of angel hair for a couple of dishes...it definitely doesn't taste like pasta though, so be warned

This message last edited by lyringlas on 25/03/2010 at 03:51:21 PM
Eating like you're poor....
24/03/2010 09:08:18 PM
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Student food: Pasta with lentils + canned tomatoes
24/03/2010 09:19:46 PM
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That sounds really good!
24/03/2010 10:33:09 PM
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the problem with "Eating poor"
24/03/2010 09:50:42 PM
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Exactly, and that's what I'm trying to avoid!
24/03/2010 10:45:19 PM
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Lentils are really easy
24/03/2010 11:35:47 PM
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Seems like it shouldn't be too tough
25/03/2010 04:16:07 AM
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sorry, I have no idea how squash freezes
25/03/2010 12:03:53 PM
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Re: sorry, I have no idea how squash freezes
25/03/2010 03:50:30 PM
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Yogurt with a spoonful of jam / preserve mixed with nuts is AMAZING. One of my favorites. *NM*
25/03/2010 04:15:16 PM
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I used to be poor and we didn't eat so good
25/03/2010 01:52:20 PM
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You can eat perfectly fine on a minimal budget
25/03/2010 03:13:59 PM
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I don't disagree that you can eat healthy on a budget
25/03/2010 05:37:41 PM
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I expect
25/03/2010 05:56:55 PM
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