It’s decorative gourd season, everyone. Unfortunately, you can’t eat a decorative gourd, but you can enjoy their less lumpy cousins: the squash. If you’ve never cooked squash before, this recipe is a great place to begin. Because it only has three steps – cut, spoon and bake – it is remarkably college- student-proof. It takes just five minutes to assemble your squash, and then you can get back to studying for your midterms. Meanwhile, the vegetable in your oven will quietly transform itself into dessert-for-dinner. By the time you’re ready to eat, every spoonful of the warm, buttery squash will be saturated with everyone’s favorite fall flavors: cinnamon, maple and sugar. Adding walnuts will make this dish more filling, and you can include dried cranberries as a bright, tart note to cut through the sweetness. As an added bonus, roast the seeds of your squash with some olive oil and salt. Although separating the seeds from the squash pulp may seem like a chore, your efforts will be rewarded with a startlingly addictive snack. Serves four.

Ingredients:

Squash:

2 acorn squash

4 Tbsp of butter

4 Tbsp of brown sugar

1/4 cup of maple syrup

Cinnamon

Walnuts (optional)

Dried cranberries (optional)

Seeds:

Acorn squash seeds

2 Tbsp of olive oil

Salt

Process:

Squash:

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.

Split the acorn squash in half lengthwise. You may have to split the halves somewhat unequally because it is difficult to cut through the squash’s woody stem. Make sure to place a dishtowel under your cutting board while splitting the squash to prevent slipping, amputation and death.

Scoop out the pulpy center of the squash with a spoon, and set it aside so that you can separate the seeds out later.

Poke some holes in the skin of the sides and bottom of the squash with a knife.

Place the squash in a foil-lined pan.

Add a tablespoon each of butter and brown sugar to the hollow of the squash and divide the maple syrup between the four squash halves.

Sprinkle cinnamon over the squash and into the hollow.

Pour some water into the bottom of the pan around the squash until there is about a quarter of an inch covering the bottom. This creates a water bath for the squash, which will keep them from drying out while baking.

Bake for 50 minutes to an hour, or until the squash is tender and the top is slightly browned.

Add walnuts and dried cranberries to the

hollow of each squash half and enjoy.

Seeds:

In a strainer or colander, rinse and pull the pulp from the seeds.

Dry the seeds thoroughly and transfer them to a baking sheet.

Coat the seeds with olive oil and sprinkle with salt.

Bake at 275 degrees for 15-20 minutes, until seeds are golden brown.

Contact Claire Littlefield at [email protected] and Emma Ellis at [email protected].