Squash Chronicles: A Winter Stew That'll Win a Place in Your Regular Rotation

Whether you call them gourds, squash, or cucurbits—I'll never forget one of the nerdiest (and funniest) quotes from a seed breeders' conference I attended was from legendary seed breeder John Navazio who said, "Cucurbits were bottle-necked a long time ago."*—they are found in nearly every cuisine in the world and seem to have the chameleon-like ability to complement every one of their unique profiles. Think squash is just butternut and acorn? Think again… local farmers are growing a rainbow of new, flavorful varieties! From soups and main dishes to desserts and even sorbets, squash has come a long way from the days when pumpkin, butternut and acorn were the only squashes available at grocery stores. Dull in flavor and overbred, they were nothing like the plethora of varieties now available at local farmers' markets and co-ops and greengrocers, with names like Musquée de Provence, Black Futsu, Kuri and our own Pacific Northwest variety, Lower Salmon River. One variety I'm particularly…