A couple of days after arriving back in Atlanta from Mexico, we received the first new box of vegetables from our CSA in a couple of weeks. Inside was an assortment of winter veggies, including some small but good-looking butternut squashes. Butternut squashes have a thick rind, and can keep for over a month. Because it can be peeled and cubed, it is a great substitute for potatoes in soups and stews. Its buttery, nutty flavor (hence the name) means that it does not need too much livening up – it has great flavor all on its own. When you are selecting a squash from the market you just want to make sure that it feels surprisingly heavy for its size, and that the squash has a very firm rind – this will insure that the squash flesh is firm, not watery.

While on the beach one day Maureen let me borrow her February copy of “Cuisine at Home” magazine, which lucky for me I still had in my beach bag (oops – sorry Maureen!). In it there was an article on butternut squash featuring a South American stew recipe. It provided a hearty winter meal and was perfect with some crusty Italian bread we happened to have left over. I really recommend you try this one; it is very easy to prepare. Because of the natural flavor of the squash, you could leave out the smoked paprika. I for one really like the smoky combination with the sausage however. One final caution: don’t invite too many folks over to share – you will DEFINITELY want left overs of this one.