Hilary Schwab, the Edible Garden Girl, teaches us to grow and cook pumpkins and butternut squash

Hello! I am Hilary Schwab, a professional photographer who created the Edible Garden Girl blog to illustrate my love of gardening and cooking. My goal is to share my world with you — and hopefully teach you something new: ediblegardengirl.com.

This project is dedicated to my dad’s memory, Ed Schwab, who in 1978 bought a parcel of land in Stanardsville, VA, and started the vineyard and winery named Autumn Hill. His love of wine, food, and nature has always inspired me.

Star of the Month: Pumpkins and Squash

Did you know: Your body uses beta-carotene and converts it to vitamin A, which is important for eye health. Vitamin A helps your retina process and absorb light. Just one cup of pumpkin provides you with more than 200% of the recommended daily amount of vitamin A. You can even use pumpkin as a face mask that both soothes and exfoliates.

Gardening tip: This hard squash with a long neck and short bulb grows on a vine, and is simple to grow from seeds.

• Plant 4-5 seeds in a small circle in full sun after the last frost in the spring (usually the second week of May).
• It usually takes about 50 days to the first harvest.
• I plant my squash in my flower beds in my front yard, where the good morning sun is perfect for growing veggies. The vines wander around the beds, and the flowers attract pollinators to the plants.
• Each vine can produce many fruits. Plants will keep producing until the first frost in the fall.

You will know when the squash is ready to be harvested when the skin turns from a green color to a smooth cream color. Let it stay on the vine for a week or so after this so the vegetable can cure or sweeten. It is a hard squash when ripe; if it is soft, then it is rotten—the harvested squash stores well in a cool, dry place for a few months.

Butternut Squash is a good source of fiber. It is packed with vitamin C, magnesium, and potassium. Rarely eaten raw, it is usually roasted or pureed in soups or pies.

Let’s Make Roasted Butternut Squash Salad

You’ll need:

• 1 cup roasted butternut squash (see how to make it below)
• 2 cups fresh arugula
• 1/2 cup goat cheese, crumbled
• 1/2 cup pecan pieces (or your favorite nuts — unless, of course, you are allergic!)
• 1/2 + 1 T olive oil
• 1/4 t. salt
• 1/8 t. black pepper

Here’s how: Makes two servings

1. preheat oven to 400-degrees.
2. Peel and seed a fresh butternut squash and cut into 1-inch chunks, put into a mixing bowl.
3. Toss with 1/2 T olive oil, and spread pieces onto a baking sheet.
4. Roast for 25 minutes; loosen and turn squash pieces, then return to the oven for another 20 minutes.
5. Return to the clean mixing bowl and let the squash cool for about an hour in the refrigerator.
6. Prepare: In a large salad bowl or your favorite serving plate, place a layer of the arugula on the bottom of the dish. Top with squash and crumbles of cheese, then toss in the nuts. Drizzle olive oil over the top and add salt and pepper to taste.

Hungry for more?

• After watching this video, check out my blog ediblegardengirl.com for more recipes and gardening tips, such as making this simple appetizer fresh from the garden: Basil Bruschetta.
• Stay tuned for more episodes of the Edible Garden Girl TV show on BeInkandescent Health & Wellness magazine and my playlist on Inkandescent.tv.
• You can also learn more about me and my background on Inkandescent Women magazine.

*Here’s to your health!” — Hilary