AIBU? Butternut squash, sweetcorn.. whats next?! Educate us!

[CocacolaMum]

I am 31 and mum to 2 school aged children. I have got to this point in my life without killing anyone off with my cooking but in the last week I have learnt 2 things..

1. You can bake a butternut squash whole. No peeling, deseeding or anything

2. You can microwave a corn on the cob in its husk (is that what that's called? the leaves?) and then just chop off the ends and it slides out ready to munch

So AIBU to wonder what else I never knew I never knew?

iwantan well this works with any pumpkin type squash thingy.You wash it brush with olive oil or whatever and make a few holes in it with a sharp knife add other veg you like. Put in an oven at about 170C and you have to check it after half an hour or so (because some squashes have larger cavities in than others so take less time than others IFYSWIM).

we always microwave bacon just on a plate for 3 mins if it's good enough for Marco Pierre White...

Also poach eggs in a small amount of water in a frying pan, they cook perfectly.

Yesterday I did mash but boiled the potatoes in their skins then peeled the skins off afterwards, Nigel Slater told me to in one of his books but tbh it was a bloody faff.

I did mean to say that you put the squash \pumpkin in a proper baking tin of course

iwantan so are you saying that a whole squash would take the same amount of cooking time as a halved one then? (good point about the cavities btw).

Unpeeled individual garlic cloves freeze brilliantly. They can be used immediately from frozen. The skins just slip off and they are instantly crushable. Chillies are the same. So are whole tomatoes.

Joliver said the squash should be bunged on a bakin tray and put in the oven for an hour and a half. No oil or anything.

Sorry - meant to address that last post to ppeafruit, not you iwantan

An hour and a half! Surely that can't be right.

Ppeafruit- I also have cooking and freezing days but include the garlic in my recipes.
Why do you leave it out?
Does it make stuff taste better if you add it fresh. Wanted to check before I tried it in case your logic was just that you didn't like garlic...

You can steam a salmon in the dishwasher. True story.

You can put frozen corn on the cob straight from the freezer to the BBQ and they will cook very nicely.

Noooooooooooooooooo. Sausages are much better done really really slowly in a frying pan.

Prima you can also steam a salmon in a steamer, or a pan... Just in case you have been running your dishwasher every time

If you have a potato ricer, you can make great mash by chucking whole potatoes in the oven until cooked. Then you cut them in half and put through the ricer. The skins get left behind in the ricer and you can do what you want with them. Add butter and stir.

You could achieve something similar by microwaving the potatoes too, I guess.

I just bung sausages on a baking tray in the oven too. Much easier.

I know Celia :o
I've never actually done it myself, my dishwasher is always full.

Here's a better one: before roasting a whole duck, prick the skin all over, then pour boiling water from the kettle, then dry with kitchen roll. It will make the fat sub-skin layer melt and the skin get all crispy. Yum.

Sausages Oven Good.

But I still need one of you butternut squash experts to come and tell me exactly how long to cook a whole one for. I'm getting mixed messages.

roast vegetables transform anything

we toast veg without peeling it - just chop and throw into hot oil amd roast._

whatever's left can be boiled up with stock and whizzed for soup
or
whatever's left can be heated in the microwqve and stirred with plain pasta and cheese. this one is gorgeous and needs no extra sauce.

I just saw a recipe for baked eggs - grease a muffin tray (or ramekins), line with ham, put a layer of chopped tomatoes and then some grated cheddar. Crack an egg in each one, shove in the oven til the eggs are set. Really need to try this!

Ikea child cups, the six for a quid coloured ones.
Pringles lids fit them perfectly.
Snack transportation is easy.

Waitrose ready peeled and chopped garlic saves oodles of time and smelly fingers!

Tamzin I'm now . I don't add garlic or fresh ginger before I freeze curries because they seem to 'taint' the dish when heated (probably better to just grate some in after defrosting you also get a 'fresher' flavour (iLOVE garlic BTW )

The thing with the squashes is that nothing is exact IME (there are so many variables) . So you just have to be near the oven after approx half an hour or so and have a nice sharp little skewer or knife ready to 'test' the squash for 'just' softness (if it's too soft then it's not as easy to refry the next day IFYSWIM) but fine if you like it like that)

Oh and if you're on a low carb WOE try doing the same with a spahgetti squash they're fab.

Also the skin of the squashes (especially the lovely orange 'acorn' ones is nice to eat, after being baked of course that's why I brush them with oil)

Tip for bendy carrots: stick in a bowl of water for a few hours. Abel & Cole told my landlady this one when her carrots were arriving slightly bendy (apparently due to the fact that they don't use plastic packing which causes it to retain moisture more easily?)

Sorry I just thought about the fact you can throw whole completely unpeeled onions\shallots and garlic in with your squash and they go lovely and soft inside.

madaki I answered your garlic question above (in Tamzin's answer) sorry I wasn't paying attention I DO know that the longer it's frozen the worse it tastes so fine if its for a week or so.

This is the most useful thread I've read for ages! I love butternut squash and red pepper soup but find peeling and chopping the squash a right pain. But now I can just chuck it in the oven!

This may be an obvious one but cooking rice by the absorbtion method is the easiest for me.

• Rinse 150g rice, add 375ml water (serves 2)
• Bring to the boil without the lid on, stir once, put the lid on, put in the lowest light you can and don't touch it again.
• It will be ready in about 12-15 mins. If you're not sure, tip it slightly to the side. If you can't see any water it's ready.