Dark Days Challenge Meal

There is something wonderful about eating your own garden produce in January, when there's a foot of snow outside and a wind chill not unlike Antarctica! Last night we roasted a ham from our home-grown Berkshire pork. It was great! But, what was truly the surprise of the night was the roasted Delicata squash. The two small ones we cooked had been stored in the house, in our cool back room. Now, we've always noticed the difference between our vine-ripened winter squash and the under-ripe offerings in the grocery store. But this is the first time we'd had enough Delicata left to 'mature' this long. It was divine - the aging process had left it dense but creamy, with complex butterscotch or caramel notes. Delicata is normally eaten when a creamy yellow colour with green stripes; this one was completely pale yellow. There is one small one left; we'll eat it soon! And I can hardly wait to see how the Hubbard and Acorn, still in the root cellar, are developing!