… in the same way petting a cat is healthy. Relieves stress, you know?
I’m lying. Cutting this f*&^ing butternut squash relieved no stress. It made me furious.
I’m sure all you experienced butternut squash cutters will look at this disaster below and pick out at least five things I’ve done wrong, but whatever. This is not intuitive.
Oh, and peeling this f*^%ing butternut squash? What a joke. The lady on the Google tutorial that I spent approximately 3 seconds searching for made it seem like a breeze. I tried it, then went back to the tutorial, expecting to find the words PSYCH! written at the end.
Remember when we used to say “psych!” at every opportunity back in the 90s? I’m trying to bring it back. It’s, like, slang. From England.
Anyway, I was making Angela’s vegan mac & cheeze. Although I wouldn’t exactly call it mac & cheese, it’s GOOD. Excellent, in fact. I kept eating the sauce straight out of the blender. If you’re skeptical about the taste of nutritional yeast, you don’t need to be with this recipe. It’s smooth, slightly sweet and creamy. Perfect comfort food, and vegan! I’m so impressed. And stuffed.
February 2, 2012 at 22:40
My potato peeler worked great. But i can see how it would be hard to peel, thick-skinned little things.
February 2, 2012 at 22:40
Well, not so little.
February 2, 2012 at 22:44
Yeah, I used my peeler! It worked OK, in some parts. Other parts I had to use the knife. Very frustrating!
February 3, 2012 at 02:13
Peeling and chopping a butternut squash is so stressful and almost painful! However it’s quite enjoyable because afterwards I feel so satisfied and accomplished.
February 3, 2012 at 11:58
I’m glad to know other people had this problem as well! But yes, you’re right about feeling satisfied after. I felt like I’d accomplished something grand!
February 3, 2012 at 14:28
Hint: don’t peel the squash. Cut it in half, (or mangle it in half), bake it, THEN pull off that peel. SO easy, so much less waste, still get baked/roasted squash at the end.
I know this, because the cutting options in my kitchen include: (4) steak knives and (1) bread knife. Know what doesn’t really cut a butternut squash (or anything)? A steak knife.
February 3, 2012 at 16:08
Ha! I’ve actually snapped steak knives in half before trying to cut things. Luckily the place I moved into this time around had semi-nice knives, but historically it’s been the steak knife for all my cutting needs.
Peeling after sounds so much easier. I’ll be giving that a try.
February 4, 2012 at 16:25
I’m never cooked with nutritional yeast before – it freaks me out! I’m so curious to try those “cheeze” sauces that use it though, I’m going to have to try it.
February 6, 2012 at 18:50
It’s definitely a weird flavor. I’m not the biggest fan of plain cheeze sauce. It’s ok, but it works in sauces like the butternut squash dish.
February 5, 2012 at 14:05
Luckily, Trader Joe’s sells pre-cut squash. If I don’t pick that up, I usually cut it in half, slice off the bottom so it sits upright, but flat, and then peel down the sides, like a pineapple. I will then cut off the flesh so that a little “core” with seeds remains. Seems to work well for the most part.
February 6, 2012 at 18:47
I’m jealous of your talent! Maybe I just had a stubborn one though.
Oh, and I MISS Trader Joe’s!
February 7, 2012 at 22:22
Oh man, I posted about that a while back! I had no idea how difficult those were to chop and peel! From now on, I’m going to have to be in quite a butternut squash mood to go through the hassle again:)
February 8, 2012 at 08:37
I was thinking the same! Or buy pre-peeled + chopped. But that seems like a cop out. Why do they have to be so good??