Aside from the smell and taste of food, it’s the colors in cooking that really excite me. And, butternut squash is one vegetable that has every capacity to stir the appetite and the imagination when it’s presented as an ingredient. It’s buff colored skin, complete with a slightly shiny surface, is at once pleasing and comforting.

Using a French knife, cut open this winter squash and boom, it’s a bright rendition of pure sunlight and in possession of a depth of color any artist would be happy to work with.

This splash of culinary color has a rich history as well. Archaeological discoveries place the butternut squash among Native American Indians as far back as two thousand years ago. It’s obvious that the butternut squash was an ingredient in the diet of the ancients.

A staple on Thanksgiving tables, the butternut squash has been enveloped in blankets of miniature marshmallows, layers of brown sugar and accentuated with coconut and other sweet enhancements.

The easiest way to prepare a butternut squash for the table is to first slice it in half lengthwise. Use a heavy spoon to scoop out the seeds. Next, pour about an inch of hot water into a glass baking dish of appropriate size. Lay the squash halves in the water, cut side down. Place in a preheated 375 degree oven and bake for about an hour.

You’ll know the squash is cooked when a knife pierces the flesh unhampered and slides in effortlessly. Remove it from the oven, turn the squash over and allow it to cool.

When you’re able to handle it, scoop the cooked flesh into a mixing bowl and then jazz it up with some brown sugar, a pinch of cinnamon and maybe a pat of butter. This mixture can be refrigerated and then heated in a saute pan for dinner. Or, pop it into a greased baking dish and bake until heated through.

Acorn squash can be prepared and cooked in the same baking dish as the butternut, cooled and then scooped out and mixed with the butternut squash for an interesting combination.

Due to the smooth texture of cooked butternut squash, it’s really great when used as a soup base. I like to bake the ingredients for a wonderful soup I’ve created called Butternut Blast. It’s a soup loaded with the colors of the sun and flavors of the earths bounty.