Butternut squash is not one of my favourite things to cook, I used to roast it in halves and then shred the flesh out with a fork until I made a very silly mistake. Home alone (hubby had a late meeting) a few years ago I was doing a midweek roast chicken and BNS dinner. The squash just wouldn’t cut, eventually I had a brainwave if I turned it to stand up (narrow end up) the knife was already going through the squash at the top by using a hand on each side of the knife I could use the weight of TWO hands instead of one. Inevitably it went wrong and as I pushed down and the knife started going through the squash it suddenly jumped to the side, naturally the pointy side!
Sharp butchers knife point met my left arm. While it didn’t go in far the knife was quite broad. I remembered enough first aid to run to the sink and get the cold water running. For a minute nothing happened and I looked at the cut thinking maybe I’d got off lightly and then the blood started pumping. I ended up tying an old t-shirt over the top of two plasters (worryingly I still cooked the freaking dinner) and all ended well. The only real impact is that I still have a white scar on my arm and have developed an aversion to butternut squash – until tonight.
I made a gorgeous risotto replacing the arborio with pearl barley and using a BNS that Mr Ocado had already peeled and cut for me. The recipe is in the March Good Food mag and I really recommend it. I didn’t use Parmesan (to keep it carb friendly) but I did use the spoonful of marscapone to make it creamy. It was so good that we ate most of it before getting a picture and has cured me of my aversion to butternut squash!
Breakfast: bacon omelette, salad
Lunch: Crustless salmon and watercress quiche and salad
Dinner: Squash and Barley risotto
A tired mummy's Blog 