Recently I have been eating a lot of squash since it is in season, cheap, and really yummy. I love it roasted and in soup but it can really be a pain to deal with when it is rock hard. I have tried several different methods but I finally broke down and got a cleaver about a year ago and it makes all the difference in the world. Plus it is really fun to use.

All you have to do is give your squash a serious whack and the weight of the cleaver will make it cut right in two. I also use this method for coconuts and anything (or anyone) else giving me a hard time

After cutting the squash in half I usually roast the squash in the oven and scoop out the insides. Sometimes, I just want the squash for soup, as was the case last night, and I don’t want to spend a whole hour roasting it. When this happens, I use the microwave method. All you do it take the two halves of the squash and put them cut side down in a large bowl, you don’t want them to be lying flat, you want them tilted so the microwaves can penetrate both sides at once. For the acorn squash I microwaved for 10 minutes rotating halfway through and was easily able to slice of the skin and add it to my soup.

mmm soup.