OkayEVIN WEST begins his latest guide, referred to as “The Prepare dinner’s Backyard,” like this: “It is a guide about taste,” he writes. “It’s a guide about how you can turn out to be a greater cook dinner by entering into the backyard.”
His is not only a cookbook, although. It’s additionally a guide about how you can develop edible crops, from seed to reap—so a cookbook and a gardening guide multi function, highlighting distinctive varieties to domesticate and revel in.
Since that is the beginning of great winter squash season, and Kevin and I each enjoyment of them, so rising and cooking winter squash was our matter for a latest dialog.
Kevin West grew up in East Tennessee as a part of a powerful farming and gardening lineage, and at the moment lives and gardens organically within the Berkshires of Western Massachusetts. He’s writer of “Saving the Season: A Prepare dinner’s Information to House Canning, Pickling and Preserving,” and now of “The Prepare dinner’s Backyard” (affiliate hyperlinks).
Plus: Remark within the field close to the underside of the web page for an opportunity to win a replica of “The Prepare dinner’s Backyard.”
Learn alongside as you hearken to the Oct. 13, 2025 version of my public-radio present and podcast utilizing the participant beneath. You may subscribe to all future editions on Apple Podcasts (iTunes) or Spotify (and browse my archive of podcasts right here).
(Creator photograph beneath by William Hereford.)
‘the cook dinner’s backyard,’ with kevin west
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Margaret Roach: Hello, Kevin. I seemed again in my data and like 10 years in the past or one thing, we talked about how you can make apple butter on what was a radio program that I did [laughter].
Kevin West: That was a very long time in the past. And again then I used to be residing in Los Angeles and purchasing on the Santa Monica Farmer’s Market each Wednesday.
Margaret: Precisely. Now we’re not to date aside, we’re simply throughout a bit of bit throughout I-90ish, the Massachusetts Turnpike, from one another I feel or one thing.
Kevin: We name it nation neighbors, proper?
Margaret: Sure, precisely. I’ve been having fun with the guide. It’s a giant guide. It’s received tons occurring. As I mentioned within the introduction, it’s gardening and cooking, so two areas to study.
And proper within the guide, one other quote that I liked early within the guide, you say, “Gardening is now a aspect of what it means to me to eat effectively.”
So inform us a bit of bit about your motivation for penning this and the way you’ll describe this kind of hybrid gardening-cooking quantity.
Kevin: I like that you simply began with the road that this can be a guide about taste. It is a guide about consuming effectively, about residing effectively, about having a connection to our meals, and to the seasonal calendar, and to seasonal greens specifically. It’s not essentially about self-sufficiency or homesteading or residing off the grid or something hyper-hippie impartial back-to-the-land in spirit.
As a lot as I like that sort of ambition, what I actually need to do is to harken again to the way in which that I grew up round seasonal meals, which is to say, as you talked about, I come from a farming household on my dad’s aspect, and my mom who comes from Tennessee hillbillies actually, my dad and mother each grew up round gardens they usually have been each gardeners all of their lives.
And so my expertise of being round a backyard is that you’d develop some issues: You’d stay up for the tomatoes, and my mom grew all types of herbs that she cooked with each meal. You might need a favourite squash that you simply grew. My father at all times grows okra, so there’s at all times one thing within the backyard. However you’re not relying on it since you’re additionally purchasing on the farmer’s market otherwise you’re additionally swapping greens with a few of your neighbors, or you’ve gotten an uncle or an aunt who’s rising one thing.
So it’s this concept of simply being near the seasons, and being near the backyard. We referred to as it cooking from the backyard. However once more, the concept is that you simply layered in some homegrown meals into your on a regular basis cooking. And that’s actually the place to begin for “The Prepare dinner’s Backyard.” It’s this concept of taking your on a regular basis cooking life and making it richer and extra flavorful and extra artistic by utilizing seasonal greens and a few homegrown herbs and greens.
Margaret: Proper. And so now your backyard, the place you are actually, the half the place your edibles are grown, is it raised beds or is it within the floor or how huge is it? Simply describe it briefly for us.
Kevin: Yeah, my backyard is about 60 by 75 toes roughly. It’s within the floor. The backyard is split into quadrants, which makes it simpler to rotate, to schedule my rotations, and likewise simply makes administration simpler typically. It’s principally a vegetable backyard, though I even have some ornamentals in there, similar to irises and a few lilies and a few peonies—it’s my reducing backyard as effectively. After which I’ve herbs scattered right here and there. And there are little strips of grass and little strips, little locations the place I let the weeds come as much as profit the pollinators. And it’s surrounded by a deer fence.
And my neighbor Del Martin, on whose land I really backyard—unusually, my backyard isn’t on my place, it’s on a neighbor’s place—and the property, the backyard has a slight southern tilt, south-facing tilt. And in order that slope, that light slope improves drainage. And as you already know, we’ve received a whole lot of heavy New England clay right here within the Berkshires. In order that light slope improves drainage, and likewise as a result of it’s tilted in the direction of the solar within the springtime, it helps the backyard get up a bit faster and it’s simply such a great backyard spot that I can’t give it up.
Margaret: O.Okay. [Laughter.] And you’ve got a cooperative neighbor, in order that’s good.
So I promised we might extol the virtues of winter squash, which might be my favourite vegetable of all. And a comic story for this yr, 2025: I sort of gave up my vegetable plantings as a result of we have been having warmth domes and drought and no matter, and I simply thought, “Nope, uh-uh, I’m going to go to the farmer’s market. I surrender.” However my compost heap didn’t surrender [laughter], out popped a tangle of winter squash vines and I didn’t know what it will be. And it was clearly one thing I had had scooped out in consuming a winter squash nonetheless way back and put the seeds in there, composting them so to talk.
And so these vines have been loopy wild all over, and I simply left them and I harvested seven very good-sized, they’re ‘Delicata’ kind squash [photo above]. Superb. They’re simply completely scrumptious. You by no means know. What did you develop this yr unintentionally or on goal? Which winter squash?
Kevin: Wow, that’s wonderful. It jogs my memory of one thing that Mom used to say. She would say, “A seed desires to develop.” And she or he would say, “Go searching your compost bin and look into your beds from final yr, and also you’ll see one million volunteers developing, significantly squash and volunteer tomatoes.” And that was her solution to reassure me that the backyard could be positive: “A seed desires to develop.” We’re simply sort of serving to out the method. So it’s an exquisite saying I at all times carry with me as a result of it’s reassurance that even in the event you’re a bit of nervous about having a backyard; it’s reassurance that issues are going to work out O.Okay.
So Margaret, to reply your query about what I grew this yr, I’ve a dire confession to make earlier than you and your listeners-
Margaret: Uh-oh.
Kevin: …which is that I didn’t develop any winter squash this yr due to commitments I had round my guide launch and issues like that. I grew summer time squash, however I didn’t get out any winter squash.
Nevertheless, having mentioned that, I usually develop a few completely different varieties that I select for taste as a result of I like them a lot. And one in every of them is ‘Honeypatch,’ which is the latest iteration of ‘Honeynut,’ which is a squash that I’m certain you already know, developed by Michael Mazourek, a plant breeder who got here out of Cornell and who’s one of many co-founders of Row 7 Seed Firm with Chef Dan Barber.
And ‘Honeypatch’ is—think about a ‘Butternut,’ after which shrink it right down to about one-third the unique dimension. However all the taste of the unique ‘Butternut’ is concentrated in that little package deal. And the ‘Honeypatch’ or the ‘Honeynut’ is totally scrumptious in taste, and the dimensions is good for 2 servings. In order that they develop prolifically, they produce very generously, they usually’re simply great to cook dinner. In order that’s the winter squash that I’m going to yearly, besides this yr. And there are numerous different varieties that we may speak about, however that’s my No 1 advice for anybody.
Margaret: I do know Within the guide, you additionally talked about one other selection, I feel additionally from Row 7 Seed, and I don’t even know how you can pronounce it: ‘Robin’s Koginut.’
Kevin: That’s what I say is ‘Robin’s Koginut.’ I’m unsure I’ve heard anybody pronounce it [laughter], who is aware of what they’re speaking about. So that you and I can resolve.
Margaret: And in that one, the recipe within the guide, I consider you stuff it, you’ve gotten it as a stuffed squash [photo, top of page], which is sort of, I’m a vegetarian and I cook dinner for one. And so I’m sort of boring generally [laughter]. And so a whole lot of instances I simply take the only route and simply roast a squash or no matter. But it surely seemed so lovely.
Kevin: Oh gosh, it’s a stupendous squash I made. I developed that recipe for Thanksgiving as a result of I wished to provide you with a vegetarian various to the Thanksgiving turkey. And I used to be on the lookout for one thing that may be lovely and could be dramatic and could be scrumptious and would be capable to maintain the desk in the way in which that an entire roasted chicken holds the desk.
And so I had grown ‘Koginut’ that yr—that is, I don’t know, three or 4 years in the past, 4 or 5 years in the past—and the ‘Koginut’ had accomplished very effectively. It’s not enormous, it has a pumpkin-like form, but it surely’s comparatively modest. Each weighs perhaps, oh, I don’t know, 2 to three kilos, let’s say. And it’s simply the fitting dimension to chop off the highest and scoop out the seeds and stuff it and roast it complete. And the flavour, once more, is scrumptious, and the pores and skin is edible, in order that whenever you convey it to the desk, you may simply minimize it into slices, nearly like reducing a layer cake. You understand how you narrow out a triangular slice?
Margaret: Sure.
Kevin: And the factor is bronzed in shade after being roasted within the oven. After which the within I take advantage of a cornbread stuffing and with a lot of onions and shallots, and I take advantage of some chestnuts in there. You may use mushrooms in the event you wished to. A non-vegetarian may throw in some oysters, even, in the event that they wished to for an oyster stuffing.
However at any fee, you open it up and there’s this simply aromatic, fragrant stuffing inside. And it was such successful that my associates Del and Christine, Del and Christine Martin, whose land I develop on, their daughter requested for the recipe. She liked it a lot. And so within the guide, the recipe is devoted to Claudia, as a result of it actually was such an important praise to me as a cook dinner that she favored it a lot that she wished the recipe.
Margaret: So whichever squash we develop, and we are able to speak about some extra, one factor that’s actually essential as a gardener, apart from choosing a great selection to start out with and beginning it on the proper time and caring for it and all the nice horticultural cultural issues is choosing it on the proper time, harvesting on the proper time, and likewise curing, I feel, with the squash. I purchased on the co-op not way back some ‘Delicata,’ they usually have been flavorless.
It was very early within the season, within the harvest season, and whoever had offered them to them simply hadn’t cured them. And I feel that’s a step that lots of people don’t notice. You don’t simply take it off the vine and generally it really works. Generally it’s had sufficient sunshine and heat on the market, and it’s on the proper stage of maturity that it’s sort of cured, so to talk. However different instances it may possibly actually use a bit of further heat and TLC earlier than you eat it, sure?
Kevin: Sure, that’s proper. And I’m so glad you convey that up as a result of one of many issues that as dwelling gardeners we now have to regulate barely is how we get issues from the backyard to the kitchen. If we go to the grocery retailer, then every part is already prepared for us. Even on the farmer’s market, many of the huge selections have been made.
However within the backyard, there’s a bit of little bit of studying, which my guide goes into, round what’s the perfect season to reap and how you can put together issues for the kitchen. And as you say, winter squash, they take fairly a very long time, proper? Sure. The squash vine is massive and vigorous. The squash itself is a fruit. So it comes late within the rising season, or late within the life cycle of the plant, as soon as the plant has reached its mature dimension, and winter squash are eaten ripe.
So that you add all of that collectively, and it takes (no less than right here in New England, southern New England) all the rising season to get the vine up and rising, after which the fruit to set after which the fruit to ripen. And what I need to do usually is to reap the squash as soon as the stem has began to dry. As a result of as soon as the stem has began to dry, the plant is shutting down and primarily the plant has put all of its vitality, all of its carbohydrates, all of its goodness into the squash, and now it’s sealing off that stem. At that time you may decide it and produce it inside. And as you say, I like to go away them in a entrance room that fills up with afternoon solar, so it’s heat.
Margaret: That’s precisely what I do [laughter].
Kevin: So it’s the one room in the home the place you don’t want a sweater within the fall as a result of it stays heat and it’s very dry. And the squash then sort of completed their ripening course of. And I feel what occurs is a part of it’s that the pores and skin agency,s up, they get an nearly barely waxy coating. They shut themselves down for the winter, after which they’re prepared for storage, and at that time they’re able to eat they usually have most taste.
Margaret: And the starchy, no matter—I don’t know if it’s technically starch is transformed to sugar, but it surely’s one thing—I could also be oversimplifying, however that’s sort of what occurs. Comparable with when folks develop candy potatoes, which might be my second-favorite vegetable. After which they assume you may simply eat them immediately, and boy, you’re lacking out on a number of the sweetness in the event you don’t treatment these. [Curing and storing various vegetables for winter use and beyond.]
Kevin: You’re in for a disappointment in the event you convey it straight from the backyard.
Margaret: Precisely. So wanting up the aftercare of those is worth it. Yeah, I imply that’s since you’ve gone to the difficulty of rising it, selecting the correct selection and rising it right through. So there’s that.
Kevin: And Margaret, I like candy potatoes as effectively. Having grown up within the South in East Tennessee, I ate a whole lot of candy potatoes, as a result of we simply love them down there. I haven’t had nice success with them right here in New England. And in a means, my response to not having nice success with candy potatoes is to develop extra winter squash [laughter], as a result of they occupy an analogous place within the kitchen. They, they’re orange, candy, starchy, scrumptious. And so I sort of gave up on candy potatoes and went all in with winter squash.
Margaret: So there’s one other recipe within the guide that stunned me. Talking of what works within the kitchen and so forth, there’s a stew, a Winter Squash Stew [photo above, recipe below]. It has elements in it that I’ve by no means mixed with winter squash, and I’m not 12 years previous, both. It has tomatoes and tomato paste, and I don’t assume I’ve ever had winter squash with a tomato, have you learnt what I imply? And a sauce with tomatoes. It’s simply so attention-grabbing. I checked out it and I assumed, “What? What would that style like?” It’s humorous as a result of I really feel like I’ve tried so many flavors, and perhaps that’s very apparent and commonplace, but it surely wasn’t to me. So inform us about that stew, as a result of it’s pretty. It sounds pretty.
Kevin: That’s attention-grabbing. I like this stew, and I make it yearly for a giant get together I’ve at my home the day after Thanksgiving, I do a chestnut roast right here for all the neighbors to return in and alter their palate away from Thanksgiving. And the reason being it really works effectively at any scale, you may make it a small pot or you may make an enormous pot.
The important thing to the recipe, I feel, is this recommendation {that a} good friend of mine gave me. It was winters the chilly of winter, and I used to be standing in my kitchen and I used to be these ‘Koginut’ squash that I had simply pulled out of storage, making an attempt to determine what to do with them. And my good friend Wes, a chef from Los Angeles, Wes Whitsell, he referred to as and he mentioned, “What are you doing?” And I mentioned, I’m making an attempt to determine how you can cook dinner these ‘Koginut’ squash. And he pronounced these beneficiant phrases. He mentioned, “Warming North African spice.” And I assumed, “Oh yeah, completely.”
So after I began to consider North African spice, I began to consider sunshine. And the winter squash is a sort of congealed or coagulated sunshine. But additionally tomatoes; tomatoes carry the flavors and colours of summer time into the wintertime. And I don’t know, simply had the concept to place them collectively and began throwing spices at it—a bit of coriander, a bit of cumin, little shaving of cinnamon, black pepper, all of these flavors that sort of evoke North Africa with out being too literal about it.
Margaret: Proper. Nicely, it sounds scrumptious, and that’s undoubtedly one which I’m going to strive. So I used to be glad to see it. Once more, simply I used to be like, what? [Laughter.] Have you learnt what I imply? You could have extra confidence as a cook dinner, clearly, than I do, however it could have appeared apparent to you and it stunned me a lot. So I’m enthusiastic about that.
After which even together with your primary roasted squash, a whole lot of us will minimize a ‘Butternut’ or the equal in half the great distance and roast it. You roast it on parchment paper, I consider within the oven, on a tray with parchment. However you’ve gotten a bit of twist that you simply add kind of shortly after it comes out of the oven.
Kevin: It is a naughty trick. Do you need to…ought to I share the naughty trick?
Margaret: Inform us. Yeah.
Kevin: O.Okay. In order you say, it’s the usual factor. You narrow the squash in half, you scoop out the seeds and also you roast it minimize aspect down till the juices begin to caramelize a bit of bit; that’s how you already know it’s going to be accomplished, and in the event you mash it, it’ll be gentle. And so then I pull it out of the oven and I flip the squash minimize aspect up, after which instantly whereas it’s scorching, I pour a tablespoon or a bit of bit extra of heavy cream into the cup, into the seed cavity, and the cream will soak into the squash. [Above, baked ‘Honeypatch’ squash with cream just added.]
If you would like, you don’t should let your visitors know. You may sort of conceal the proof, as a result of it soaks in, and it creates simply this wealthy, custardy texture and provides some richness, after all. And also you don’t actually discover it besides you simply discover that the squash is so scrumptious. So a sprinkling of flaky salt and a bit of group cracked black pepper excessive, and basta, that’s dinner. And other people adore it. Individuals actually adore it. They are saying, “Oh, I didn’t know I favored squash a lot.”
Margaret: It’s that little one thing further that’s nearly invisible at that time.
Kevin: Right.
Margaret: No, I like that. So to change gears again to the kind of backyard, half of this guide, so to talk—and it’s not half and half, they’re entwined collectively, like squash vines [laughter]—you’ve gotten a listing of seed catalogs, and now I’m going to destroy your life and blow your price range by suggesting a pair that aren’t in your listing. So be careful, Kevin.
So that you’ve confessed additionally that you simply like candy potatoes and that you simply’ve sort of not accomplished effectively with them. So the individual with probably the most candy potatoes and probably the most winter squash within the nation, if not the world, is that this individual in Iowa, Calamus, Iowa, referred to as Glenn Drowns, who based in I feel 1988, a spot referred to as Sand Hill Preservation Middle, all open-pollinated seed, and he used to have 700 completely different styles of winter squash.
Kevin: Oh my goodness.
Margaret: Yeah. So be careful. He now lists “solely”—”solely” she says, in quotes—119, plus a dozen or so pumpkins, so like 140 sorts. The complete assortment, initially, he gave to Seed Savers Alternate a few years in the past, and he’s been very lively with them for a very long time. In order that they weren’t misplaced, the opposite 500 or 600 or no matter. However at any fee, it’s only for an individual who likes winter squash, it’s fairly fabulous to do some studying.
And for an individual who likes candy potatoes however has failed with them, somebody like Glenn—studying his descriptions, he’s in Iowa, the local weather, it’s not a southerly place, is what I’m saying. There could also be one which’s extra appropriate to right here than those you’ve been getting. I imply, that’s the opposite factor is discovering issues which can be regionally applicable.
Kevin: One hundred percent, one hundred percent. I like having that suggestion. I’ve written it down right here. And the purpose that you simply simply made about varietal character and the way varietal character is, let’s see: The factor about varietal character is that it covers all types of various traits. So it could cowl traits similar to taste, but it surely additionally covers traits which can be kind of invisible, so to talk, which is to say how tailored that selection is to a sure set of rising situations. And so there are specific tomatoes which can be extra tailored to cooler local weather, just like the ‘Amish Paste’ tomato, as opposed as to the Italian ‘San Marzano’ tomato. And the identical holds true for each sort of crop, actually. So I’ll go and see what he has to supply for Northern growers.
Margaret: Don’t blame me; don’t blame me [laughter]. After which regionally close to each of us is Turtle Tree Seed, the biodynamic seed firm, they usually have a ‘Butternut’ that they’ve been deciding on, solely utilizing the seed from the longest-lasting squash every year from their harvest turns into the seed crop for subsequent years. And they also’ve been deciding on for lastingness for 25 or so years. So their ‘Butternut’ is like, wow, it actually lasts effectively late into the subsequent yr. In order that’s an important factor.
I simply need to say one thing about cleanup, as a result of earlier than we might have already harvested or we’re harvesting, and cleanup is so essential with squash, I feel, particularly in the event you’ve ever had any pests and every part. Do you, since you’re an natural gardener like I’m, you’re not spraying stuff, so do you’ve gotten any put the backyard to mattress ideas? And also you talked about one thing about rotations earlier. I simply was curious. Any recommendations on that?
Kevin: It’s humorous, I say it simply precisely the identical means you probably did. I take into consideration placing the backyard to mattress on the finish of the yr. I clear up all the particles, clear up previous vines. I don’t just like the mess mendacity round as a result of it doubtlessly harbors pests.
Margaret: And certainly it does. [Advice on managing squash against pests.]
Kevin: So I clear up the plant residues, after which I put down a thick layer of mulch to overwinter the backyard. And that mulch by subsequent spring—after I say mulch, I’m usually utilizing leaf mulch—what occurs that by subsequent spring, that mulch is effectively on its solution to being compost. And so you’ve gotten a headstart on subsequent yr’s fertility, whereas the mulch additionally protects the integrity of the soil over the winter, so that you’re not struggling any winter erosion.
Margaret: Proper, proper. Nicely, Kevin West, I imply, it’s enjoyable to speak to you about this, and it’s enjoyable to be close to neighbors. I suppose sometime we’re really going to should get collectively someplace in between. And I hope I’ll discuss to you once more quickly. Perhaps we are able to do some digital searching for seeds collectively on this system in December or January.
Kevin: Let’s do it.
(All images besides as famous by Kevin West, from “The Prepare dinner’s Backyard;’” used with permission.)
winter squash stew
Serves 8
Substances
3 tablespoons grapeseed or extra-virgin olive oil1 massive onion, diced2 cloves garlic, minced1 teaspoon dried savory or thyme1 teaspoon coriander seeds, toasted and ground1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds, toasted and ground1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper1/2 teaspoon floor cinnamon, plus extra for sprinkling1/4 teaspoon freshly floor black pepper1 teaspoon positive sea salt, plus extra to taste3-pound winter squash or pumpkin, peeled and minimize into 1-inch chunks2 cups canned tomatoes with juice2 tablespoons tomato paste2 to three cups vegetable inventory or waterSourwood or different uncooked honeyWalnut oilGrated lemon zest or chopped preserved lemonFresh cilantro and mint leaves, roughly chopped
In a big Dutch oven, warmth the grapeseed oil over medium warmth till it shimmers. Add the onion, garlic, savory, coriander, cumin, cayenne, cinnamon, black pepper, and salt. Sauté till translucent, 5 to 7 minutes. Add the winter squash, stir to coat, and cook dinner till the sides soften, 5 to 7 minutes.
Add the tomatoes, tomato paste, and sufficient inventory to almost cowl the squash. Deliver to a boil. Scale back the warmth to keep up a gradual simmer, partially cowl, and cook dinner till the squash may be very gentle, 45 minutes to 1 hour. Don’t overstir, however shake the pot often to stop sticking. Add extra inventory as wanted.
As soon as the squash is tender, uncover and modify the stew’s consistency, both including extra liquid or boiling off extra as wanted. Style and modify the salt.
Ladle into particular person serving bowls and end by drizzling with honey and walnut oil. Sprinkle with some cinnamon. Garnish with lemon zest. Scatter with the chopped herbs.From The Prepare dinner’s Backyard © 2025 by Kevin West. Excerpted by permission of Alfred A. Knopf, a division of Penguin Random Home LLC. All rights reserved. No a part of this excerpt could also be reproduced or reprinted with out permission in writing from the writer.
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