I bought.....how do i?

[red192]

I bought a butternut squash today for the birdie babies. how do I cook it for them? boil it? steam it? and I also got a mini pumpkin and an ornamental gourd, are these ok? or just throw em out to the wild life?

[becca623]

The ornamental gourd is unsafe for them. The easiest recipe I have found for mini pumpkins is to remove the insides, cut in half, fill with water, then cook in the microwave. You can feed it to them raw or roasted if you want. Clean and save the seeds for roasting in the oven. Squash, I usually chop for sauteing or roasting. It would probably cook in the microwave like the pumpkin.

[Zoe's Mom]

Butternut squash is an easy cooker too. I slice mine in half long ways then sprinkle it with Chili powder or cinnamon (depending on my mood) and slow roast it (inside up) in the toaster over for a couple of hours. Nice and slow until its soft. Sometimes I scoop out the seeds and sometimes I don't. It depends on how they look to me.

[red192]

Thank you so much! the gourd is in the trash! it was .79 so i grabbed it didn't know but glad i asked.

[sailorkelly]

What about acorn squash?

[Lori~D]

whoa wait - why is the gourd unsafe? Many types of gourds are edible when young. The decrotive ones are in fact young until they are dried out. Mini pupkins are in fact Gourds and not pumkins (summer squash). Loofas are in fact very good in soups and stews and its only when they are old and dried out they become a good scrubbie! Did you know the Cucumber is actually in the gourd family!!
If they have a waxy shine to them it must be scrubbed off first but I dont believe there are any TOXIC gourds as far as I know.
All Cucurbita species (pumpkins, squash, american ornamental gourds) and all Cucumis species (cucumbers, true melons, cantaloupe, etc.) have edible seeds
Old dusty gourds are no good - the dust can even be bad for you....sorry Becca

[becca623]

Are you sure Lori? I've always been told that the shiny gourds are unsafe for consumption. Can't remember why but I can ask.
Sorry red, didn't mean to give you bad advice. :(

[red192]

it's all good becca, better safe than sorry, i threw it out. it was only .79

[Lori~D]

BECAaaaauuuse like I said the Shiny coating needs scrubbed off same crap they put on apples but more of it and more shiney. Out here in the country you can buy all kinds of ornamental gourds without the shiney crap. I just gave some to my fids, they love the seeds and the work to get them. In your post you just said "Ornamental" not SHINEY ornamental... I hate the shiney stuff and waxy crap they do put on apples in the store - its on Cukes too and some squash to make it look pretty for you!! WASHY WASHY but no need to toss out!!

[shellbeme]

I picked up some mini pumpkins for chico I gave him one and ... well he sorta likes it alot better than I expected. He does the droopy wing dance for it and tries to feed it :\