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Gardens are put to rest for the winter, with root crops straw-covered to protect from frost, and old vines composted to amend the soil come spring. There are apples to sauce, tomatoes to stew or turn into salsa, squash to bake and other bits of produce to put up for the winter. Where to start?

Since the rind on the winter squash began to harden mid-September my mouth has been watering for a warm piece of baked squash. Winter squash have good keeping qualities if you have a dry, cool place to store them. They should last well into January.

Cutting into a large, hard-rind winter squash can prove...