Not long after brunch (a banana with almond butter), I baked an organic acorn squash — half for lunch and half for dinner, which I just finished — followed quickly by cranking up the oven temp to roast four halved brussels sprouts with onions and garlic. A liberal smear of tomato paste, a drizzle of balsamic vinegar, and a healthy shake of cinnamon (and cumin) on the squash, and I was good to go:

After snapping this pic, I also sprinkled a nice layer of nutritional yeast over the brussels sprouts and served it all up (or washed it down) with a vegan-friendly Sam Adams Winter Lager.

Dessert, you ask? One of those honkin’ apples, of course!

I hope your day was just as delicious and relaxing, whether with family and friends, or bachelor-style, like mine.

In addition to the trees’ colorful, hibernation preparations and the crisp, cool air, I like this time of year for the hearty food, particularly all variety of winter squash and pumpkins.

Recently, the question came up in the Fat Free Vegan Yahoo! Group of what to do with an acorn squash.

I shared how I like to prepare it (really, any winter squash works well with this treatment), and it was a big hit. So, here you go. I leave the exact proportions to your taste buds. Remember, tasting is a sign of a good chef.

Preheat the oven to 350-425°F, depending on how much time you have to wait. Cut the squash in half, scoop out the seeds (save ‘em for later roasting), and place cut side down on a lightly oil-spritzed, tinfoil-lined, baking sheet. Bake for 40 minutes to an hour in inverse proportion to the temperature you chose. You really have a lot of leeway here. Basically, you want it to be nice and soft and starting to caramelize on the edges.

Take out of oven and let cool until you can handle it more comfortably. Scoop out the goods and mix in my Three C’s:

• cinnamon
• chipotle powder
• cumin

Garlic in any form is also a welcome guest in this dish. If you want it sweeter, drizzle in some pure maple syrup. Mmmm…

Finally, for some texture, stir in a little diced sweet onion and raw broccoli for texture. This old standby never gets old for me. It turns out ever so slightly different each time, as I don’t measure the spices.

By the way, a note for my fellow calorie restrictors. Pumpkin appears to have the fewest calories by weight. I just had a big bowl of freshly baked pumpkin made this way today, and the roasted seeds, similarly spiced, as a snack. Enjoy!