Fall is such a colorful time of year. The leaves on the trees are changing colors from green to shades of yellow, orange and red. The fall mums and asters are dominating the flower gardens with their beautiful colors of purple, burgundy, bronze, yellow and orange. Not to be out done, squash are adding their beautiful colors to the fall produce displays.

In addition to being interesting in shape and color winter squash also contributes to a healthy diet. Winter squash are harvested when their shells have grown hard and inedible. Because of these protective shells, winter squash can be harvested in the fall and stored several months in a cool, dry place.

I had never purchased, much less cooked, any winter squash until a few years ago. The reason was simple—I didn't have a clue what to do with it! But it is relatively quick and easy to prepare. Most squash can be prepared like this:

1. Cut squash in half lengthwise and remove seeds.
2. Place cut side down in a baking dish; add ¼ cup water.
3. Bake at 350 degrees F for 45-60 minutes or until you can pierce the shell easily with a fork.
4. Remove from oven; cool slightly; scoop out flesh to serve.
5. Season with a little salt and pepper, your favorite herb combination, or sprinkle a little Parmesan cheese on top.
6. Substitute squash cubes, chunks or slices in place of your favorite vegetable in casseroles and other main dishes.

There are many varieties of winter squash that range in size from a few ounces to several pounds. The following are smaller varieties that are popular:

Sweet Dumpling has a mildly sweet taste and is one of the smallest weighing only about ½ pound. It resembles a miniature pumpkin with its top pushed in, but is green and cream striped. It is a great size for stuffing and baking for individual servings.

Gold Nugget is another small orange squash weighing about 1 pound. Both the skin and flesh are orange in color and resemble a small pumpkin.

Acorn is a small squash readily available. It is shaped like an acorn, with blackish-green or golden-yellow skin, weighing 1 to 3 pounds. It's a favorite to cut in half, remove seeds, stuff and bake.

Buttercup squash is much sweeter than other winter varieties. It can be baked, mashed and can replace sweet potatoes in recipes. It's round and dark green.

Spaghetti squash is a little unusual. It's shaped like a small watermelon, but golden yellow in color. It has a mild, nutlike flavor and when cooked the flesh separates into strands like spaghetti.

Check out the following Extension websites for everything you could ever want to know about apples and pumpkins!

http://urbanext.illinois.edu/apples/

http://urbanext.illinois.edupumpkins/

• 1 box regular yellow or vanilla 2-layer cake mix
• 2 eggs
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 2/3 cup canned pumpkin
• 1 1/2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
• 1 cup water or apple juice

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 12-cup muffin tin with nonstick cooking spray or use paper cupcake liners. In a large bowl, blend the cake mix with all the other ingredients. Using an electric mixer, beat at medium speed for 2 minutes. Spoon batter into prepared muffin pan. Bake 18 minutes or until cake tests done. Cool completely before frosting with canned low-fat vanilla frosting. Decorate with candy corn, orange and black jelly beans and black licorice. Makes 18 cupcakes.