Matt Simon

It all began with pea purée. My daughter has been hooked on cooking — in one way or another — since the time she could eat food. She’s nearly 3 years old, and we’ve established long-lasting traditions in the kitchen. (She now knows that “Pancake Saturday” is not actually the name of the day of the week.) Except for when I’m traveling for work, there has not been a week of her life that has gone by without time spent together in the kitchen.

If there were ever an award worthy of giving a parent, it would be for one feat: delivering a nutritious meal to the table on time. That’s especially true for me, given my 90-minute commute home from work, two children (a 3-week-old and 3-year-old), and a wife who does plenty else besides also taking on the cooking duties. Over the years, I’ve developed a number of strategies to get a good dinner on the table. Here’s how I do it.

When the pumpkins go on the porch in October and November, squash goes on my menu. From acorn to butternut to spaghetti, I eat squash when it first comes into season about twice per week. By mid-November, I’m over it … until next year. Putting squash on the menu is an easy way to solve the question of what’s for dinner on the weekdays between the holidays. Versatile squash has me covered. Perhaps the biggest turnoff people have when cooking winter squash is the tough skin.