Market Meals is a collaboration between Boulder Reporting Lab and the Boulder County Farmers Markets, featuring weekly seasonal recipes built around ingredients from local growers, ranchers and food producers. Find it in Nibbles every Tuesday and on Boulder Reporting Lab. Sign up to get Nibbles in your inbox.
The Boulder County Farmers Markets aim to make fresh, local food accessible to our community for generations to come. Part of that involves hosting farmers markets where you can shop from local growers, but another big aspect of our work is education. From farm field trips to cooking demos, the aim is to teach the community where its food comes from and how to make the most of it with recipes we share every week.
This season, the Boulder County Farmers Markets has enlisted the help of local blogger Ashley Cooke. Her blog and social media presence, “The Hungry Cooke,” have helped to showcase how flavorful and interesting cooking with seasonal ingredients can be.
This week’s recipe comes from Cooke’s most recent trip to the Longmont Farmers Market. She details how to stuff roasted acorn squash with local flavors including Italian sausage, onion, peppers, garlic and purple kale.
Note: The final Wednesday Boulder Farmers Market of 2026 is 3:30 to 7:30 p.m. Oct. 7
The Hungry Cooke Stuffed Acorn Squash
- 1 medium acorn squash
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- ½ pound mild Italian sausage
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- ½ medium yellow onion, diced
- ½ medium red bell pepper, diced
- 2 large garlic cloves, minced
- ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- ½ teaspoon chopped fresh thyme or 1/3 teaspoon dried thyme
- About 1 cup purple kale, torn into small pieces
- 1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for topping
- Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and line a baking sheet with aluminum foil. Slice the squash in half and gently scrape out the seeds. Place the squash halves on the baking sheet, brush generously with olive oil, and season with salt and pepper. Turn them over so the holes face down on the sheet. Roast for 30 to 35 minutes, or until the squash becomes soft and tender and begins to brown.
In a skillet over medium heat, cook the sausage for about five minutes until no longer pink. Set aside on a paper towel-lined dish. Drizzle about one tablespoon of olive oil in the empty skillet, add the onion and bell pepper, and cook until the onion is soft and translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and red pepper flakes and stir for about one minute before adding the sausage, kale, thyme and about two tablespoons of grated Parmesan. Season with salt and pepper and remove the pan from the heat.
Fill the roasted squash halves with the sausage mixture. Sprinkle with additional Parmesan. Set the oven to broil and cook for about two to three minutes, or until the cheese is melted. Serve immediately.
What’s fresh this week? Local farmers are bringing chilies, corn, tomatoes, chard, winter squash, melons, root vegetables, cabbage, broccoli, garlic and more to the Boulder Farmers Markets and the Longmont Farmers Market this week.
Visiting the Markets
- 13th Street between Arapahoe Ave. and Canyon Blvd.
- 8 a.m.-2 p.m., Saturdays, April 4-Nov. 21; 3:30-7:30 p.m., Wednesdays, May 6-Oct. 7
- More information
- Boulder County Fairgrounds
- 8 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturdays, April 4-Nov. 21
- More information
Have a tip or suggestion? Send your comments, questions and ideas to nibbles@boulderreportinglab.org.
