Baked Yellow Crookneck Squash with Brown Sugar, Cinnamon and Thyme

I read somewhere that of all the summer squash varieties, yellow crookneck squash is the most like the heavier, deeper-flavored fall varieties.

There was something delicate about the two small crooknecks that I purchased today that made me want to prepare something very simple that would enhance, but not disguise their equally delicate flavor.

And yet, I wanted something a little different. Something that would celebrate flavor.

These little guys always remind me of geese. I would treat a young goose with a certain delicacy, and so it was with my little yellow squashes.

I cut the squash in two pieces, using a melon baller to remove the seeds and stringy flesh that always accompanies seeds. I created a rub, using cinnamon, brown sugar, sea salt and a light-handed dash of pepper, and used it to flavor the exposed flesh of the squash. I placed about two teaspoons of butter in each little half and baked them incovered in a preheated, 350-degree oven for about 30 minutes. Then I added some fresh German thyme, and continued baking for another 15-minutes.

The squash was really sweet, and the thyme, which seems to be the herb most often paired with crookneck, added a subtle, almost perfume-y touch. All very delicate - the way I hoped it would be.