Following is another installment in our series of recipes using locally grown produce available at the Abilene Area Farmers Market.

With fall in the air, some late-season vegetables are begging to be made into meals.

Those vegetables include different varieties of winter squash, such as butternut and acorn. Selections for other produce are less robust than earlier in the season, but vendors should be at the market until the first of October -- unless an early frost ends the growing season, said Peggy Smith, market manager.

Today's recipes highlight acorn squash, butternut squash and garlic.

ACORN SQUASH

The dark green skin on acorn squash makes it a popular contrast for pumpkins in fall arrangements, but the winter squash deserves a place on the family menu. The rind is tough to cut, but that also makes acorn squash an ideal baking vessel filled with stuffing or soup.

In this recipe, the maple syrup can be cut to reduce the dish's sweetness.

Baked Acorn Squash with Brown Sugar and Butter

(From Paula Deen, www.foodnetwork.com)

1 acorn squash, cut in half

2 tablespoons brown sugar

2 tablespoons butter, softened

2 tablespoons maple syrup

Salt

Freshly ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Scoop the seeds and stringy pulp out of the squash cavities and discard. In a small mixing bowl, combine the brown sugar, butter, syrup and salt and pepper, to taste. Rub the squash cavities and cut sides of the squash with the butter mixture and place them on a baking sheet, cut side up. Bake in the preheated oven for about 1 hour until the squash is tender when pierced with a fork. Serve 1 half per person.

Honeybunch Soup

(From "Great Good Food" by Julee Rosso)

2 acorn squash

2 tablespoons minced Canadian bacon, trimmed

8 tablespoons Gruyere cheese

Salt and freshly ground pepper

2 cups skim milk (approximately)

Freshly grated nutmeg

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Remove the tops from the squash and reserve. Scoop out the seeds and discard. Place 1/2 tablespoon of the bacon, 2 tablespoons Gruyere and salt and pepper to taste in each squash. Add up to 1/2 cup skim milk for each squash; it should come to within 1/2 inch of the top. Season with grated nutmeg to taste.

Replace the lids and place the squash in a 2-inch-deep baking dish. Add 1 inch of water and place the baking dish in the oven. Bake for 1 to 1-1/2 hours or until the flesh is easily pierced with fork. To serve, place the squash in individual small serving bowls.

BUTTERNUT SQUASH

The squash is named for its buttery, nutty flavor. Its skin is much easier to peel than many of the other varieties of winter squash.

Spaghetti with Eggplant, Butternut Squash and Shrimp

(From Giada De Laurentiis, www.foodnetwork.com)

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

1 large onion, chopped

3 large garlic cloves, finely chopped

1 small butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cut into 1/2-inch pieces (about 5 cups)

2 Japanese eggplants, cut into 1-inch cubes

1 teaspoon dried rosemary, crumbled

1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme leaves

1 1/4 cups dry white wine

2 cups fish broth, fresh or frozen, or canned vegetable broth

2 pounds uncooked large shrimp, peeled and deveined

Salt and pepper

17.5 ounces orange-colored fresh spaghetti or linguine

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter

Heat the oil in a heavy, large nonstick-frying pan over medium heat. Add onion and sauté until tender, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and sauté for just a minute. Add the squash, eggplant, rosemary and thyme and sauté for 8 to 10 minutes. Add the wine and broth and bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Decrease the heat to medium-low and simmer until the squash is tender and the liquid is reduced by about half, stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes. Add the shrimp and simmer gently until almost cooked through, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes. Season, to taste, with salt and pepper.

Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring often, about 5 minutes. Drain pasta. (Alternatively, you can use dried pasta, which will take 8 to 10 minutes to cook.)

Toss the pasta, squash mixture and butter in a large bowl until the liquid thickens slightly and coats the pasta. Transfer the pasta mixture to a wide shallow bowl and serve.

GARLIC

Garlic can be found in almost every cuisine around the world. The pungent aroma that is released when garlic is peeled and chopped becomes much milder the longer it is cooked in soups, sauces, sautéed entrees or other dishes.

The easiest way to peel garlic is to separate out its cloves and mash them gently with the flat side of a sturdy, wide-blade knife.

Baked Garlic

(From "Cooking A to Z," California Culinary Academy)

As it bakes in the oven, the garlic becomes sweet and has the texture of butter. It is delicious spread on crusty French bread along with cream cheese or turned into a garlic sauce for beef or lamb. Leftovers need never be discarded; whisk the garlic into soups or sauces for a wonderful flavor boost.

6 whole heads garlic

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

2 tablespoons water

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Slice top from heads of garlic and trim roots even with base of bulbs. Remove some of the papery skin from outside of heads but do not separate cloves. Place heads in a 6-inch gratin dish, and drizzle each head with 1/2 tablespoon olive oil. Dot heads with butter and drizzle water over them.

Cover dish with aluminum foil and bake 1 hour and 15 minutes. Remove foil and bake 15 minutes more. Cook briefly before serving.