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w at er lo oc hr on ic le .c a W at er lo o C hr on ic le | T hu rs da y, D ec em be r 19 ,2 01 9 | 16 CHRISTMAS SEASON MASSES Christmas Eve: Tuesday,December 24th 4:30 p.m. - Family Mass with Pageant & Choir 7:00 p.m. - Family Mass 10:00 p.m. - Solemn Mass of Christmas - with Traditional Choir (Carols begin at 9:30 p.m.) Christmas Day: Wednesday,December 25th 9:00 a.m. - Mass of Christmas Day 11:00 a.m. - Mass of Christmas Day Corner of University Ave West and Hemlock St. www.stmichaelw.ca • 519-884-9311 CHRISTMAS SEASON Christmas at St. Michaels Parish Start a New Tradition Everyone Will Love Join us for Christmas in WaterlooWaterloo December 24 - Christmas Eve Masses: 5:00pm (family), 9:00pm December 25 - Christmas Day Masses: 9:30am and 11:30am All are welcome to come and celebrate the birth of our Saviour Celebrate with us at St. Louis Roman Catholic Church 53 Allen St. E., Waterloo 519.743.4101 www.saintlouisparish.ca Celebrating the Christmas Season at Mount Zion Lutheran Dec 21, 2 pm German Carol Service with The Leupold Chorale Christmas Eve Family Christmas Service - 4:00 pm Candle Light Service - 8:00 pm Christmas Day Worship - 10:00 am Mount Zion Lutheran Church 29 Westmount Road,Waterloo,ON www.mzlc.ca • 519-886-5820 The holidays are upon us. We all know that most get-togethers during this time of year are centred around delicious and ex- travagant home-cooked meals. When it comes to meal preparation, most of us tend to focus on perfect- ing holiday classics like a turkey with the fixings, a nice festive ham, creamy mashed potatoes or a yule log. This year I challenge you to spend some time and energy on something new - making a vegetable the star of your next holiday meal. During the cold months, one of the most versatile fresh vegetable options is winter squash. There are so many different varieties it can be almost over- whelming, but below is a quick guide to the most common types found in our local stores. One of the more com- mon types of winter squash is the butternut squash. It is larger than most other varieties and shaped like an oversized pear or a bell. Butternut squash has a thick butterscotch yellow skin and inside is a bright orange flesh. They're easi- er to peel than most winter squash and are a great ad- dition to soups, as they add a delicious creamy texture without having to use heavy cream. Next on our list, the spa- ghetti squash. Spaghetti squash gets its name be- cause once cooked, the bright yellow flesh is scooped out and looks like little strands of spaghetti noodles. All you need to do is slice the squash in half, scoop out the seeds, bake it in the oven and when done, you have "vegetable noo- dles" making this squash a great alternative for those who love pasta dishes. The acorn squash looks like an acorn. The skin is usually a dark forest green with some orange through- out and when sliced, you see a beautiful bright or- ange flesh. Because this vegetable is difficult to peel, the best way to pre- pare an acorn squash is to halve it, scoop out the seeds and roast. Once roasted, you can use half the squash as a bowl and serve it with different fillings, like a tasty rice and mushroom stuffing with sage and thyme. And lastly, we have the pumpkin, which is proba- bly the most recognized winter squash of all. The pumpkin has a bright or- ange skin, light orange flesh and is so versatile when used for cooking. Pu- réed, it can be added to soups, your favourite pan- cake mix, risottos, oatmeal and even as a filling for rav- ioli. Pumpkin pairs beauti- fully with festive flavours like cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves. Now that you're an ex- pert on squash, why not get your family and guests ex- cited about their vegeta- bles with a new dish featur- ing this bright showstop- per? Heidi Pola is a regis- tered dietitian with Zehrs. She is part of a network of more than 70 dietitians who provide services like one-on-one consultations, assisted shopping, school tours and recipe ideas at locations across the coun- try. To book an appoint- ment, please visit booka- dietitian.ca. BRIGHTEN YOUR HOLIDAY MEALS WITH WINTER SQUASH OPINION HERE'S A QUICK GUIDE TO THE MOST COMMON TYPES FOUND IN LOCAL STORES HEIDI POLA Column Butternut squash and apple soup. Torstar File Photo