In the kitchen
September into October: An Autumn Tortilla Table
Why autumn squash, greens, and good corn tortillas belong together—and how that understanding can make dinner easier.
Cooking with the season gives familiar meals something new to offer. In autumn, the sweetness of squash and the hearty flavor of greens can make a simple dinner especially satisfying. Corn tortillas are a natural companion: their toasted flavor complements those vegetables, and preparing them soft or crisp gives you several ways to enjoy the same ingredients.
Perhaps a squash catches your eye at the market. You bring it home with a bunch of kale, set them on the counter, and begin thinking about dinner. With tortillas already in the kitchen, those vegetables might become a warm taco, a golden quesadilla, or a crisp tostada. A few familiar ingredients begin to suggest something you look forward to eating.
Understanding why those combinations work makes cooking with the season easier. A tender filling, a little crunch, something creamy or bright—each contributes to the pleasure of the bite. Learn what those ingredients need, and you can bring home what looks good with a clearer idea of how to make it into dinner.
Start with what autumn offers
Across Vermont, the change of season brings different ingredients into the kitchen. “We’ve started harvesting winter squash,” a Westminster grower reported in UVM Extension’s September 2, 2026 field notes, mentioning kuri, buttercup, and delicata among the varieties ready to harvest.
Greens have their place alongside them. Kale grows well in cool weather and tolerates frost, making it a natural part of an autumn harvest. UVM’s autumn kale guide explains that connection to the season.
What you find will vary by farm and week. Start with something that appeals to you, whether it comes from a CSA box, your garden, or the grocery store. If you would like to explore nearby markets, NOFA-VT’s directory lets you search by county, day, and season. One vegetable you are looking forward to eating is a good beginning.
Prepare the vegetables for a good bite
Think about how the filling will sit inside the tortilla. A large piece of squash may look lovely on a roasting tray but need cutting down before it fits comfortably in a taco. Follow your recipe’s cut size, and aim for pieces you can enjoy with the other ingredients in one bite.
For roasting, give the pieces room in a single layer and check the center as well as the edges. A fork should slide into the squash easily. Oregon State University’s roasting guidance emphasizes similar-sized pieces and checking for tenderness and lightly browned edges. Thickness affects cooking time, so use the directions for the particular recipe you are making.
Greens need a different kind of attention. For a quesadilla, remove tough stems, chop the leaves, and cook them until tender. If you add a little water to help them soften, let the excess cook away before filling the tortillas. You want tender greens without liquid pooling beneath them. That preparation helps preserve the crisp exterior of the finished quesadilla.
A tostada benefits from similar care. Keep its beans thick enough to spread, have the toppings ready, and assemble close to eating. The filling and the tortilla each contribute their own texture.
Three ways to bring dinner together
Smoky squash tacos
Our Adobo Chipotle Pepper & Autumn Squash Tacos bring roasted butternut squash together with chipotle, goat cheese, lime, cilantro, and toasted squash seeds.
Each finishing ingredient contributes something distinct. The cheese brings creaminess, lime adds a bright contrast to the sweet squash, and the seeds give you something crisp against the tender filling. The corn tortilla holds those flavors together while contributing its own.
The recipe includes a gentler starting point for the chipotle if you prefer less heat. Follow the full method for roasting the squash and its seeds, then assemble the tacos while the tortillas are warm and flexible.
Kale and cheddar quesadillas
A bunch of greens can become the center of dinner in our Kale & Cheese Quesadilla. Softened onion and cooked kale sit between two corn tortillas with grated cheddar.
Spread the filling evenly, with some cheese beneath the greens and some above. As the cheese melts, it helps hold the layers together. The tortillas cook to a golden finish while the greens stay tender inside.
Cooking off the extra liquid from the kale matters here. So does leaving room for a manageable layer of filling. If your bunch of kale is particularly generous, serve the extra greens alongside. Cut the quesadilla into wedges and enjoy it while the edges are crisp.
Roasted vegetable tostadas
Our Seasonal Vegetable Tostadas begin with a crisp tortilla and a thin layer of warm, smoky black beans. Roasted butternut squash follows, then pepper and onion dressed with lime, a little arugula, and crumbled cheese.
The beans provide a soft base for the vegetables. The fresh toppings bring a different bite from the roasted squash, while the tortilla supplies the crunch beneath it all.
Prepare those components before you start assembling. Once everything is ready, spreading and topping takes only a few moments. Bring the tostadas straight to the table so you can enjoy the contrast between the crisp tortilla and its warm filling.
Make room for what you find
The same meal can take a slightly different shape with another squash or bunch of greens. A useful substitution includes a small adjustment in preparation.
Illinois Extension’s winter squash guide distinguishes the preparation of butternut, delicata, and acorn. Greens offer possibilities too: chef Rick Bayless uses either kale or chard in his garden greens tacos, cooking them until tender.
| What you have | How to adapt |
|---|---|
| Delicata or acorn instead of butternut | Delicata can be cooked with its skin on. Acorn skin can stay if tender after cooking, or be removed. Adjust the cut and cooking time for the squash you choose. |
| Chard instead of kale | Prepare the leaves and stems so they cook to tenderness. Let excess liquid cook away before using the greens in a quesadilla. |
| Four-inch tortillas for squash tacos | Follow the taco recipe’s smaller-tortilla option and cut bulky squash pieces down to fit the smaller bite. |
Let dinner come together in a comfortable order
Once you have chosen your meal, begin with the part that takes longest. While squash roasts, you can prepare beans, crumble cheese, or gather the finishing ingredients. Our tostada recipe uses that oven time to prepare several parts of the meal together.
For soft tacos, have the filling ready before warming the tortillas. Our cooking guide gives the methods; our story about a better fold explains how warmth, a little moisture when needed, and a covered stack help them stay flexible.
Having tortillas on hand makes the next dinner easier to imagine. As we explain in Good Tortillas, Ready When You Are, a pack can wait in the freezer until you plan to thaw it in the refrigerator for a meal.
Then comes the part you were looking forward to: a warm tortilla, a tender filling, a little brightness, and the first bite. Next time, perhaps you will bring home a different squash or choose the greens instead. Good tortillas give those autumn ingredients a place at the table, and a few familiar preparations make it easy to welcome them there.