Curly Girl Farm: Squash for Supper Again

"What's in Season" article from the last week in July:

It’s time for another week dedicated to squash. If you are like me, your plants are going stronger than ever. The over two-and-a-half inches of rain that I got this week, plus the heat, have made my plants flourish. In addition, my second and later planting of squash has started to produce while the first one is still going like crazy. Now that I have a third planting just popping out of the ground, I look at all the squash I am picking and wonder if I have completely lost my mind.

Not only are there lots of green and yellow zucchini to be found at market these days, there are other summer squash varieties that are worth mentioning. There are the traditional yellow crookneck squashes. There is another squash that slightly resembles a flying saucer with scalloped edges. It is referred to as a patty pan, and comes in green, yellow, white, and even striped. There is cousa, a light green oval shaped squash, which is very popular around here, especially among those of Lebanese heritage, where this squash was traditionally grown. There are little round summer squashes often called eight ball squash. I have a striped variety of these, called piccolo, that look like little watermelons.

In my opinion, all of these types of squash are equally good and are worth trying. They each have a subtly different flavor and texture. People usually favor using one type for certain recipes. For example, most people use the regular green zucchini for making bread and tend to fry the little yellow crooknecks. I think you should try one of these different types of summer squash in one of your zucchini recipes and see how it changes the flavor. Depending on what the other ingredients are, you may not even notice, or it may make it into a more interesting and flavorful dish. If you don’t want to hear the phrase, “squash for supper again??” in a whiny voice around your supper table, it’s time to think outside the box.

I have mentioned my friend Amy before. She is one of the most ambitious and creative cooks I know. When a recipe has too many steps or ingredients I often skip over it for something simpler, but not Amy. She will try anything and you can be sure it will turn out fabulously. The other day she came over and we went out to the squash patch and picked blossoms. I have heard of people frying squash blossoms, but have never tried it myself. Amy was going to take it one step further, though; she was going to stuff her blossoms before she fried them.

Here is what she did: First she soaked the blossoms in water to get any bugs out and pulled out the stamens with tongs. Then she stuffed them with a mixture of sautéed onion, shitake mushrooms, kale greens, tofu, and seasonings which she had blended together in the food processor. Then she dipped the stuffed blossoms in an egg/soy milk mixture and rolled them in flour. Then she deep fried them for two minutes in a wok with vegetable oil. She served the stuffed fried blossoms over spinach linguine. Doesn’t that sound amazing? It is always a treat to be invited over to Amy’s for dinner.

For those of you more like myself, who may not be such zealous cooks, here is an easy way to fix squash. This will work with any type of squash. I encourage you to try a variety you’ve never had before and see what you think of it. My friend Janelle had this dish while visiting friends in South Carolina. I had her call them to get the information. The family just so happened to be in the hospital to deliver baby number three. So, here is the Phillips family squash recipe straight from the delivery room.

Baked Summer Squash

· 2 Summer Squash, cut into 1-1.5 inch slices

· Chicken stock or bouillon

· Bread Crumbs

· Sharp Cheddar & Parmigiano or Romano cheese, grated

Parboil squash in chicken stock/bouillon. Arrange in baking dish, allow to weep, pour off excess liquid. Sprinkle with bread crumbs. Cover dish with grated sharp cheddar & parmigiano or romano. Bake at 375 until zucchini/squash cook through and cheese has melted and browned a little.

Pictures of Amy Kesting's Stuffed Squash Blossoms (she is my culinary hero!)