Cook-Off 63: Summer Squash

[chromedome]

Have you tried stuffing them with crab? That's my personal favorite.

[Shelby]

I've done three new to us dishes with squash this last week.  As Heidi mentioned, I did a squash carpaccio --yellow squash, basil, sea salt, lemon juice, olive oil, pine nuts and shaved parm. cheese

 

 

Flatbread with yellow squash--dough baked with a basil pesto and mozz. cheese then lay the squash on the warm crust along with prosciutto and red pepper flakes

 

 

And last night I did a casserole.  Cook down a chopped onion and about 3-4 yellow squash along with some salt until tender.  Drain, add some butter, pepper and more salt.  Mash with a potato masher.  Add a cup of sour cream and a can of cream of chicken soup.  Stir in two cups of stuffing mix.  Pour into dish sprayed with non stick spray.  Sprinkle one more cup of stuffing mix on the top and then sprinkle with shredded cheddar cheese.  Bake at 350F for about 30 mins.  You could do up old socks like this and it would still taste good lol.

 

Casserole on the plate at 6:00

 

[FauxPas]

39 minutes ago, Shelby said:

You could do up old socks like this and it would still taste good lol.

 

 

🤣

[Margaret Pilgrim]

Creamed pattipan (or any summer squash) is a decent side dish.   Grate and drain squashes.    Mix some flour into sour cream.    Saute grated squash until cooked through, then add sour cream and a hefty amount of dry or fresh dill.    Cook until all is slightly thickened.

[Katie Meadow]

When I lived in NM in the sixties and seventies you couldn't go to a potluck without tripping over a zucchini casserole. These days, once a summer, when yellow squash looks good at the farmers' market, I might do the following: saute onion or shallot in butter, add lots of minced garlic. Then add sliced summer squash, cilantro, roasted green chiles, cherry tomatoes, whole or halved, salt and pepper and coat briefly. Transfer to a casserole dish. Bake for 35 or 35 minutes. Remove and switch oven to broil. Top with grated cheese like Oaxaca, broil until melted. Very forgiving,  Fresh corn on the cob is a perfect side. 

 

With zucchini I most likely will make some kind of fritters. Zucchini and Kohlrabi grated together makes a pretty good fritter along with the usual suspects, eggs and flour and lots of chives or fresh dill. I admit I don't go out of my way to buy summer squash. And I don't have gardening friends nowadays. See @Margaret Pilgrim's confession upthread. So much packed into one little sentence!

[Okanagancook]

Using Paul P’s gumbo recipe as a guide I made gumbo with Andouille sausage, okra and zucchini.  Smells delicious.  No picture because a pot of bubbling gumbo is not pretty.

[Shelby]

Made a couple loaves of zucchini bread yesterday.  Will make a couple more today for the freezer.

 

[TicTac]

Love zucchini bread, as I do it's cousin, zucchini cake!

 

Slightly off topic, but I am curious if anyone has had issues with their squash/zucchini plants this year - all of a sudden all of mine (different varietals) within the span of 2 weeks, went form vigorous large plants to wilted and dead. 

 

Zucrona Virus!?

 

 

[kayb]

Mine did the same. Dunno whats up with that.

[heidih]

21 minutes ago, TicTac said:

Love zucchini bread, as I do it's cousin, zucchini cake!

 

Slightly off topic, but I am curious if anyone has had issues with their squash/zucchini plants this year - all of a sudden all of mine (different varietals) within the span of 2 weeks, went form vigorous large plants to wilted and dead. 

 

Zucrona Virus!?

 

 

Check the gardening topic or Margaret The link is to a tomato discussion also links to good sites https://awaytogarden.com/late-blight-and-tomato-diseases-with-dr-meg-mcgrath/

[Shelby]

13 hours ago, TicTac said:

Love zucchini bread, as I do it's cousin, zucchini cake!

 

Slightly off topic, but I am curious if anyone has had issues with their squash/zucchini plants this year - all of a sudden all of mine (different varietals) within the span of 2 weeks, went form vigorous large plants to wilted and dead. 

 

Zucrona Virus!?

 

 

 

13 hours ago, kayb said:

Mine did the same. Dunno whats up with that.

When mine do that it's always squash bugs.  Nasty creatures.  Check the underside of leaves for eggs.  

[lindag]

Dinner last night:

Stuffed Zucchini Boats

 

 

Edited August 8, 2020 by lindag (log)

[Margaret Pilgrim]

You can't get simpler than braising zucchini in a boatload of butter, then whirring the mess into a puree.    I could eat this for dessert!

[heidih]

22 minutes ago, Margaret Pilgrim said:

You can't get simpler than braising zucchini in a boatload of butter, then whirring the mess into a puree.    I could eat this for dessert!

 

Sure it is delicious to your taste - every body is different. The beauty of being a cook - you make to your taste. To me butter obscures but as said - that is me. I am also the one who cringes at cold shredded cheese and sour cream on "tacos". I bite my tongue because I am not you and if you like it  - cool.

[Margaret Pilgrim]

LOL!   I can't resist a play on the line from the movie "Magnificent Obsession",  "It (butter) will obscure but it will be a magnificent obscuration."

[weinoo]

33 minutes ago, Margaret Pilgrim said:

You can't get simpler than braising zucchini in a boatload of butter, then whirring the mess into a puree.    I could eat this for dessert!

 

Lemme know if you're making this for dessert...so I can go to Humphry Slocombe.

[Okanagancook]

After putting number 8 and 9 zucchini in the fridge I wondered aloud “ can one make a breakfast zucchini crisp?”

[blue_dolphin]

2 minutes ago, Okanagancook said:

After putting number 8 and 9 zucchini in the fridge I wondered aloud “ can one make a breakfast zucchini crisp?”

 

These zucchini fritters were breakfast yesterday and they were crisp:

[Margaret Pilgrim]

Zucchini fritters and pancakes rock!    But I already hear Weinoo chanting, "I will not eat green latkes, ma'm, I will not eat them Sam I am."

[heidih]

16 minutes ago, Okanagancook said:

After putting number 8 and 9 zucchini in the fridge I wondered aloud “ can one make a breakfast zucchini crisp?”

 

I put them in a phyllo dough strudel and use plenty of warm spices. Enjoyed at the party Roughly grated and moisture squeezed

Edited August 19, 2020 by heidih (log)

[weinoo]

3 hours ago, blue_dolphin said:

 

These zucchini fritters were breakfast yesterday and they were crisp:

 

Those fritters and Ikura I would eat.  But it's not really about the zucchini on that plate, now is it?

[Katie Meadow]

3 hours ago, blue_dolphin said:

 

These zucchini fritters were breakfast yesterday and they were crisp:

Those look very good. I agree that a good use for zucchini is in fritters. And it can be combined with a variety of other vegetables in the batter. Kohlrabi, corn, chard, etc. Fritters with a generous amount of fresh dill would be excellent with the other stuff on that plate. Even zukes perk up when they are fried and crispy. 

 

A good way to hide them, if you really need to, is to add them to a pureed green chile chowder. A couple of potatoes, a few roasted tomatillos, roasted green chile, broth, cilantro and so on. Very forgiving.

[Okanagancook]

4 hours ago, heidih said:

 

I put them in a phyllo dough strudel and use plenty of warm spices. Enjoyed at the party Roughly grated and moisture squeezed

 

That’s an idea...Filo pastry stuffing!

 

[Margaret Pilgrim]

2 hours ago, weinoo said:

 

Those fritters and Ikura I would eat.  But it's not really about the zucchini on that plate, now is it?

 

As Mary Poppins sang, "Just a teaspoon of sugar helps the medicine go down..."     I would guess that veg box orders often bring produce that requires a little "ingenuity" , aka camouflage.   

[robirdstx]

My first time making Zucchini Fritters. Guess who forgot to squeeze the moisture out of the shredded veg before adding the other ingredients?  Went ahead and finished mixing up the batter, covered it and put it in the fridge to wait for time to cook for dinner. Kept thinking about it and checked on it about 20 minutes later. It had started to get a layer of moisture on top and I thought about setting it to drain, but then decided to just add some Panko crumbs and start cooking.

 

 

In addition to the Panko, I think the zucchini being very young and without seeds, saved my efforts. We had the Fritters with carrots and tzatziki sauce as our appetizer course with dinner.

 

 

Edited August 25, 2020 by robirdstx (log)