SUMMER SQUASH BY ANY OTHER NAME
For disappearing acts, it’s hard to beat what happens to the
eight hours supposedly left after eight of sleep and
eight of work. ~Doug Larson (1926 – )
A FEW NEW THINGS
- What’s up with water? Food & Water Watch is a website that tells you everything you could ever dream of asking about your water supply. Before you go out and buy another bottle of water, read this. Protect your health, wallet and planet all at the same time.
- Mark Bittman reports on underground food markets. Read about local purveyors of small batch food products and their extraordinary will to survive an expensive and bureaucratic regulatory system.
- Green Guerillas is an organization helping neighborhoods cultivate community gardens.
SQUASH
Squash is blooming in the green markets and, no matter what you call it, it is one of the best things you can eat. A summer gourd, related to the pumpkin, squash harvested in the summer is best when young and tender. Never peel summer squash, as the skin contains the bulk of the nutrients. Larger, more mature squash are tougher and only good for grating into breads and cakes.
One summer squash can pretty much be used interchangeably for another; if a recipe calls for one kind, it will generally be acceptable to substitute any other without concern. Squash plays well with most other vegetables, and is an easy addition to any medley, welcome next to any meat, poultry or fish entrĂ©e or served as part of a vegetarian or vegan meal. Grated squash can even be substituted for pasta, if you’re looking to avoid carbohydrates.
I heard somewhere that summer squash is healing, not unlike the properties of homemade chicken soup, so when I’m feeling not quite one hundred percent, I steam some squash. It is especially good when you don’t feel like cooking because it cooks quickly, and gives you good nutrition but doesn’t fill you up if you don’t really feel like eating. It’s the Jello of vegetables because there’s always room for summer squash.
CLEANING
Water droplets can foster decay, so if you wash before storing, let air dry before refrigerating the in the crisper drawer of the refrigerator. Summer squash has thin, somewhat delicate skin so it doesn’t keep beyond three days before it begins to turn bitter.
VARIETIES, by shape
- Scallop Patty pan or sunburst; round and somewhat flat, flower-like shape, scalloped around the edges; white, light green or bright yellow
- Scallopini Shaped like patty pan but more spherical, medium green
- Constricted Neck Light yellow
- Straightneck – Elongated bottom with narrow neck at the stem end
- Crookneck – Bulbous bottom with narrow, curved neck at the stem end
- Club-Shaped – Zucchini; elongated, solid colored or dark and light striped;
- Golden yellow
- Medium green
- Dark, solid green
COOKING
All parts of the squash can be eaten, raw or cooked, just by slicing off the stem end and the bottom. The skin is tender and not bitter, unless the squash is old. The seeds are small, becoming more evident upon cooking. For greatest nutritional value, eat summer squash raw, after a very light cooking, or put into soups or stews where the cooking liquid is retained.
- Serve raw, cut into sticks or rounds, as crudites with dip
- Tiny squash are good for pickling.
- Slice thinly or grate raw squash into salads or slaw.
- Lightly steam and marinate.
- Slice into rounds; lightly steam and serve with butter
- Slice lengthwise, brush with olive oil and grill.
- Add to marinara sauce.
- Cut in half, hollow out seed center, stuff and bake.
- Saute with caramelized onions, and add other vegetables.
- Make curried squash or add squash to curry with meat.
- Stir fry with vegetables and meat or tofu.
- Add to vegetable soups or gumbos.
- Add to meat and rice or pasta dishes.
- Puree into soup, serve hot or cold.
- Grate and bake into breads and cakes.
