Friday, July 3, 2009

the squash are coming

The first squash are growing on the zucchini plants. I can't wait! I've gotten better over time of not getting too sick of a vegetable during the summer. I imagine in the "olden days" people ate a lot of the same thing during summer -- squash, tomatoes, etc. Then winter was all root veggies. If you want to eat local you need to get used to this -- well, I suppose it depends on where you live to a certain extent. In southern California you can probably grow some stuff year round.

At the end of last summer I was getting a bit sick of zucchini -- anyone who's ever grown it knows what I am talking about. It's kind of like the end of ski season, you start getting a bit tired of skiing. But then I think about how it will be months and months and months until I can ski or eat zucchini again and it keeps me going a bit longer. :-)

Calabacitas is a great way to use summer squash. I've never gotten sick of this dish.

Calabacitas:
1 onion, chopped
Roasted green chile, chopped (for all you outside of the SW you can either roast Anaheim or poblano chiles on the BBQ (and then rub/peel the skin off), or buy a can of Hatch green chile)
Zucchini/Summer Squash, chopped (pick them when they are small for the best flavor)
Corn (fresh or frozen)

Sorry I do not have amounts for squash, corn and chile. You want everything to be kind of equal, I'm sure you will figure it out, the recipe is flexible.

Saute onion over medium heat in olive oil. Once it is softened toss in chile, summer squash, and corn kernels. After 5 minutes or so, you can toss in 1/4 cup or so of broth and cover and simmer over low heat until squash is cooked through. Season with salt and pepper.

You can embellish this dish if you like -- add in chopped tomatoes. Herbs at the end like cilantro. I can't remember if I usually add cilantro -- I probably do. I think basil would be good too -- a bit untraditional perhaps but most certainly delicious.

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