Cooking: Patty Pan Squash

I've seen Patty Pan Squash in seed catalogs, but I've never thought of growing it.  This squash was grown by one of my neighbors at the community garden.  She had an abundance, so she gave me two.  Actually, if I think about it, we made a bit of a trade--her patty pan squash for some of my Swiss chard.  A fair trade, don't you think?

Any-who, since I've neither grown, prepared, nor tasted patty pan squash, this is a journey in starting something new (and as far as the Thrifty factor is concerned, these costs me nothing financially--as they were given to me).  So armed some research on preparation--as well as a recipe that I found online for roasted patty pan squash, here it goes:


 

 

Here is one of two patty pan squashes.  The reason I'm showing one is because the other one has already been cut into pieces.

Here is the one squash that was cut.  Because of the shape, I cut it in half, then in quarters, then eighths, then sixteenths

Both squashes, now cut into sixteenths.

In the bowl, ready for some seasoning

Speaking of seasoning, here we are.  Now, salt and pepper is an absolute essential, and in my house, I always keep kosher salt and a jar of peppercorns with a grinder.  

I prefer kosher salt because I find that it seasons the food better without using too much salt.  I find table salt a bit too harsh, and the kosher salt sort of melts and therefore, provides a more even seasoning.  

In addition, I also prefer freshly cracked black pepper--as it provides more flavor than your typical ground pepper.  I'd rather have that coarser texture season my food--as opposed to the stuff that looks like it came from an ashtray.

Also in my arsenal of seasonings is Herbes De Provence--which is a blend of herbs that was developed in the Provence region of France.  There are quite a few variations, but this variation (if can recall because I the container is now gone) contains: parsley, rosemary, savory, and thyme.  This is the perfect blend for roasting just about anything.  I've used it when making roast chicken--as well as roasted vegetable for a fish dish, and it really enhances the flavor.

Last, but not least...oil.  My preference is olive oil--for both flavor and health qualities.

So what I did was add the oil first, then the salt, pepper, and Herbes de Provence in that order to the squash.  Then mix it up to make the seasoning and oil even distributed throughout the squash

Preheat the oven to 450 F, and roast for about 20-25 minutes until tender.

 

Done.  Look at the color on the edges of some of those pieces!  Color = flavor

 

Squash is served.  I just put it in a bowl to try it.  It tastes somewhat similar to zucchini.  As you can see, some of them have more color on them, and those are the pieces that I enjoyed the most.  As I said above, color = flavor, and it was awesome.   Another favorite part of mine were the edges that crisped up.   The color from the roasting also brought about a hint of sweetness.  Being that this was my first time making them, I think next time, I will turn the pieces halfway through the roasting process--so they can get color on both sides.  Also, it could've used a little more salt for my tastes, so I will mix it up in a bigger bowl.  But overall,  I would have it again, and perhaps, considering growing it next year.

I have never seen patty pan squash in the grocery store, so perhaps your best bet would be to find it at a farm stand or farmer's market.  However, if you do find it at a grocery store (perhaps you may be fortunate enough to have a Whole Foods or Trader Joe's--which I do not have), then by all means, try it.  Or to Think Thrifty, get a packet of seeds and grow some yourself.  By doing this, the amount of squash you get--EVEN if you plant one seed, will more than pay for the packet of seeds.

In conclusion, I give patty pan squash a passing grade.  Thank you Charlene for blessing me with such yummy-ness!  

So until then, Think Thrifty!  Dawn

Garden Update--7/13 through 7/25/2015

Greetings, Thrifties!  Time for another episode of "Garden Update"!  We are in the pinnacle of the growing season, and the garden is truly THRIVING.  I must say that, in the 3 years that I've been gardening, this has been my best year so far.  I am, by no means, an expert.  I still make mistakes and I'm still learning.  I'm excited for you to see the progress:

This past Saturday, I knew that I was going to be there all day.  That being said, a good breakfast was in order, and for that breakfast is an omelet with whole wheat toast and ginger peach black tea, sweetened with organic evaporated can sugar juice.

Check this out!  My first tomato of the season!  This tomatoes in both of these pictures are Black Krim.  The one on the left was more than ready, and as you can see, the one on the right still needs a little more ripening.  And by the way, it was DELICIOUS.  It had acidity and savory-ness to it.

These are the yellow pear tomatoes...or shall I say "green, but will be turning yellow soon".  As you can see, they are abundant.  I JUST NEED THEM TO TURN!  LITTLE TEASERS!

These are grape tomatoes.  You know, the little plum tomatoes that you see in the grocery store for snacking and salads.  There's no need to buy them when I can grow them.  NOW COME ON AND TURN!!

These are the San Marzano tomatoes.  I would like these to turn as well, but I'm in no rush for these.  Unlike the others, these tomatoes will be canned--so that we can have wonderful spaghetti sauce after the season is over.  When I'm ready to can, I will do an entry.  Stay tuned.

Remember these????  These were those basil plants that I bought some time ago--that looked like they were on their last leg.  See what I mean when I said a little love and care in the last entry??  And you would not have known that they were EVER on the verge of dying.  My only issue with at least two of these plants was that they were on the verge of going to seed.  I'm not ready for that; otherwise, the basil becomes tough and inedible.  To keep basil from (or to slow down) bolting (preparation for seeds), simply deadhead them.  To do that, all you do is just remove the "seed pouches" that grow at the top.  Now that I'm typing this, I should've taken pictures and and demostration.  Next garden update...I promise.

Once again, I have another...WEEDY...MESS!!! This is near the cucumbers, and I need to weed over there to check on them--as well as expose the dill for further growth.  

On the left is before weeding.  The big leaves that you see are the cucumber plants.  On the right is one side of the cucumber bed.  The weeds are in the path, and will dry out and die. They'll keep the paths from growing new weeds for a more prolonged period of time--as it shades the paths and thus keep the weeds from growing.  Weeds thrive on light, and the covering of the light robs them of that.

Cucumbers and Dill.  The frilly leaves are the dill.  These are good companion plants, AND it attracts pollinators.  One in particular is the Black Swallotail Butterfly.  Usually, the butterflies will lay their eggs, and I've actually saw a couple of larvae.  Dill (and fennel) are popular foods for the larvae.  They may do a little number on them, but I don't mind.  I'm down for attracting and increasing the number of pollinators in my garden.  In addition, the larvae (caterpillars) are really pretty.  They are black with turqoise and celadon stripes.  I got excited when I saw the couple during this weeding--that I purposedly placed them near the dill for their feeding.  I'm sure in another week or two I'll see them get bigger.  The ones I saw were about the size of pill bugs

Top left:  A plethora of cucumber blossoms.  I've seen honeybees and bumblebees in there pollinating them, so I'm expecting so awesome cucumbers soon.  I surmise that, just like the green beans (I had 3 LARGE pickings--of about10-15 lbs), I will have a plentiful cucumber harvest as well.

Top right and bottom left:  Little cucumbers.  As you can see, they still have some growing to do.  Thank you pollinators!

Bottom right:  A cucumber that's ready for harvest.  As I mentioned in an earlier post, these are the National Pickling variety.  They're shorter, fatter, and are the PERFECT size for making pickles...which is the plan. When I'm ready to make pickles, I will provide an entry.

Like tomatoes, what is a garden without zucchini?  Despite the fact that I planted them late, I'm happy to see them coming.  

Top left:  Emerging

Top right:  Growing

Bottom:  Harvested

ANOTHER must for a summer garden...corn.  As with the zucchini, I planted these late (actually, they're both in the same bed).  If you look at the base of the corn plants, the dark matter on there is coffee grounds.  Corn is a heavy feeder--mainly with nitrogen.  For the last couple of years, I would plant pole beans to give corn its nitrogen.  I didn't get a chance to do that this year, so I'm manually added nitrogen in the form of coffee grounds

(THRIFTY TIP:  Coffee grounds are an excellent source of nitrogen for crops--like corn and lettuce, that thrive and grow much better with an ample supply of nitrogen.  A side-dressing (i.e. applying to the base of the plant) of coffee grounds will work wonders, AND if you're a coffee drinker, they're free.  In addition to side dressing, coffee grounds are also another awesome component to add to your  compost pile/heap).

That is my progress thus far, and now, here are some pictures of my garden.  On several occasions, when taking breaks from weeding, I looked up and saw these scenes.  I thought it was so pretty and inspirational--that I just took some candids. I hope you enjoy them and draw some inspiration from them...just as I did.

As of today (7/29/2015), I went there and harvested a few grape tomatoes, yellow pear tomatoes, cucumbers, carrots, and one zucchini.  As I was observing and checking out the garden, I saw that my cucumber plants were starting to dry out and get yellow.  This is a concern in terms of health and production.  So, I'm going to do some research, apply that research, and provide a follow-up in the next update.  So until then...Think Thrifty!