"summer squash" news and stories

It's our old pal summer squash again, but this time it's simply grilled and dressed with olive oil, balsamic vinegar, chile and garlic, and scattered with fresh basil leaves. You could make green and yellow squash more complicated (as we did in last week's posts about southwestern zucchini boats, and zucchini with peas and pasta), but when you're putting together a quick grilled dinner, this is the recipe of choice.

Feta and mint also make a good match with the squash, as in this recipe from Curtis Stone.

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Savory grilled summer squash. Photo: Brent Ridge, Beekman 1802.

Brent Ridge and Josh Kilmer-Purcell are the farmers and innovators behind Beekman 1802, a 200-year-old estate and farm in upstate New York. We'll be running recipes, gorgeous photos and tales from the farm as their crops come into season.

Why is it that everyone plants zucchini, even though it is blatantly obvious that one plant is enough to feed an entire village? (At Beekman 1802, we count ourselves among the guilty.)

Anyone who has ever grown one knows that this prolific plant produces far more zucchini than one could ever want. You never know what to do with it all, which is probably why zucchini bread was invented, and our neighbors pass it around like Secret Santa gifts: Someone is bound to come to your doorstep with zucchini right as you're ready to give some away.

Rumor has it that folks keep planting it because of our fabulous recipe for grilled summer squash. We dare you to find a recipe that beats this melange of fresh herbs and creamy squash for embodying pure summer.

I honestly didn't think it would happen this quickly. I mean, it's not even the middle of July, and already the stream of zucchini and other summer squash coming my way is a bit more than I can consume in a given week. Part of the problem stems from the fact that my boyfriend won't touch the stuff and so I am responsible for eating our half of the CSA zucchini and yellow crookneck squash that arrives each week. Add to that the fact that I have some lovely friends who planted pattypan squash in their community garden plot primarily because they know I like it, and it's a lot of squash.

Don't take this as a complaint though, as the flood of summer squash is motivating me to look to new sources for recipe inspiration. This week, our CSA newsletter pointed me in the direction of The Green Earth Institute, an organization out of Illinois that runs a CSA, as well as programs for kids and teens about locally grown foods, nutrition and how to eat well. They have an immense archive of recipes that are sorted by ingredient (in my case, I clicked on the zucchini section) and they are all fairly healthy and many sound like they'd be appealing to kids and families. I think I'm going to take some of our zucchini and make this Squash and Cheddar Cheese Casserole. Maybe if I cover it in enough cheese, bacon and eggs, even Scott will find a way to enjoy zucchini.

Source

Even though it is only midway through the summer season, if you plant zucchini, you probably already have a glut of it in your garden. Zucchini ( also known as courgettes) are a delicious summer squash, but are notorious for their fast, aggressive growth. Their season starts in the lat spring and continues on until summer, though they are available year round in most places since they grow easily in hothouses. The two easiest things to do with zucchini are chop them up and toss them in a stir fry, or grill them. Both cooking methods take no instruction beyond "cook until tender." But they get boring. Here are eight more interesting (and delicious) ways to use up some of summer's bounty, courtesy of some very creative food bloggers. Some are desserts, some are sides and the last two can serve as main courses - although we won't tell if you eat a piece of the cake first.

• Chocolate Zucchini Cake
• Zucchini Cookies
• Lemon Zucchini Muffins
• Zucchini Pancakes with Salmon
• Zucchini Cornbread
• Feta Stuffed Zucchini
• Zucchini Pie
• Tomato Zucchini Soup