Grow Your Own XVII – Night Of The Living Gourds
by John Weckerle
This week’s Friday morning garden post was slightly delayed by the need to get to work early on Le Barn 1.0 in advance of their Grand Name Change Celebration tomorrow, July 19. Apparently, the delay has not kept the garden from producing food.
The garden is now producing straightneck yellow, zucchini, and the previously discussed unusual yellow summer squash on a more-or-less daily basis. A number of these were combined this evening into Uncle John’s Calabacitas, discussed below. More and more tiny young tomatoes are making an appearance, and it appears that one of the broccoli heads may be ready for collection in the next day or two. I suspect that close inspection tomorrow morning may reveal the formation of the first few string beans, as they have been flowering for some time. Lettuces continue to yield plenty of salad fixings. Unfortunately, the peppers in the raised beds seem overwhelmed by their neighbors – but the Potted Pepper Plantation, which seemed doomed to the point of avoiding mention in this blog – is beginning to show some promise.
The nature of the mystery squash appears a mystery no more; it looks very much like a spaghetti squash, as suspected.
North Bed
Bed 2 – South Bed
The Mystery Squash
Now, my method of preparing calabacitas. Note that this, like most of my cooking recommendations, may not qualify as “recipes” because I don’t tend to provide strict measurements for the ingredients. I do measure things for some dishes, but for many things I tend to be creative, rather than prescriptive – it’s more fun to cook that way, and lends to a better understanding of the way flavors combine to make a dish.
Note: DO NOT add any salt until after you’ve added the feta cheese, or you risk having an overly-salty taste.
I start out with two each medium zucchini and yellow squash and some corn (in this case, I used the corn from two ears previously cooked; otherwise, a can of Niblets will do in a pinch). Slice the zucchini and yellow squash thin, in the 1/8 to 1/4 inch range. In a wok or large saute pan, saute several cloves of garlic, chopped or sliced thin, in a couple of tablespoons of olive oil enough to soften, about a minute or so. Add the squash and cook until about half done, and sprinkle lightly with chili powder or red chile powder. Add just enough of your favorite green chile sauce to evenly coat the squash. Add the corn, and continue to saute, stirring occasionally, until the squash is tender. Remove from heat, and turn some feta cheese into the mix – the amount depends on how much you like, but I’d guess I use around 1/4 cup or so, just enough to enhance the flavor of the dish.