The Versatile Vegetable

At our garden project, we’re cutting the summer squash aggressively from under their prickly elephant-ear leaves because the weather has been so wet.

Last year, the farm was afflicted with a squash bug so we’re being extra careful in 2011. The squash grow so fast that you can practically pull up a chair and watch. We aim to get them still small so at our weekly meeting, we looked at the ideal 8” yellow one with a green stripe at the end, so gracefully curved and slim.

But the suggestions for bigger, overgrown ones were soon flying. “Peel them, grate them for pancakes, scrape out the seeds and stuff them,” we all said. There’s always a way to put to use even a baseball bat zucchini, or a bowling ball-sized cannonball squash. This dark green, round variety is one I’d never tasted before and its sweet delicate flavor and dense but not seedy flesh have been a fun discovery this season.

Everyone seems to have a favorite recipe for this versatile family of soft-skinned vegetables, so delicate that while thin, sweet slices stand alone in salad or on a crudités platter. It also takes to almost any cuisine’s spicing. Lightly curried in a vegetable mix the squash can top Indian basmati rice. With tomatoes and eggplant, it becomes Franco- Italian. Lemon turns it Greek or even Persian. With sugar and butter, it’s 1972 Hippie-dom all over again in zucchini bread or cookies.

One of my favorite recipes, in fact, is sort of fake, Asian fusion-style, a grated zucchini raw salad with soy sauce, sesame oi, balsamic vinegar, and some sunflower seeds thrown in last minute. I also like sticks of green and yellow squash quick-sautéed in butter with thin carrot sticks – awfully pretty with a little dill or dill seed on top.

Easy as pie is a pie without a pie crust. This Crustless Quiche is as flexible as it is portable. Virtually any cheese and any dairy product will work for the filling and when summer squash season ebbs, fill the same basic recipe with *sliced tomatoes and olives, sautéed onions and eggplant or thin ribbons of red and green bell peppers.

Crustless Quiche

5-6 eggs

¾-1 c. milk, evaporated milk, cream of any weight, some part sour cream or plain yogurt

3/4 – 1 c. grated cheese: cheddar, goat, feta, Gruyere, Parmesan, Asiago, Gouda and so on

salt, pepper, minced fresh herbs to complement the vegetables

2 medium summer squash*, sliced

1 medium onion, 3 garlic scapes or 1 large leek, chopped

Oil an 8” or 9” baking dish or pie plate. Sauté the squash and onion until just soft. Cool slightly and pour into the dish. Sprinkle with the cheese. Beat together the eggs, dairy products and seasonings. Pour over the cheese and vegetables and bake at 375 until golden and puffy. Serve sliced at room temperature.