Gourdy Goodness

Ok… So that was a bit unexpected. I was not expecting these when I planted them. Crookneck Summer squash.

I’ve got several of them coming along in three clusters… They look very much like tough, inedible gourds, and I imagine that they can be like that if picked at the wrong time. So I’ve picked a few small ones and the bigger one in the second photograph (below) and will see how they deal with being tossed into a stir-fry.

* * *

It is now somewhat later.

Since I wrote the first draft of this post (the paragraph above), I’ve done that test with the small ones. (I forgot to take a snap of the tasty results. Sorry about that.) I sauteed half a chopped red onion and some garlic in olive oil for a while and then popped in the chopped up squashes, keeping them moving every now and again, until they got soft. Crushed some sea salt over it at about the half way stage, and ground some black pepper over it all. Nice and quick. Not too fancy so that the main ingredients can be allowed to shine in the test. Not bad. One of them was a little more tough in the skin than I’d have preferred, but not too much. Another minute in the pan might have been better. Next time I’ll throw in some of those pumpkin seeds I have on the side… at the stage when the onions are being sauteed. I think that will add some nice nuttiness to the whole thing.

The first meal from the garden. Excellent.

-cvj