Summer squash recipes

We are swimming in summer squash at our house. It is going crazy in my garden. The hand-size golden flowers are just a gorgeous break in the greenness of my vegetable garden.


This is my first attempt to actually grow summer squash, and I can tell you a few things I've learned so far:

1. It's really easy to start from a small plant. It's taken very little effort other than watering. I'm adding this to the "anyone can do it" list (along with lettuce and onions).


2. Farmers market vendors are making a steal. For $1.50 I bought a package of five vegetable starts. Three of them made it through the night. Of those, I've already plucked a half-dozen squash, and there's many, many more blooming or still growing. Compare that with the $.75-$1 each they're selling for now at the market.


3. Summer squash is better small. I am finding that the larger squashes have larger seed areas and tougher skins.

That being said, the last week I've had to force myself to be more creative in hunting down summer squash recipes. I'm used to munching on it raw, but that is getting a little old. (Not to mention that my kids tend to decorate the floor with it more than eat it raw.)

The trick, I'm finding, is finding recipes for summer squash -not zucchini, as most recipes seem to be. Here are a few I've stumbled on so far and some interesting ideas I've gotten from others.

Summer squash sauteed

Simply slice and saute with a little garlic and olive oil.

Summer squash sauteed with pine nuts
adapted from the July-August 2009 Vegetarian Times

My well-meaning coworker gave me this recipe for zucchini with pine nuts, capers and raisins. I subbed the summer squash and dropped the raisins. It tasted well enough, but the brownish color and strong flavor of the balsamic vinegar turned off my kids.

2 medium summer squash
2 T. olive oil, divided
2 T. pine nuts
2 tsp. minced garlic
2 T. balsamic vinegar
1 T. capers

Cut squash into matchstick-size strips. Heat oil in skillet over medium heat and add squash. Saute until squash is tender. Add pine nuts and garlic and heat. Stir in vinegar and capers, heat up. Serve with pasta.

I'd love to see other squash recipes. If you've stumbled across any good ideas, please let me know!

Serving up blossoms?

The other idea I've gotten is to actually eat the blossoms themselves. Eating flowers is a new idea to our family, so I'm not sure how they'll warm up to it. Chile advised me that squash blossoms "don't have that strong floral taste like salad flowers."

I admit I thought this was a crazy idea, but there are a lot of recipes for this online, including squash blossom frittatas, quesadillas, stuffed blossoms and, in the ultimate healthy form, fried (both American and Thai versions!). Apparently they are fine to eat raw too, according to the University of Illinois extension site. Who knew?

These plants are not going to quit any time soon, so start sending those recipes and cooking ideas on!

Shopping local can save you money

Shopping sales and clipping coupons is an easy way to save some cash when planning your weekly meals. But here's a secret: The biggest sales aren't in stores.

Sure, you can scour the weekly ads trying to do the mental math as to who was the best deal on ground beef or milk or pasta that week. And you can quickly spend hours scanning the Web for coupons and other hot deals. But I'll be honest. It makes me crazy. And all too often those ads and printed-off coupons lay untouched. I'm not alone in feeling, frankly, burnt out.

Want the truth? The farmers market is where it's at. In our area, we've got another three months of locally grown produce to enjoy, and I'm all for that. Why wouldn't you hit one up? It's easy. It's fast. It's healthy. It's got easy parking. The "checkout" people are friendly. And you get better bargains and variety than you would at your supermarket, where it's been shipped from who knows where.

Take last weekend. For less than $10, we came home with:

• a bunch of garlic
• a cantelope (which I'm proud - or scared, not sure which - to say my 18 month old insisted on carting around the market!)
• 3 zucchini
• a foot-and-a-half tall basil plant (I didn't want to strip my poor ones at home bare for a recipe).
• 3 kolhrabi (which I've been curious about trying)

Compare to the grocery store:

• $4 for a bunch of garlic. It's a little larger, but not significantly
• $3 or so for a cantelope, trucked in from who knows where
• $1 or more per pound for zucchini, depending on when you hit a sale
• $4 for a few old stems of basil, wrapped in plastic and wilting
• and I've yet to see kolhrabi.

The trick with this is watching the seasons. While you can save by shopping seasonally at the grocery store, the savings increase even more when you buy local. Sure, I could pick up a bell pepper at the store for the $1 each they're on sale for right now. Or, if I wait a few weeks, I can buy them often for three for $1 at the markets.

The next time you shake your head about the sales or wonder about what coupons to clip, set the stress aside and eat local instead!

Our 'Ace of Cakes' birthday

When asked how they'd like to spend their birthday, some children want to go to the game center. Or an amusement park. Or

Not my child. She wants the $200 cake.

Let me explain. About a month ago, I asked my daughter what she wanted for her fourth birthday. Her answer? A Jasmine cake.

Um, yea. Mommy doesn't have that kind of talent. Can I scrapbook? Sure. Design all kinds of publications? Sure. Take a photo or two - in focus? Of course. But drawing a Disney princess in frosting? I don't think so.

So I break it to her gently. "Mommy can't do that," I pleaded.

"Sure you can. Like 'Ace of Cakes.'"

I silently vow to add the Food Network to the list of banned television in the house. I hedge, then counter: "What about an 'Ace of Cakes' party?"

Bingo! She was all over that. So excited, in fact, that she started planning who would sit where in the minivan, and which friend required a booster seat so that we could drive to the "Ace of Cakes" location for the party!

Needless to say, Indiana's a long drive to Baltimore. But today's not the day for a geography lesson. "Well, I was thinking we could make cakes like the 'Ace of Cakes,'" I suggest.

Sold. Thank goodness.

As party day arrived, our kitchen table was covered in three types of frosting, three dozen cupcakes and six potential toppings to decorate said cupcakes. And she and her friends huddled around the table with their "stash," and with an artist's touch (at least a preschool artist's touch), they smothered those poor cupcakes until no frosting, candies or sprinkles were left.

Sugared up, they dashed to the birthday girl's for a rendition or two of songs from "Mama Mia." At least they were burning some of it off, I thought.

And at the end of the party, those creations went home. Not much mess, no leftovers to sweat over and a very happy guest of honor.

Happy 4th of July!

Happy Independence Day! We wish you a safe and happy holiday weekend.

If your family is like ours, you're likely having a picnic this weekend as part of your celebrations. My mother-in-law was famous for bringing homemade ice cream, which we all had to take turns cranking.

So, in honor of Grandma Merle, here are some homemade ice cream recipes - many of which don't require an ice-cream maker!

• Ginger Lemon Ice
• Strawberry Ice Cream
• Rasberry Coconut Milk Ice Cream*
• Non-Dairy Ice Cream *

* requires an ice cream maker, but I think you could probably make it work without it.

Enjoy!

Protecting ourselves: Lessons from "The Body Toxic"

As a parent, you want to do everything you can to protect your children. What worries you most are the things far beyond your reach.

We bottle-fed our non-nursing son during the height of the BPA controversy, wondering if we were doing the right thing. In my ignorance, I didn't realize it was a minute tip of the iceberg.

And then I read "The Body Toxic: How the hazardous chemicals of everyday things threaten our health and well-being" by journalist Nena Baker. It's quite possibly the scariest book I'll read all summer.

In it I learned about the breakdown of my government in protecting our nation's health. Spurred by lobbyists from the chemical industries, we've evolved the last 50 years into a toothless siutation where weak laws and tiny budgets leave littel room for our government to examine what chemicals are truly hazardous to our health. In fact, we're often lagging far beyond Canada and European nations in taking action against known harmful substances.

What's scary is that the chemicals you're exposed to come from the most unthinkable of everyday places:

• the microwave popcorn packaging
• your shower curtain
• the flame retardants in your TV
• non-stick skillets
• grease-resistant food packaging

One interviewee in the book likened the situation to 9/11, where the hijackers were under the radar screen and grabbed control. "Certain contaminants can hijack the control of gene exppression, contributing to a number of illnesses on the rise."

What frightens me the most is potential damange not done to me but to future generations. Tiny bodies are more susceptible to the chemicals exposed to during pregnancy or through breast milk and every day life outside the womb. (Not that formula is immune - chemicals can leach from its packaging, too!)

So what do you do?

• Write your political leaders and encourage stronger legislation (an update to the Toxic Substances Control Act) regarding oversight of chemicals, and larger funding for those oversights.
• Choose organic whenever possible.
• Ditch plastic, particularly for food and drink - reheating can cause hazardous substances to leach out.
• Avoid stain protection treatments from floors and upholstery.
• Filter your tap water rather than use bottled.
• Use low-VOC paint.
• Choose cast-iron or hard anodized aluminum pots.
• Think twice about using air fresheners.

It's a little overwhelming, to be honest. Keep in mind that the author writes: "I don't obsess about chemical pollutants; I make informed decisions based on my understanding of the hazards of pesticides, plasticizers, flame retardants and stain protectors."