I don't care for squash. It wasn't something I grew up eating, so I never developed a taste for it. Pumpkin, hubbard, acorn, butternut ... any and all of it is just plain yucky to me. I find the consistency slimy and the taste just awful.
Pumpkin is among the worst, flavor-wise. Ironically I love growing pumpkins simply because they're so beautiful. However unless I'm growing them for chicken feed, I've stopped wasting the garden space. Even sweetened versions such as pumpkin pie doesn't do it for me.
The only squash I like is spaghetti squash, in large part because the taste is neutral and the texture isn't slimy. Older Daughter has been making some wonderful spaghetti squash meals, and it's something I intend to grow in the garden this summer.
Even the humble zucchini is something I dislike. Older Daughter incorporates zucchini into meals quite often, and just as often I find myself picking it out because I simply can't palate it.
And then ... Older Daughter did something magical with zucchini. She grated it.
Yes, she started grating zucchini and adding the grated mix to rice dishes as a low-cal bulking agent. And oh my, in this form I absolutely love it.
Why? I don't know. The flavor is mild, and when it's grated up and mixed with rice, it doesn't have the sliminess (in my mind) of the sliced or diced stuff. In other words, it's absolutely illogical that I should like zucchini in one form but not another.
Food tastes are funny things, aren't they? But there you go.
Fortunately zucchini is famously productive as a garden plant, so we'll be able to have an abundant supply this summer from one plant.
I guess even this old dog can learn a new trick.
I'm the same, particularly about zucchini. It was always ironic that it's so easy to grow and you get so much during the summer that I loved to grow it. But then I didn't know what to do with it -- and you can't give it away because everyone else is in the same boat.
ReplyDeleteThen I got a zucchini shredder and *string maker* that makes zucchini noodles. I found that using zucchini as a relatively taste and texture neutral filler worked great. I make zucchini pancakes and frittatas all the time, now, and they are pretty good. The taste primarily comes from whatever else I add, and the texture from whatever I put in to give it body.
My wife likes to eat zucchini noodles as if they were spaghetti. She boils it and adds spaghetti sauce. It's OK, but but I'm not such a fan of it.
I love having zucchini grated in the freezer to throw in soups, stews, spaghetti sauce, and for baking. When it is grated the flavour or texture isn’t noticeable at all and it adds so much health benefits to the food. I do the same with pumpkin but I purée the pumpkin then add it to the soups stews baking etc. Enjoy your squashes!
ReplyDeleteGraded zucchini also freezes well, for soup, and bread!
ReplyDeleteHats off to Older Daughter for keeping you well fed with nourishing food! Regarding using zucchini for noodles/strands… I haven’t tried this, but read somewhere that if you take the zucchini strands, place them on a baking sheet, and cook them in the oven for a bit, it will get rid of a lot of the moisture and prevent your final pasta knock-off dish from being too soupy/slimy/wet. Once, I tried making a “spaghetti” with marinara sauce using freshly cut zucchini strands and the flavor of the final dish was too diluted. Thus, I never tried using zucchini/other squash as noodles again. One can either look online for more specifics on this method but I think it’s a simple enough concept that can yield decent results just by winging it.
ReplyDeleteEvidently you have never tried "Mock Apple Pie" it is made with zucchini and 99% of the people never know there is NO apples in it.
ReplyDeleteAlso we make the noodles as well, and we grow MOST of our huge crop of the green type and put in our root cellar and feed the chickens almost all winter ling, they love it.
another dish is take a big one (green type) cut it long ways scoop out the pulp and seeds and fill with a mixture of spaghetti sauce meat and rice then bake in the oven until done, that is also very good.
as you can see I was raised on squash, LOL
You might enjoy zucchini "crab" cakes, Patrice. Basically grated zucchini, egg, bread crumbs, and, critically, Old Bay seasoning. Recipes abound online and it's easy. Almost tastes like crab... almost.
ReplyDeleteActually, I *have* made zucchini "crab" cakes. Quite tasty! I like it better than real crab, especially since I can't grow crabs in our garden.
Delete- Patrice
THE WHAT IN THE WHO NOW? Only genuine krabs!
DeleteZucchini gummies are the best!! Grandkids love them. Life changing for me about zucchini’s. Recipe: peel, core, then slice in 3/8 inch strip. Bring to Boil strips in 1 can frozen fruit juice , grape is best, along with one can water. Simmer for 20 minutes till translucent. Drain. Dehydrate. Sprinkle with lemonade (with sugar), then enjoy or store in glass sealed container. Yummy
ReplyDeleteIf you aren't a fan of pumpkin and pumpkin pie, try sweet potato. That pie is MUCH better! As is it a much better you of sweet potatoes rather than making a marshmallow topped goopy Thanksgiving staple.
ReplyDeleteZuke is lovely, when fresh, made into coins or spears and deep fried, as a side dish, even if you abhor or feel "meh" about it as a veggie.
Grating works well.
ReplyDeleteSquash is high in potassium and we need 5,000 mg a day. Potassium is very necessary to many things in our bodies and unless you eat a ton of veggies, you might not be getting enough.
I like to saute zuchinni, onions, and celery in butter or evoo, and add to my cornbread batter. I don't use sugar in cornbread. And use white corn meal. Then I cook it in a skillet on top of the stove.(It has to be flipped like a big pancake, but sliding it onto a plate helps.) It's better this way and cuts way down on carbs.
Another favorite thing to do is add it to cabbage. Jusy saute up cabbage, onions, and zucchini, add s&p, and it's really good. The veggies are full of liquid so they don't need water. Adding tomatoes to this is also good.
If my chickens had their way all zukes would be theirs. And all melons, pears, peaches, apples, cabbage, fresh uncooked corn on the cob, and much more. But in the winter I sometimes buy them zucchini to slice as a treat for them.
I think many food dislikes come from being being introduced to them by people who weren't very gifted as cooks. Clearly OD is good at putting a meal together.
An add-on to Mike's zuke dish: Baked Stuffed Zucchini: after you scrape out the pulp, saute the pulp with onions, garlic, celery, some poultry seasoning, then mix this with rice and/or ground beef or chicken....put this mixture into the 'zucchini boats', and top with cheese, bake 350 for 20-30 minutes....sometimes, depending on the size of the zucchini, I parboil the boats before stuffing them...
ReplyDeleteTry cutting the zuke into thin coins--maybe 1/4" wide?--breading and then deep frying them. This is a famous dish at a celebrity hotspot restaurant here in the Hamptons.
ReplyDeleteI like my squash fried (hey, I AM from the south), made into soup (butternut squash soup tastes like Thanksgiving!) or baked. I have never thought of squash as slimy or made slimy squash. Maybe it was the cooking method? I only bake or fry squash. If it is 'slimy' (too wet?) then it goes back into the oven or fryer.
ReplyDeleteI love zucchini sliced thin, mixed with chopped onion and sliced yellow squash, and baked in a 425 degree oven for 25 minutes. It dries out a lot of the moisture. I will often take this mixture and make a rolled sandwich with a little hummus on a flour tortilla.
ReplyDeleteA lot of people just automatically boil their veggies and proceed with recipes from there. Huge mistake. Squash has a lot of liquid in it, as do many others, and flavor and nutrients are preserved by not boiling. Things like dried beans do need to be soaked and boiled, though pressure cooking does a better job of destroying things like lectins in the beans. Other dried things, like zukes, I don't rehydrate in water but throw them in the pot with other cooking liquids to infuse them with the flavor of the meal. If more liquid is needed you'll soon know and can add later after flavors have started to develop. I just don't like diluting things too much too soon. Plus it gives you better opportunity later to further develop flavor with other liquids, such as cream or wine.
ReplyDeletePractice makes perfect because you learn new things as you practice !
I inadvertently let a pumpkin dry too long before cutting it up. The flesh peeled away from the rind in perfect "spaghetti" strands. But it would still taste like pumpkin... oh, well.
ReplyDeleteI love summer squashes winter squashes not so much. Except in gypsy soup. I would grate & freeze zucchini for zucchini bread in the winter months. My middle son would want it for his snack in K. When I asked his teachers for recipes his senior year his K teacher remembered him using his cloth napkin & eating his zucchini bread.
ReplyDeleteI have read you can dry & make zucchini flour. I tried it, but must've done something wrong since it didn't work for me.
Now I am looking forward to the garden months.
Debbie in MA
I'm with you on the taste of squash, but have found enough recipes over the years that doctor it up enough so I can eat it. I'm glad you've found ways to enjoy such a useful and reliable vegetable.
ReplyDeleteRoasting is the way to go for winter squash. No slime, sweet taste. Cut into half inch cubes, coat with olive oil, salt, pepper and garlic powder. Roast at 425 for half an hour or so.
ReplyDeleteI am not a fan of any yellow or orange vegetables. I can eat carrots raw or cooked in pot roast, but by themselves they simply don't appeal. As for yellow summer squash, if boiled and drained and mashed, then added to near caramelized onion (bacon fat is best, butter is next) in the frying pan, and cooked until no longer wet, is good. I can also eat zucchini and yellow summer squash breaded with cornmeal and fried, if the slices are thin so they are crisp. Winter squash and sweet potato I can only stomach in "bread" - actually more of a cake, or in pie.
ReplyDeleteWe love our butternut soup recipe all winter: equal parts cubed butternut and sweet potatoes, simmered in chicken broth till tender. While cooking, add brown sugar, balsamic vinegar, ginger, and a few red pepper flakes. Puree and can or freeze. When serving, fry finely chopped prosciutto in butter, and sprinkle on top of the soup in the bowl.
ReplyDeleteTry recipe for Chocolate zucchini cake - so stinkin’ good!
ReplyDeletePumpkin butter, made like apple butter, is absolutely delicious. A lot of people prefer it to apple butter.
ReplyDeleteSo. Just one zucchini plant will satisfy all your family's zuke needs. What if it were something someone else needed, wanted, or would buy/trade for?
ReplyDeleteSome of the givaway programs, especially since covid, there's no accountability for, and while some people do need food help , I've watched tv and seen lines of brand new cars lined up for trunkfuls of handouts. Some very expensive vehicles getting handouts. It's possible they need it, and possibly not. They may just want free food.
I think every church needs a monthly buy/sell/ swap/ giveaway day. I for one can't get zucchini to make it to harvest because I live in too wooded of an area and rodents especially just munch away. I trap, kill, put out fatal(for rodents only) treats and it becomes too labor intensive, time intensive, and just disgusting to have to keep killing them. And still lose. I can't fence it all, and it's costly to keep trying and losing.
So I buy produce. Not all, but all zucchini.
We have little chuches around, but being rural, there's not much interaction except for the occasional times church meets.
If there was a swap day , I for one would kove it. Food, goods, services, all things would be great. I would like to find a young person for yard work, but don't know of any. There are times I would like to share eggs, but wind up cooking excesses and recycling back to the dog, cats, and sometimes scrambling and giving back to the chickens. One sick chicken right now doesn't want to eat or drink, and I now soak her feed to soupy and add a scrambled sgg. She's eating it, thank God.
Anyway, especially since we're at the dawn of hard times, it would be good to find ways to share/repurpose/trade or even sell without leaving our community. Just a thought.
i usually grow a couple of zucchini for trading. i'm the only one in the house who likes fried zucchini, so most of what is produced, along with anything else that over produces, think cucumbers, beets, tomatoes, is traded or given away. you can never have too many friends, and fresh garden produce is a great friend maker.
ReplyDeleteWe eat all kinds of squash but another thing to try grated zucchini in is zucchini bread/cake. Very similar to banana bread and the zucchini gives it a moistness like you get with banana bread. We shred and freeze a dozen pints every year just for this.
ReplyDeleteWhen you plant squash you should do more than one plant so they pollinate well.
ReplyDeleteYou can also eat the squash flowers as well
ReplyDeleteI shred and freeze bags of zucchini during the summer then use them all winter long for zucchini bread, of course, but I also add shredded zucchini to most of the soups I make. The zucchini adds color and nutrition to our winter soups.
ReplyDeleteSquash bugs are my garden nemisis. I start one zucchini in the garden and have a couple small seedlings in the green house ready to go after the bugs attack the first plant, then pull it and put in trash with the bugs. Then I'll plant the seedlings.
ReplyDeleteSquash bugs are the worst! I heard dill planted next to squash deters them. Tried it last year and saw much improvement. Best of luck!! Vive la zucchini!
DeleteTry roasting butternut with beets, sweet potato, carrots, parsnips in the oven. My favorite way to eat squash
ReplyDeleteWith extra zucchini, shred and freeze it for winter use in baked goods. Also what I learned from my dad's family who had a small farm during the depression. For the zucchini you don't want to eat, let them grow huge, then cut them in small chunks and air dry or dehydrate them. Then blend or grind as needed into flour. Works great as a thickener and can be substituted in recipes in place of some flour and is relatively flavorless. This was commonly done on farms back in the day where grains didn't grow that well. Also blending or grinding the dtied zucchini into small diced sized pieces lets you toss it into soups and it's barely noticeable but adds nutrients. We dry all extra greens and make it into a powder and add to most foods, great way to get greens in winter and also a good way to eat them if you can't stand the taste of some of the healthier ones, like kale. We eat a fair bit of winter squash, just cut and baked mostly, not huge fans of it, but it's nutritious, so we eat it anyway. Squash bugs in my area are immune to all poisons. We have to hand pick them. DE works a bit, but not well. I've tried dill, mint, various other herbs and flowers, basically everything I read that could work I've tried and nothing actually works. They are more attracted to summer squash than winter squash, so I plant a couple yellow summer squash plant near my winter squash and it attracts more of the bugs. They also tend to like acorn squash and some of the earlier ripening sweeter winter squash varities over the others. With a couple plants handpicking works well, otherwise with larger patches you just give up later in the season and hope for the best. Mild winter in southern Idaho and I've already seen a lot of squash bugs out this year that overwintered somewhere, so it'll be a horrific bug year for gardens.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite breakfast using zucchini or summer squash is to “spiralize” so it looks like spaghetti, sauté it in butter with sliced mushrooms and diced onion for about 7 minutes and stir in a couple eggs in the last 2 minutes of cooking. Salt and pepper and enjoy!
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