| I've named my squash plant Audrey III. See, here it is demanding water:
Every day when I wake up, the leaves of this monstrous thing are drooped over as if it has not gotten a drop of water in weeks. I bring it a watering can-ful of water or two, or perhaps just give it water straight from the hose, and in a few hours it perks up again, only to repeat it the next day. At the same time, this stupid thing is growing so fast you can almost see it happening. It's actually two plants, not one, although I had already named it "The Squash That Ate My Yard" before I found two stems coming out of the ground. Each day, these plants are longer and thirstier than before, and San Diego won't get a drop of rain for months.
I had been watching the formation of two squashes and finally, when one threatened to grow as big as a pumpkin, I cut it off the vine and began to eat it. I was going to roast it, but then the almond butter caught my eye. And I remembered that my boyfriend just bought some new curry powder... The resulting recipe is below.
My huge squash, with Meg the Fat Kitty posing next to it
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| I don't know what kind of squash this is and, in fact, I don't think it is a recognized "kind" of squash. It's a squash mutt, a seed that came out of a squash I ate, either a blue ballet or a buttercup squash, but clearly the parent plant was pollinated by something else (god knows what). The flesh is a light yellow and very delicate. It doesn't have a strong flavor like a butternut squash, nor is it terribly sweet like a delicata. But it's a great texture for soaking up a delicious curry sauce.
I cut the squash in half, then in quarters. I had intended to cook the entire thing but when I began to dice it into cubes, I decided that half the squash would be more than enough to feed both my boyfriend and me. As I started cutting up the second quarter of the squash, I realized that if I cut up any more, it wouldn't fit in the 3 qt. saucepan I was using. So I ended up using about 1/3 of the squash.
I also tossed in a very small head of garlic that I grew, some potatoes I'd dug up (I was curious what was going on underground and was fascinating to pull up the entire plant to find 8 little baby potatoes hanging off of it), and a few beans I'd picked.
The other ingredients:
A few green beans
Some potatoes
I didn't measure as I made this dish, so you don't have to either. But if you want to measure, I've included approximate measurements for you.
The recipe:
1 large onion, chopped
A few cloves garlic, minced
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil (or more)
1 tomato, diced
1-2 [normal sized] winter squashes, with seeds and pulp removed, diced
Equivalent of 1 potato or a few fingerlings, diced
1/2 c. water
1/2 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp coriander
1 tsp cumin
1 tbsp curry
Salt to taste
1/4 c. almond butter (or peanut butter)
1/2 c. or so green beans
Add onion and extra virgin olive oil to saucepan on medium high heat and sautee until the onion is translucent (about 5 minutes). Add garlic and saute another minute or so. Then tomato, potato, squash, water, spices, and almond butter. Go light on the salt at this point because you can always add more later if need be. Stir ingredients and cover. Simmer until squash and potatoes are cooked. Add green beans, taste, add salt and spices if needed, and cover for a few minutes until the green beans are tender but not soggy. Then serve.
My squash curry
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