Sacramento Digs Gardening: Zucchini and much more

Yellow and green squashes, diced — The yellow pattypan and green zucchini squashes are diced before steaming.

(Photos: Debbie Arrington)

Creamy summer squash casserole is an old Kentucky favorite. Usually, it’s made with baby crooknecks; peeled, boiled and mashed.

This variation uses a mix of summer squash, still plentiful in October. Even (somewhat) over-sized squash will work. Once puréed, big and little squash all cook the same.

The combination of green zucchini and yellow pattypan makes for an attractive side dish, too. All green or all yellow is pretty (and tasty), too.

Two-squash casserole

Makes 6 servings

Zucchini and pattypan squash — Summer squash season is coming to an end, but there's

still time to find (or harvest) them for the casserole.

Ingredients:

2 pounds mixed summer squash (zucchini, pattypan, crookneck, etc.), chopped into 1-inch chunks

1 egg, beaten

¼ cup cream

1 tablespoon sugar

5 teaspoons cornstarch

½ cup (1 cube) butter, melted

½ cup onion, finely chopped

¼ cup Parmesan or Romano cheese, grated

Salt and pepper to taste

Casserole baked and ready to eat — Two-squash casserole is a homey, creamy side dish.

Instructions:

Grease a 2-quart casserole dish. Set aside.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Steam squash over simmering water until fork tender. In a food processor, purée squash until smooth.

In a mixing bowl, beat egg with cream. Mix together sugar and cornstarch; add to egg-cream mixture. Stir in melted butter and chopped onion. Fold in puréed squash. Season with salt and pepper.

Pour mixture into greased casserole dish. Sprinkle grated cheese over top.

Bake in a 350-degree oven for 40 minutes or until top is golden.

Serve warm.

RECIPE

A recipe for preparing delicious meals from the bounty of the garden.

Keywords:

recipe recipes gardening Sacramento fall farmers markets summer vegetables backyard produce side dish farm to fork squash cooking

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Food in My Back Yard Series

May 6: Maintain soil moisture with mulch for garden success

April 29: What's (already) wrong with my tomato plants?

April 22: Should you stock up on fertilizer? (Yes!)

April 15: Grow culinary herbs in containers

April 8: When to plant summer vegetables

April 1: Don't be fooled by these garden myths

March 25: Fertilizer tips: How to 'feed' your vegetables for healthy growth

March 18: Time to give vegetable seedlings some more space

March 11: Ways to win the fight against weeds

March 4: Potatoes from the garden

Feb. 25: Plant a fruit tree now -- for later

Feb. 18: How to squeeze more food into less space

Feb. 11: When to plant? Consider staggering your transplants

Feb. 4: Starting in seed starting

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Garden Checklist for week of May 11

Make the most of the lower temperatures early in the week. We’ll be back in the 80s by Thursday.

* Plant, plant, plant! It’s prime planting season in the Sacramento area. Time to set out those tomato transplants along with peppers and eggplants. Pinch off any flowers on new transplants to make them concentrate on establishing roots instead of setting premature fruit.

* Direct-seed melons, cucumbers, summer squash, corn, radishes, pumpkins and annual herbs such as basil.

* Harvest cabbage, lettuce, peas and green onions.

* In the flower garden, direct-seed sunflowers, cosmos, salvia, zinnias, marigolds, celosia and asters. (You also can transplant seedlings for many of the same flowers.)

* Plant dahlia tubers.

* Transplant petunias, marigolds and perennial flowers such as astilbe, columbine, coneflowers, coreopsis, dahlias, rudbeckia and verbena.

* Keep an eye out for slugs, snails, earwigs and aphids that want to dine on tender new growth.

* Feed summer bloomers with a balanced fertilizer.

* For continued bloom, cut off spent flowers on roses as well as other flowering plants.

* Add mulch to the garden to maintain moisture. Mulch also cuts down on weeds. But don’t let it mound around the stems or trunks of trees or shrubs. Leave about a 6-inch-to-1-foot circle to avoid crown rot or other problems.

* Remember to weed! Pull those nasties before they set seed.

* Water early in the day and keep seedlings evenly moist.

Taste Summer! E-cookbook

Find our summer recipes here!

Taste Fall! E-cookbook

Find our fall recipes here!

Taste Winter! E-cookbook

Find our winter recipes here!

Zucchini and much more – creamy, light and delicious

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