Recipe: End-of-summer squash in a side dish or appetizer
These squash and carrot fritters make a great side dish, but also can be cooked mini-size for appetizers. Debbie Arrington
What can you do with the last squash of summer? So often, these latecomers are over-sized or thick-skinned. (And you’ve exhausted your squash recipes and your family’s appetite.)
This adaptable recipe can use any kind of summer squash – yellow crookneck, patty pan, zucchini or hybrids. Grated carrot adds color and crunch.
Full size, these fritters make a tasty side dish to salmon, chicken or pork. Or make them a vegetarian entree.
Top with a little sour cream or plain yogurt, if desired, along with more chopped chives.
Perfect for dipping, mini-fritters are kid-sized – sort of like little veggie nuggets. They also make good appetizers. Serve with ranch dressing or plain yogurt.
End-of-summer squash fritters
Makes 4 fritters or 12 mini-fritters
Ingredients:
1 pound summer squash
Salt
½ cup grated carrot
2 tablespoons grated onion
1 egg, beaten
¼ cup Parmesan cheese, shredded
1 tablespoon chopped chives, plus more for garnish
½ teaspoon garlic salt
¼ cup flour
½ teaspoon baking powder
Vegetable oil
Salt and pepper to taste
Plain yogurt or sour cream, optional
Instructions:
De-stem squash. Remove any large or hard seeds. Grate with a large-hole grater.
Put squash in a colander and sprinkle with salt; gently stir. Let drain for 10 minutes.
Transfer grated squash to a clean dishcloth. Wrap the squash in the dishcloth and gently squeeze out the water.
While the squash is draining, combine the grated carrot and onion in a medium bowl. With a wooden spoon, stir in beaten egg, Parmesan cheese, 1 tablespoon chives and garlic salt.
Fold in the drained and squeezed squash. Sprinkle the flour and baking powder over the mixture; stir to combine.
Line a baking sheet with paper towels. Set aside.
Cover the bottom of a heavy skillet with about 1/8 inch of oil, about ¼ cup. Heat the oil over medium high heat. Drop 1/4-cup scoops of the squash mixture into the hot oil and gently press down with the back of a spoon.
Note: For mini-fritters, use 1 large tablespoon per fritter.
Cook the squash patties until golden brown, about 3 minutes per side. Adjust heat as needed so patties don’t cook too fast. Remove to paper towel-lined baking sheet to drain. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
Serve warm with plain yogurt or sour cream and chopped chives.
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Garden Checklist for week of Nov. 3
November still offers good weather for fall planting:
* If you haven't already, it's time to clean up the remains of summer. Pull faded annuals and vegetables. Prune dead or broken branches from trees.
* Now is the best time to plant most trees and shrubs. This gives them plenty of time for root development before spring growth. They also benefit from fall and winter rains.
* Set out cool-weather annuals such as pansies and snapdragons.
* Lettuce, cabbage and broccoli also can be planted now.
* Plant garlic and onions.
* Keep planting bulbs to spread out your spring bloom. Some possible suggestions: daffodils, crocuses, hyacinths, tulips, anemones and scillas.
* This is also a good time to seed wildflowers and plant such spring bloomers as sweet pea, sweet alyssum and bachelor buttons.
* Rake and compost leaves, but dispose of any diseased plant material. For example, if peach and nectarine trees showed signs of leaf curl this year, clean up under trees and dispose of those leaves instead of composting.
* Save dry stalks and seedpods from poppies and coneflowers for fall bouquets and holiday decorating.
* For holiday blooms indoors, plant paperwhite narcissus bulbs now. Fill a shallow bowl or dish with 2 inches of rocks or pebbles. Place bulbs in the dish with the root end nestled in the rocks. Add water until it just touches the bottom of the bulbs. Place the dish in a sunny window. Add water as needed.
* Give your azaleas, gardenias and camellias a boost with chelated iron.
* For larger blooms, pinch off some camellia buds.
* Prune non-flowering trees and shrubs while dormant.
* To help prevent leaf curl, apply a copper fungicide spray to peach and nectarine trees after they lose their leaves this month. Leaf curl, which shows up in the spring, is caused by a fungus that winters as spores on the limbs and around the tree in fallen leaves. Sprays are most effective now.
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