As if it were a surprise, I am reporting that my most successful crop this year is...squash.  Big surprise!  Not!  Actually, the zucchini is not doing as well as the straightneck squash, but it is beginning to come into it's own.  My yellow zucchini is yummy, but is not doing particularly well.  Some of the seeds from the yellow packets actually produced green.  Oh, well.  My scalloped squash is doing quite well, and I'm hoping to see some results soon from some late planted yellow scalloped.  Maybe.  If I can keep the dogs out. 

I'm sure you're wondering what on earth I do with all this bounty.  One can only eat so many zucchini sticks before it gets old.  I still have memories of taking them in my lunch in 6th grade.  Uuughh!  But they aren't bad in moderation, with a little ranch dressing.  I've actually discovered that various types of squash work well in both soups and stir fry.  Still, the quantity I was collecting began to overwhelm.  But, I came up with a great way to preserve some of this blessed harvest without tossing it to the goat!

One afternoon, I filled my soup pot 2/3 of the way with assorted chopped squash.  After covering with water, adding an onion and about 3 cloves of garlic, a couple of tablespoons of chicken bouillion, and salt and pepper, I brought it to a boil and let it go for about a half hour.  Yummy base for soup.  The following day, I used a third of this mixture to create a topping for chicken and rice.

My first use of the soup base involved heating it, adding 4 egg yolks which were tempered with the hot liquid, and cooking a short time to thicken.  A stroke of genius, I thought to puree the vegetables.  No longer appearing as slimy chunks of boiled squash, the soup was now quite thick, and went wonderfully over the rice and chicken mixture.  I believe I added Rosemary and Thyme to season the soup.  The kids loved it.  No complaints, but lots of suggestions, mainly that it would be even better with chunks of potato and shredded cheddar cheese.  Yeah, Mom!

Next idea...sausage.  My Mom made winter squash with sausage cooked in the middle, and the flavors always went well together.  I tried a couple of pounds of Farmer John's sausage, fried it up, then added a third of that original base.  Salt and pepper, pureed veggies, served over egg noodles...awesome.  In my opinion, at least.  Would you believe, my kids weren't nearly as thrilled with this?  They weren't.  Some complained about the noodles, others, no reasons.  I thought it was great.  But I'm just Mom, what does my opinion matter?

I labelled a freezer bag for the remaining third, and stored for future winter and fall mealtimes.  On the weekend, another big pot, all frozen, this time.  Yesterday, another pot, using one third for dinner, the rest frozen. 

The portion used for dinner was once again pureed...inspired, really!  I mixed with milk, beaten eggs, and poured over  cooked egg noodles and crumbled saltine crackers.  This was topped with a pound of grated cheddar cheese and baked 45 minutes at 350 degrees.  It went over soooooooo well, I was amazed.  The creative juices are indeed flowing.  Imagine, being able to disguise broccoli, carrots, onions, all manner of veggies, in a way that is tasty!  Imagine the combinations.  Imagine the probability lessons one can do with all the combinations!  Imagine the money saved by salvaging the harvest that would otherwise need to be given away!  Imagine! 

I'm not one to get overly excited about vegetables.  I tolerate them.  But this has opened my eyes to a whole new world of ways to feed the flock!

Do me a favor, if you've endured my commentary to this point...please leave a comment with your favorite use for zucchini or summer squash.  Even if someone else has mentioned your fave, I would like to have my darling children chart/graph the results.  If you have a great recipe for using squash, I would love it if you'd post a link in your comment so we can peruse and experiment!

Blessings!