Give me your tired, your gourds (recipes)

Cafe Society
1

I picked up a bag you-get-what-you-get of veggies from a CSA and it has, among lots of lovely things which I enjoy, quite a few squashes and gourds.

I have:

A bunch of adorably tiny eggplants.
Several zucchini.
A big squash which I think is probably butternut.

I do not like these vegetables (I know they’re really fruits). I do not like squash and eggplant. Get your pumpkin pie out of here, I’ll have sweet potato instead.

But I’m not putting this veg to waste, so hit me with your tastiest variants.

I’m thinking that I can do a butternut/beet soup since I didn’t get enough beets in the bundle to boil a borscht.

Are baby eggplants more tender and tasty than their big bros? I’m willing to give them a shot with a simple roasting.

But I’m at a total loss for the zucchini. I really, really, really do not like zucchini. It’s like somebody took a cucumber and injected it with sawdust.

2

I have a recipe for peanut eggplant curry.

And also a to-die-for squash-sausage-mushroom soup.
~VOW

3

Well don’t tease!

4

Slice up a mixed variety in similar sizes. Slice up an onion in rings. Get a couple pieces of fatty bacon and fry til crispy. Remove the bacon from the pan to cool. Now, put all your sliced veg in the pan. Don’t be scared, overfill the pan. It will shrink as it cooks. Stir and flip over often, over med heat. Crumble the bacon and throw it back in the pan.
Everything is good with bacon added.

5

Ratatouille. My wife makes this wonderful vegetable stew, using a goodly amount of olive oil and an equally goodly amount of Parmesan cheese, which is not usually found in a recipe for this dish. But the cheese, combined with the oil and the simmered veggies, makes for a sweet dish.

6

I like to shred zucchini and add it to pasta sauce in the Crock Pot or Instant pot. The zucchini is not noticeable.

I didn’t think this zucchini crusted chicken would work, but it was very good.

Breaded zucchini chips or fries are delicious, as is zucchini bread.

7

For the squash-sausage soup, you can use pumpkin or your butternut squash. And if you aren’t
interested in Vegan, any breakfast sausage and a can of evaporated milk instead of soymilk
both work

Both recipes very yum.
~VOW
(yes, I’m THAT VOW)

8

I’ll second zucchini bread. Like banana bread, but with zucchini. You won’t notice the taste.

9

Yes, this. And zucchini brownies too!

10

Fried zucchini is good. Slice the zukes into 1/8-1/4 inch slices, coat them with an egg-flour-milk batter, and deep fry. It’s quite good with cocktail sauce.

Stuffed zucchini is good, too, if they’re big enough. Many recipes exist or you can use a stuffed pepper recipe of your choice for the filling.

11

Yes.

Seconding ratatouille, for both the eggplant and the zucchini. Here’s one version, there must be hundreds:

Olive oil
One large or two smaller good strong cooking onions
Garlic, to taste (I use several cloves)
Sweet peppers, gold and/or red ripe, two or three
One standard or two or three Asian (or baby standard) eggplant
Two to six tomatoes, depending on size
Basil, to taste; about a handful of fresh leaves

At least some of the following, but these are optional:
Summer squash (yellow, zucchini, cousa, and/or pattypan)
Snap beans (any type or color)
Green and/or purple sweet peppers
Tomatillos
Some hot pepper if you like
Fennel
Any other vegetable you think might be good

Take a large heavy frying pan and add enough olive oil to cover the bottom. Peel and cut up onions and garlic (cut to bitesize or smaller as you like) and sauté briefly on medium heat. Wash other produce. Remove seeds from peppers. Slice peppers and eggplant and add to pan. (It’s not necessary to peel eggplant if the skins are tender.) Keep on medium heat, stirring occasionally, and adding a little more oil if necessary, while you cut up and add summer squash, tomatillos, and / or beans in approximately that order. Cut tomatoes into quarters (or smaller, if they’re really big ones) and add them to pan; put a lid on and simmer on moderate heat until all vegetables are just tender. Add basil leaves (whole or chopped) and simmer another minute or two. Serve with rice, potatoes, fish or meat, or just with good bread.

Any leftovers? Try cold the next day with a little good vinegar added.

This also freezes well.

And here’s an idea for the winter squash:

Squash Soup

2 medium onions
2 to 3 cloves of garlic
a tablespoon or two of olive oil
3 small to medium pieces of ginger or candied ginger
2 medium sweet potatoes
1 cup apple cider (sweet cider; though I suppose you could try the alcoholic version)
4 to 5 cups of water
Winter squash: About 3 lb of any winter squash, raw or leftover cooked

Wash sweet potatoes and remove any bad portions of skin
Peel winter squash, and cut up if raw (size of pieces doesn’t matter)
Sauté onion and garlic in olive oil briefly
Cut up and add the ginger (size of pieces doesn’t matter)
Cut up and add sweet potatoes (size of pieces doesn’t matter)
Add apple cider and water
Add winter squash (cooked or raw)
Bring to a boil and then simmer till all vegetables are soft
Put through a blender or food mill, if you want it really smooth;
or mash pieces with a potato masher if you don’t mind some chunks
Return to pot and reheat to serve