Life with Squash

Squash--together with beans and corn--represented the staple foods of the pre-Columbian agriculture of many southwestern American and Mesoamerican native cultures. There is evidence of squash being eaten in Mexico as far back as 5500 B.C.

 I grew up with yellow crook-neck squash and  whitish-green “Pattypans” (both of which are summer squashes) with scalloped edges grown on my grandparents’ farm, and I remember sitting down with my parents and brother many a night to stewed yellow or fried white (patty pan) squash.

However, I must say:  Never has a person respected the cultural panache of a vegetable so much and enjoyed it so little. The slick texture bothered me for a long time, and I relegated my lack of taste for the poor squash to the ash heap of my other great failing as a country boy.  Buttermilk, of course.  Alas, most hopelessly, I could stand neither the taste of buttermilk nor the look of the glass after drinking said beverage.

 Eventually, however, I discovered other varieties of summer and winter squash, such as zucchini, butternut, spaghetti and so many more.  Now I am fond of “squish” as Joyce and I jokingly refer to them.  With the exception of zucchini (which I adore), they may not be a favorite, but I have learned to enjoy them.  I especially like baked butternut or spaghetti squash on a cold  Fall or Winter evening. 

 It is said that every beginning gardener has a tale about bountiful but unplanned squash harvests, as squash grow so well in most locations. Mine occurred one summer while pursuing “Square Foot Gardening.” I planted a hill or two of Summer Crook Necks for my spouse, Joyce.  The idea with this type of gardening is to grow several plants  in the garden, one type to a square foot.

 Well, the squash just kept on going and going—rather like the Energizer Bunny—and taking more and more space in the small garden.  Soon virtually the entire garden was in the shade of huge squash vines.  Joyce encouraged me to let them be, as she was looking forward to lots of summer dinners featuring the little yellow “crooks.”  I don’t seem to remember any of those dinners, but then I may be suffering from that dread malady known as SSML (Self Selective Memory Loss).

 Most Summer squashes are members of the Cucurbitaceae (or gourd)  family of warm-weather vegetables.  All of these vegetables grow quickly and must be picked before their skins and seeds have had time to harden and mature. Summer squashes should be refrigerated after harvest and should be eaten within a few days of harvest. Summer squash are high in vitamins A and C as well as niacin.

 Winter squash have hard, thick skins and seeds. The deep yellow to orange flesh is firmer than that of summer  squash and therefore requires longer cooking. Winter squash varieties include acorn squash, buttercup, butternut squash, spaghetti  squash and the Turban variety. Though most varieties are available year-round, winter squash is best from early fall through the winter

 For such an earthy plant, squash blossoms are almost ethereal in their pale, yellow-green beauty.  During the summer, I often see them for sale at the local farmers’ market.  They are edible as well, I am told.