Change of Season at Mealtime

I always look to contributor Jim Dixon of Real Good Food for the heads-up on seasonal eating. Here he's switching up tomatoes for eggplant, peppers for squash.

I’m cooking fewer of the really delicious peppers, tomatoes and the special things available only during their too-short season and eating more of the “hearty” vegetable staples. Cabbage, collards, cavalo nero (lacinato or Tuscan kale), eggplant (fleeting locally, but always grown somewhere; the long distance stuff just tastes better than winter tomatoes), winter squash, potatoes, green bell peppers. More rice and beans, but I eat that all the time so maybe it just seems like it.

Speaking of rice and beans, a New Orleans style bowl of them would go real well this squash. Bottle of Crystal hot sauce, too.

Cajun Butternut Squash

Chop an onion and start cooking it in extra virgin olive oil. Add a couple of stalks of diced celery and a diced green pepper. If you like a little heat, add a diced jalapeno, too. Toss in a little salt and cook for abut 10 minutes.

While that’s cooking, peel, seed and cube a butternut squash. You want pieces about a half inch, but don’t worry about perfection. I split the squash lengthwise, scoop put the seeds, then lay it cut side down and slice; I find it easier to cut the peel off the slices, but you can use a swivel peeler to take it off before you cit it up. Cut the slices into roughly half-inch chunks.

Add the squash to pan and sprinkle with a generous dose of your favorite Cajun spice blend (we like Slap Ya’ Mama and Tony Cachere’s).Or make one with roughly equal parts of black pepper and paprika, about half as much thyme, and red pepper to your heat tolerance. Cook this for about 5 minutes over medium heat, then pour in some Katz Gravenstein apple cider vinegar (maybe 2 tablespoons). Cover, reduce the heat, and cook for another 10-15 minutes or until the squash is tender.

Top photo by George Chernilevsky for Wikimedia Commons.

A Fritter Affliction

Contributor Jim Dixon of RealGoodFood has been plagued, as happens often with those of the foodie persuasion, with a passion for fried hunks of dough. We sympathize and send our condolences, wishing him a recovery in due time.

My fritter affliction continues. They’re fairly easy, cook quickly and are perfect to eat in the kitchen while the rest of dinner is cooking. Lately I’ve been making the little fried things with squash and cornmeal (actually the finely ground corn from Ayers Creek Farm, available periodically at the Hillsdale Sunday Farmers Market). Here’s what I do:

Squash Fritters

Peel, seed and cube a butternut squash. Put the cubes in a glass bowl with about a quarter cup of water, cover and microwave for 4-5 minutes or until easily mashed (if you’re microwave-averse, steam them). Combine about a cup and half of the mashed squash with an equal amount (more or less) of ricotta, about a half cup each of cornmeal and bread crumbs, a couple of eggs, a handful of grated Parmigiano, a finely chopped shallot, and salt. The mixture should hold together but not be too dry.

Use two soup spoons or your hands to form patties about the size of an egg or walnut, slide them into a skillet slicked with a generous amount of good olive oil, flatten gently with a fork, and cook until nicely browned on both sides. Sprinkle with flor de sal and eat immediately.

Photo from The Leftover Queen.