No matter what the calendar says, to me, when there are yellow squash on the vine summer has begun.
Yellow squash, sliced into thin slivers and fried until golden brown bring back memories of my great-grandmother's table. In summer at every meal there were fried squash, fried okra, bowls of corn, sliced tomatoes, cucumbers and
hot biscuits. With those fresh from the garden veggies there was no need for meat.
I still, partly for tradition and partly to satisfy some longing need, fry the first yellow squash of the summer. This year that squash came last week from my boss' garden. I sliced it thin, dredged each coin in a salt/pepper/flour mix and watched them sizzle in oil. Flipped once and laid to drain on a paper-towel covered plate, I waited just long enough to avoid bodily injury before tossing one of those slivers into my mouth. It's the taste of summer.
For health and heart, that is the only squash I fry for the entire squash season. The rest I slowly sautee in a bit of olive oil and garlic. It's a great way to enjoy that prolific summer veggie. But this year, armed with my great grandmother's collection I decided to try something new - the squash casserole.
She had three recipes, two squash cassseroles and one squash pie. Thanks to the generosity of friends, I had enough squash to try to them all. They were all good, though I'm partial to the pie. (Recipes to come.)
