Summer Squash Recipes

This summer we planted two zucchini plants, and we got a whopping four zucchini from them. Luckily, Brian's parents had an overload of crookneck squash, so I almost got my fix of summer squash. Out of all the squash we had, I never once made zucchini bread, which is too bad. I really like zucchini bread. If by chance you had a bumper squash season, I will share some new favorite recipes to use up some of the bounty.

Corn and Zucchini Melody

4 slices bacon
2 cups chopped zucchini (or other summer squash)
1 1/2 cups corn
1 small onion, chopped
1 pinch pepper
shredded cheese (I used parmesan because that's all I had, the original recipe calls for Monterey Jack)

Fry the bacon until crisp. Take out bacon and chop. Reserve 1 T drippings. Add zucchini, corn, and onions to hot bacon grease. Season with pepper. Saute for 10 minutes. Add in chopped bacon and cheese.

I also added in halved grape tomatoes (we have an abundance), and I used some extra seasonings. This was gooood. That bacon flavor really adds a lot.


Sausage, Squash, and Rice Skillet

1 c brown rice
2 c water
1 lb bulk sausage
1 green pepper, chopped
1/4 c onion, chopped
2-3 c chopped squash (I used zucchini and crookneck)
1/2 c beef broth 
salt and pepper
shredded cheese

Cook rice in water until all the water is absorbed, about 50 minutes. Meanwhile, brown sausage in large skillet until cooked through. Add in green pepper, onion, and squash. Saute until tender. Add cooked rice and broth and stir. Season to taste. Top with shredded cheese.

I made up this recipe, and Brian and I both liked it a lot. I don't know how much squash I used, but it could have used more. The leftovers were just as good.


Potato Squash Cakes

2 cups shredded potatoes
1 cup shredded yellow squash
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 egg
4 tablespoons self-rising flour
1/4 teaspoon garlic salt
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup cooking oil


In a large bowl, combine potatoes, squash, onion, egg, flour, garlic salt, salt, and pepper. If the batter is too thin, add more flour; if too thick, add milk. Form batter into 3-inch patties. Cover the bottom of a large skillet with just enough oil to cover the bottom of the pan, and heat over medium-high heat. Place patties in hot oil, and cook until golden brown on each side; drain on paper towels.

I didn't love these because I generally hate frying things in oil. Everything and everyone smells like oil, and it splatters everywhere. Despite that, I made them because we had all the stuff and they looked quick. They were okay. If you don't mind frying things in oil, you might really like these. Maybe in the future I'll try again, but I'll just spray a pan with nonstick cooking spray.

Zucchini Brownies

1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 1/2 cups white sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups shredded zucchini

6 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 cup margarine
2 cups confectioners' sugar
1/4 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract



Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour a 9x13 inch baking pan.
In a large bowl, mix together the oil, sugar and 2 teaspoons vanilla until well blended. Combine the flour, 1/2 cup cocoa, baking soda and salt; stir into the sugar mixture. Fold in the zucchini. Spread evenly into the prepared pan. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes in the preheated oven, until brownies spring back when gently touched. To make the frosting, melt together the 6 tablespoons of cocoa and margarine; set aside to cool. In a medium bowl, blend together the confectioners' sugar, milk and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla. Stir in the cocoa mixture. Spread over cooled brownies before cutting into squares.

I've made these twice. The first time they turned out really bizarre. I think the squash I used was too dry. The second time I used a nice moist zucchini, and they were awesome. And this could be a positive or negative depending on who is consuming the brownies-- I couldn't see or taste the zucchini.

Cloth Diapers

Some of you know that I'm using cloth diapers with Camille, and a couple people have asked how it's going, so I thought I would blog about it in case it is helpful for anyone else.

I started putting Camille in cloth diapers at about eight weeks. I waited till then on the advice of others because newborns poop often, and the diapers I had wouldn't fit our little seven pounder. I'm not a fanatic about cloth diaspers. We use disposable diapers occasionally.


Pros
-Saving money. I'm extremely cheap frugal. This is the biggest reason I decided to cloth diaper. I spent about $100 on cloth diapers and supplies, and Mom gave me a bunch of stuff. The kind of diapers I got are one-size, meaning they'll fit from 8-35 pounds. If I take care of them, they hopefully will last through another kid.

-No blow-outs. I hadn't expected this benefit, but every blow-out Camille has had was in a disposable diaper.

-In Peru I often saw dogs eating dirty diapers in the streets, and it made my stomach churn. (In Peru my stomach often churned.) I spent a lot of time thinking about how gross that was and how to stop it.

-Other people feel like they are saving the environment, or keeping their baby healthy by not putting chemical-filled diapers on their babies. Those weren't reasons for choosing to cloth diaper for me. I don't buy into the chemical argument, and the environment issue is just a nice added benefit.

Cons

-Laundry. Even if you have a huge stash of diapers, you still need to wash them every 2-3 days. I get a little tired of always doing laundry.

-Poop. Breastfed baby poop is water-soluble, so I just do a rinse before I wash the diapers. The problem will be when Camille starts solids. The options are to dunk the diaper in the toilet, use a sprayer or something to get the solids off, or use disposable liners where you can just lift out the liner and flush. I don't know what we'll do yet. If you think that's gross, did you know that even if you use disposable diapers, you're supposed to knock any solids into the toilet? I don't know anyone who does that except Mom. If you do, kudos to you. Water treatment plants are made to handle human waste. Landfills are not.

There are a couple other things I've had to figure out. One is what to do with the dirty diapers until laundry gets done. What I did was to make two big zippered bags made of pul, a waterproof fabric. Th dirty diapers go in, and when I do laundry, I just dump the diapers into the wash and wash the bag along with them. The other thing was what to do about wipes. For now we're using normal wet wipes, but what do you do with the dirty ones when there is no diaper to put them in to throw them away? We put them in a grocery bag that gets thrown out every few days. At some point we'll use cloth wipes that can be laundered with the diapers.

I was worried that Camille would always have to wear a size up in baby clothes since cloth diapers are inherently bigger than disposables. She doesn't.

This is what her cloth diapers look like on.

Here's how a pair of pants fits.

This is how a romper fits over the cloth diaper. I'm also a little worried about Camille's cannibalistic tendencies.

Overall, I'd recommend cloth diapers. Brian doesn't. He thinks it's too much work and too gross. Usually when he takes care of Camille she wears disposable diapers. There are cloth diapers that are easier, but they are also more expensive, so I didn't go with those.

So now you know.