Mornings in the Garden

Last night brought lovely rain, and this morning found many cucumbers and squash ready to be picked.   There is also some broccoli in the bottom of my basket, and two precious red raspberries from the harvest.  I'm finding Japanese beetles on the ripe peaches and berries this year.  I don't seem to remember that from past years, but it may just be a gardener's selective memory there.  We're growing several varieties of summer squash this year- yellow crookneck, golden bush scallop, and tromboncino.  Last night, I fixed some of the scallop squash in a manner suggested by Henrietta.  She and her husband, Rick, are local organic market gardeners.  Their gardens and produce are awesome, and Henrietta knows just how to cook up their bounty.  No exact recipe here, but I don't think you can go wrong with this.

Skillet Roasted Summer Squash

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.  Put butter in your skillet, enough to cover the bottom (1 tbs does well for my 9 inch skillet) & put in the oven to melt.  Cut squash in rounds & make three layers of squash in skillet.  Pour a little maple syrup with some melted butter (doesn't take a lot of either) over the squash & layer more squash & maple syrup/butter until you've filled your skillet.  I added a little salt before popping it in the oven.  Cook at least 30 minutes, until tender.  You can turn the oven up to 500 degrees at the end to brown it if needed.

I'm canning the first Kosher-style dill pickles of the summer this morning.  My new etsy shop, SoulSeeds, is now open!  Happy Summer, friends!