August Update on Cucurbits: Part One

I have had a very rough go this year with the pumpkins and squash (both winter and summer).  First, I rushed into planting them too early in May during a wonderful warm spell then got hit with a late frost.  I covered all of the plants during the frost and I managed to save 2/3 of what I had planted (which was quite a lot).  Then I got a nasty infestation of cucumber beetles which managed to take down quite a few of the already weak plants.  The beetles mostly infected the summer squash, but also many of the pumpkins.

Several weeks of neem oil treatment and some manual picking of the bugs off the plants has made a considerable difference.  I still see cucumber beetles on some of the plants but those plants that survived seem to be strong enough and large enough to handle it (but I'll keep doing the neem oil treatments and pick off bugs when I see them).  I also have a lot of squash bugs but they don't seem to do as much damage.

I lost almost all of the pumpkin plants, and the watermelon and Hale's melon plants are growing but I've seen no fruit forming yet and are likely too small to produce anything in the short growing season I have here.  So here is a summary of what I have left.

crazy crowded 3 sisters garden

In the three sisters garden space (NW of my yard), I planted the Marina di Chiogga, as well as spaghetti, butternut and acorn squash.  There is no evidence of acorn anywhere in this garden.  I have one spaghetti squash almost ready to harvest ... a good thing as it started much higher up on a stalk of corn and has slowly been dropping further towards the ground.  I probably should have managed the vines better so they didn't go up the corn.

I have two very different looking Marina di Chiogga - one seems close to harvest but I've never grown these before so I'll have to do some research.

I have two that have this lighter colouring

And finally some evidence of butternut.  I really struggled with germination and had several to plant but I think I lost most of them in the frost.  Not sure if this one will have time to get to full size but I'll take what I can get.

If it is not obvious, I'll point out that I seem to have, at best, one or two squash per plant.  A pretty crappy yield rate but at least I'm getting something!!

NE space

The next garden (NE of my yard) was also dedicated to Cucurbits including more spaghetti squash, acorn squash as well as the watermelon and Hale's melon that I previously mentioned.  Due to the large numbers of squash bugs that I had last year, I decided to put LOTS of marigolds and nasturtiums with the squash in this area in order to attract them away from the veggie plants. I may have overdone it as I planted dozens of them and they are all getting quite large and threatening to overtake the garden space (but are working very well at attracting the bugs).

Marigolds down centre, not yet in bloom
but covered in squash bugs

One (or two?) of several nasturtium!

The two spaghetti squash harvested this past Monday (one 5-pounder!) came from this area (probably the same plant), and I have another one growing here.  That little yellow flower behind it is from the watermelon plant.

I also have two acorn squash.

And then there is this mystery squash which I haven't quite figured out what it is yet.

And that's the first part covering my two "dug" gardens containing squash. Stay tuned for part two covering the hay bale plants!

Harvest Monday: January 26, 2015

It will be several months before there will be any new harvests for me, even with the new greenhouse - this morning's weather was -27 degrees Celsius (at 6:20am) with "freezing fog" - hmm, doesn't sound good. 

But I continue to enjoy last season's harvest including my last butternut squash, my last spaghetti squash and almost the last of the borlotti beans. 

This past week I made a version of my butternut squash mac 'n cheese (slightly modified to suit the ingredients I had on hand).  And a week or two ago I made a casserole with spaghetti squash (along with the "shredded" cooked squash, I mixed in some goat cheese and one egg, then topped with parmesan and baked in the oven).

And I made some refried beans for a tex-mex meal using borlotti beans that I had in the freezer (I wasn't sure if I had dried them well enough to store, so I froze them to be safe).  Refried beans can be made with just about any bean but these were all I had available.  Saute onion and garlic, then add chili powder and salt; add in the pre-soaked and cooked beans plus some veggie or chicken stock; cook together and mash into a delicious side dish. 

I also pulled out the one and only bag of rhubarb I had from last year with some grand plans.  I had very little rhubarb as it was only the second year for my rhubarb plants so I was careful not to harvest too much to let the plant focus on rooting and growth.  Unfortunately, I got distracted while roasting the rhubarb and it ended up dried out and inedible.  Sigh ...

Check out Daphne's Dandelions on Harvest Monday to see what other gardeners are doing with last year's harvests (or what they are currently harvesting for those in the more southerly climes).

Coconut Curry Butternut Squash

I still have a few butternut squash from my harvest last fall so used a couple for this dish. I don't use coconut milk a lot (and when I do, I go for the light stuff) but it really goes well with the squash.  And this recipe calls for amchur powder ... this is a powder made from unripe mangoes that adds a sour citrus-like flavour to the dish.  It can be found in any indian grocer but there are various options for replacing this if you search the internet.






Ingredients:
2 tsp cumin seeds
1 medium onion, diced (about 1 cup)
4 garlic cloves, peeled
1-inch knob of fresh ginger, peeled
1 jalapeno pepper, minced
1/2 tsp turmeric
2 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp garam masala
2 tsp amchur (dried mango powder)
4 cups squash, medium diced
14 oz can lite coconut milk



Mince the ginger and garlic (I use a food processor).

Add 1 Tbsp of vegetable oil to a large pan.  Add 2 tsp cumin seeds and cook just a few minutes until they start to pop. Immediately add the onions and saute about 5 minutes when they begin to soften.  Add the garlic and ginger and cook another 1-2 minutes.

Add the jalapeno and other spices, including the amchur.  Cook 2-3 minutes to allow the spices to release their fragrance.  Then add the squash, coconut milk, 2 tsp salt and 3/4 cup water.  Cook until squash is tender and liquid has reduced - about 30 minutes.  Add additional water as needed.

Serve with rice or naan.  I served it recently with the rogan josh (lamb curry) from my previous post along with some chana masala (chickpea curry) and mutter paneer (peas and Indian cheese cubes).

Butternut Squash Risotto

Risotto is very adaptable to just about any veggie you are in the mood for.  The butternut squash I grew last year stored very well and I still have plenty on hand (although I did have to discard a couple of acorn squash that had some rot).  This is such a delicious way to enjoy squash!

Most risotto recipes call for white wine - it helps with flavour, of course, but I suspect it is the acidity that is the main purpose as it helps to balance the butter and cheese.  I did not have any on hand so I replaced it with some sake and lemon juice. 

Ingredients:
2 cups squash, small dice
2 large shallots, minced
1 cup arborio rice
Sake*
Lemon juice
4-5 cups chicken stock
1/4 cup parmesan
Butter






*Instead of the sake and lemon juice combination, you can use 1/4 cup white wine for a more traditional risotto.

Keep the chicken stock warm in a pot on the stove.  Most stock comes in 1 litre (4 cup) tetra packages.  Since this could take up to 5 cups, I usually add 1 cup of water to the stock early on so it is heated up along with the stock.

Saute the squash in some olive oil and butter until tender.  Remove from pan and set aside.  Add another tablespoon each of olive oil and butter and saute the shallots for 3-4 minutes. 

Add the arborio rice and stir until coated with the oil/butter.  Cook for a minute or two then add a large splash of sake and 1/4 cup lemon juice (or replace both of these with the white wine).






Once this liquid has absorbed, begin to add the chicken stock about a 1/2 cup at a time.  Continue until you've added about half of the stock.




 
At this point, return the squash to the rice (I also had some sharp aged cheddar on hand so threw 2 ounces in at this point).   Continue adding the stock until the rice is cooked and creamy.


 


Stir in the parmesan cheese along with salt and pepper to taste.  Just before serving, add a dab of butter to make it extra creamy.

Butternut Squash and Goat Cheese Stuffed Pasta with Mushroom Cream Sauce

I had planned to use dumpling wrappers to make this pasta as I have in the past, but when I got home, I realized I had purchased wonton wrappers.  But pretty much the same thing; expect with the kinds I usually buy, one is round and one is square.   I played around with the square ones a bit to work out a reasonable shape.  These are kind of like cappelletti.  Or maybe tortellini.  They are very similar, just a twist here or there makes the difference.

Two things always come to mind when making homemade stuffed pasta: (1) super easy and fresh and (2) I can't believe how little filling goes into each pasta - if you use too much it won't seal properly and you end up with a mess.


 Stuffed Pasta:
Olive oil
1 large shallot, diced
1 cup butternut squash puree*
2 oz goat cheese
nutmeg
 
* Halve and seed a 1 1/2 pound butternut squash, bake at 350 degrees F for about 30-40 minutes until tender.  Cool and remove flesh.

Add a small amount of olive oil to a heated saute pan.  Saute shallot until tender then add butternut squash puree.  Cook about 5 minutes to blend the flavours together.  Remove from heat and let cool slightly.  Stir in goat cheese and some freshly grated nutmeg (2 or 3 passes on a grater).

While preparing pasta, keep the unused wonton wrappers moist by placing a slightly damp tea towel over top.  This prevents them from drying and cracking while rolling the shapes.

See pictures below for the technique I used.  Place about 1 teaspoon of cooled filling onto a wonton sheet.  Fold into a triangle and seal edges with water.  Push the lower tip upwards then pull the side tips backwards towards each other and seal again with water where they join.

Makes about 30.  Cook in salted boiling water, about 8-10 per serving (fresh pasta doesn't take long to cook maybe 7-9 minutes from fresh).

Mushroom Sauce:
2 Tbsp butter
1 Tbsp olive oil
8 oz cremini mushrooms, diced
1 shallot, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbsp thyme
2-3 Tbsp heavy cream


Have lemon and fresh thyme available for serving.

Heat pan and add butter and olive oil.  When oil/butter is hot and bubbling, add mushrooms.  Cook on high heat until browned (don't fiddle with them too much).  Add shallots, garlic and thyme partway through and cook until softened.  Add heavy cream.

Toss cooked pasta with mushroom cream sauce.  Squeeze fresh lemon juice and add additional fresh thyme just before serving.

Butternut Mac and Cheese

I've seen a few recipes floating around for this dish, and have been patiently waiting for my homegrown butternut squash to be ready for harvest.  The flavour of the squash is not quite as prominent as I would have liked; probably overpowered by the cheese, but I like my mac to be cheesy!  So I guess this would be a great dish for parents who have to trick their kids into eating veggies ...

This can be eaten right off the stovetop.  But I added garlic-butter breadcrumbs so baked it for a half hour for a crunchy texture.

Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups diced butternut squash
3 cups milk
Flour
nutmeg
8 oz aged cheddar, grated or cubed
2 Tbsp parmesan
2 cups dry macaroni or any short pasta
S&P

The sauce can easily be made in the time it takes to cook the macaroni.  While the pasta water is heating up place milk and diced squash in a saucepan at medium heat and cook until squash is tender.  Take off heat and puree with an immersion blender.  Remove 1/2 cup of the liquid and stir in 1 heaping Tbsp of flour.  Return the flour slurry to the pot and bring to a boil.  Reduce to a simmer and cook about 15 minutes to thicken.



Grate in some fresh nutmeg and add the cheese.  Cheese will melt into the sauce quickly, so just keep on low until macaroni is ready.  Season with S&P.

When pasta is cooked, combine with the sauce in a casserole dish.  Top with breadcrumbs and bake (350 F) until browned.

 
This is a super simple recipe and can easily be added to.  Next time I'll try adding kale or swiss chard.