Tag Archives: squash

Brown Rice with Garden Veggies (Including Summer Squash!)

by stuporglue Posted on July 8, 2010

Squash time has arrived, which leads to the question “What can I make with squash!” Two years ago we had a bumper crop of summer squash and nearly overdosed on the stuff. This year I intend to record each recipe that we make using summer squash (including zucchini) so future me can more easily decide what to do with it. Part of our strategy this year is to pick them when they’re smaller. They should be more tender and less intimidating this way, right?

Summer squash and zucchini
Summer squash and zucchini. About 9 inches long

Brown Rice with Garden Veggies (Including Summer Squash)

We really liked this recipe, even my 4 year old. It’s kind of a cross between fried rice and Hawaiian haystacks. The squash isn’t very prominent, but helps make the rice more interesting. Nutty brown rice mixes nicely with the sweetness of the pineapple and pulled pork while the ginger and turnips help it from being too sweet. The peas round out the dish adding a nice fresh crunch to it.

Enjoy!

Plate of brown rice with garden veggies (including yellow squash!)
Plate of brown rice with garden veggies (including yellow squash!)

Ingredients

  • Brown Rice
  • 1 medium (9 inch!) summer squash, chopped
  • 1 cup Peas in the pod, stems removed
  • 1/2 cup chopped turnip
  • 1 medium onion, chopped
  • Pineapple
  • Pulled Pork (we used leftover fake Cafe Rio Pork Barbacoa)
  • Ginger (powdered, but I bet grated would taste awesome)
  • Garlic
  • Salt
  • 2 tbsp soy sauce
  • A little oil, butter or cooking spray

Cook It!

  1. Prepare pulled pork using your favorite recipe (or buy it, if you’re in a hurry).
  2. Put the rice on to cook. You want to stop it while it still has a nice bite and isn’t stuck together. None of this mushy rice stuff.
    1. When it is done add a couple tablespoons soy sauce
  3. Lightly oil a frying pan and fry in the onions and turnips on medium heat. These are the hardest of our vegetables tonight, so we start them first.
  4. After about 10-15 minutes, when the onions and turnips are just starting to soften, add the squash and peas. Immediately add the ginger, garlic and salt to taste.
  5. Cook the vegetables for another 10-15 minutes. You will know that it’s done when the squash starts to get soft. We’re just cooking the squash and peas just enough to make them start to release their juices.
  6. Mix the finished rice and vegetables together.

Serve It!

Put down a bed of brown rice with vegetables, add the pulled pork and pineapple on top.

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A Fourth of July Vegetable Explosion

by stuporglue Posted on July 6, 2010
Inch worm checks purple pole bean's progress
A caterpillar checks purple pole bean's progress

One of the things I love about living where we do is how much wildlife we get to see in our own yard. Yeah, we have to compete with some of it for food, but they’re still fun to watch. We get butterflies, ladybugs, bees, caterpillars, worms and pill bugs, all of which the kids like. We also have a resident toad which the kids like to go look at every couple of weeks. It hides under the splash stone under the rear spigot just waiting for them.

A few days ago I was sitting on our back stairs and heard an owl, saw blue jays, cardinals, robins and finches in our yard while a heron flew by overhead.

We love living in Fridley where everyone seems to place a high value on having trees, bushes and other habitat that lets so many animals live with us.

Lots of Progress for July

Tomatoes are finally coming out. We have had flowers here and there for a couple of weeks and now we have green tomatoes.  I’m really a beginner at gardening, so I didn’t have any idea how big these tomato plants would get. I put in 3-4 foot tall stakes a few weeks ago, and tied the tomato plants to them. Since that time, several of the plants have outgrown their stakes.  Fine by me, more room for more tomatoes.

Little green tomatoes (Sweet Million?)
Little green tomatoes (Sweet Million?)

Green beans are growing well. They’re too skinny to bother picking yet, but we’re ready for them!

Green Bush Beans!
Green Bush Beans!

The zucchini is legendary for how prolific it can be, and it looks like our zucchini plants are getting ready to attack. We’ll let them get just a little bit bigger, and then start eating them with every meal.

Zuchinni : Their forces get in position
Zuchinni : Their forces get in position

Two years ago in Provo,Utah we had a garden. One of our most productive plants was the yellow summer squash. We had so much squash that we tried dehydrating it (thinking to use it in soups or something). We ate it in and with everything. Our whole family liked it, but I think I was the only one who could have kept eating it without complaining.

When I showed Caroline these squash (and the big one from last week) she groaned and said “I think I’m almost ready to eat squash again”. Stay tuned for recipes and ways we end up using squash this year!

Lotsa Squashsa
Lotsa Squashsa

Most of our squash (and related friends) have been pretty bushy, but a couple of them have started putting out runners. This one is one of the straighter ones. It looks like it wants to just crawl right across the yard. I think this one is a pumpkin, but I don’t know for sure yet.

Runaway pumpkin(?) vine
Runaway pumpkin(?) vine
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How to Enjoy Turnips

by stuporglue Posted on July 2, 2010

Turnips Rock!

Turnips are one of those root vegetables that many people don’t eat. I’m not talking about people who can’t fry an egg, I’m talking about people who wouldn’t flinch at the idea of making home made mashed potatoes or making egg salad sandwiches from scratch. People who already possess the skills to enjoy turnips but don’t because they find them scary and imposing.

Eat This Turnip
Eat This Turnip

I was once like you.

Then I bought a bag of turnips on a whim.  I didn’t have a plan for them, I just though I should try them.  I peeled them, diced them, boiled them, and mashed them. Homemade mashed turnips.  I added a dab of butter, some salt and pepper  and became a huge fan of turnips!

Beet confronts nemeses
Beet confronts nemeses

So here’s the official print-it-out recipe.

Delicious Mashed Turnip Recipe

  1. Peel turnips and dice into 1/2 inch cubes.
    1. If you have small fresh turnips the skins may be tender enough to just cook. Store bought turnips will be covered with food-grade wax to help preserve them.
  2. Place in a pot with water covering them.
  3. Cover pot with lid and simmer on medium for 30-45 minutes, stirring occasionally.
  4. When the turnip cubes can be mashed with a fork easily, they’re cooked.
  5. Mash the turnips and continue cooking until any extra water has cooked off.
  6. Add butter, salt and pepper to taste.

They will have a texture like slightly lumpy mashed potatoes, and flavor like weak radish crossed with carrot.

Other Garden Happenings

Raspberry Flower Buds
Raspberry Flower Buds

The raspberries are starting to flower.

Bean Flowers!
Bean Flowers!

Despite the various squirrel attacks the bean plants have put out a plethora of flowers. The picture above is from one of the rows of bush beans.

Cucurbitaceae flower
Cucurbitaceae flower

What’s a Cucurbitaceae? It’s the family name that includes Squash, Pumpkins, Cucumbers and Zuchinni. Since I didn’t label what was planted here, I have no idea what it will be. The following plant definately looks like a summer yellow squash though.

Small Yellow Squash!
Small Yellow Squash!

We have also eaten and given away another 3 cups or so of peas. Most of them never make it to the peas-in-the-pod stage…we pretty much eat the pods as soon as they’re big enough!

Posting Delays

I apologize for the slowness in posting these recent weeks.  I have recently accepted a new job, but will be continuing part time at my current job, which means 60 hour work  weeks. I’m very excited about the new position, and I’m excited to be able to talk about the company in coming months. What the new job does mean though is that Gardening is no longer my part-time job. It’s now my part-part-time job.  My new posting schedule goal is once a week until this crazy work schedule clears up a bit.

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