FRIED COFFEE

As the year winds down and the weather turns cooler I always seem to experience a sort of primordial urge to concentrate my culinary talents on the fruits we call squash.  Wikipedia suggests the cultivation of it as far back as 8000 to 10,000 years ago.  It figures prominently in the art and pottery of numerous cultures but the true joy of it is in the eating.

I can be quite content on a crisp October evening munching on a simple baked Acorn squash with a bit of butter, salt, pepper, and fresh garlic. I absolutely love squash in almost any of the hundreds of ways it can be prepared. The brown sugar and tiny marshmallow style of baked squash isn’t , however, a draw for me.

I’ll take it deep fried,  marinated,  pickled,  grilled,  roasted,  stewed,  raw,  stuffed, or sauteed.   Shred it coarsely and top a salad or  -  turn the same shred into pancakes and grill it -  topped with creme  fraiche   and a smidge of homemade horseradish.  Make a pie with it; savory or sweet.  Dice and stir fry pumpkin very quickly and add fresh corn and lima beans for a great succotash.  Pepitas,  I love toasted pepitas !! They are also used in mole, a distinctive sauce and flavoring in Mexican cookery.  Spaghetti squash is another favorite.

The ultimate in squash eating is the blossom.  It can be used as an edible floral complement to a dish or stuffed with any number of ingredients for a real treat.  Don’t be intimated here – this is easier than you think.  Click on that first link (the word blossom)  after that turn your imagination loose and enjoy.

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“You know, when you get your first asparagus, or your first acorn squash, or your first really good tomato of the season, those are the moments that define the cook’s year. I get more excited by that than anything else. “

Mario Batali