Stuffed Squash

A friend of mine recently came to visit. He lives with his mother, who is a member of a CSA*, or Community-supported agriculture. CSA are great for buying local. They are good for farmers, because they have a guaranteed amount of sales before the season starts, and good for families because they get fresh local veggies (and sometimes fruit, eggs, or meat) delivered to their home or local farmer's market each week. At any rate, my friend's mother never manages to finish everything she gets from the CSA, because there are only two of them (many CSA's allow you to purchase a 1/2 share for smaller families or individuals). So, when he came to visit, he brought me some lovely veggies! I don't complain about such things.

Stuffed squash is something you can make with those absurdly large squashes you see at the farmer's market (or perhaps in your backyard). They are usually yellow or green squashes or zucchinis which are too large to sautee, and so large that the seeds have gotten thick and woody. So, instead, we scoop out the seeds as if it were a pumpkin, and stuff it.

Ingredients:

1/2 finely chopped onion (any kind, but I used a plain old yellow onion)
several diced mushrooms
2 cups seasoned breadcrumbs
1 large squash
2 tablespoons of butter
1/4 c grated cheese (I used Mexican cheese mix)

Preheat the oven to 375. Cut the squash in half lengthwise and scoop out seeds. Layer 3/4 c breadcrumbs, onion, mushroom, and 1/2 butter in one half of the squash and cover with more breadcrumbs. Repeat with other squash half. Sprinkle cheese on top and bake for 30-40 minutes.


*To find a CSA near you, check out Localharvest.org