Yellow Squash

 

Yellow Squash has been a favorite veggie of mine since I was a child. This year's plants have just started producing what looks to be a bumper crop.

 

As you can see from the photo above-our plants are huge this summer. I think it must be the chicken litter-as well as the extra rain we've been getting.

 

I ask Pap and Granny if their parents grew yellow squash when they were kids. Granny said the state took their garden to build the new 4-lane, and she couldn't remember what her mother planted before that.

Pap said-they grew a different kind of squash. By his description-I'd guess it was a Cushaw. He remembered it lasted longer than yellow squash, was a light orange tan color and seemed tougher like a pumpkin. His mother cubed it then fried it with sugar and water-kinda like sweet potatoes.

Seems everyone in our area grows yellow squash now-Pap said it was in the early 60's or 70's when folks here started growing yellow squash.

 

In the follow days drop back by the Blind Pig to:

• See how to cook squash in the traditional Appalachian way (fried)
• See how to make old fashioned Squash Relish (so good in the winter)
• Come along with me as I try frying squash blooms for the first time ( I keep hearing about folks who do this and want to see if it's worth the trouble)
• Come along as I try drying squash for the first time (when I was a little girl-I so wanted to be a Cherokee Indian-I know they dried squash)

Do you plant Yellow Squash? Have you ever planted any other varieties of Squash?

Tipper

p.s. If you know someone who might be interested in the upcoming posts-please send them to the Blind Pig-I'd truly appreciate it!

Comments

[Michelle]

My grandma fried pumpkin blossoms. I loved them, but it might be because of the pound of bacon grease she fried them in. LOL

I tried planting yellow squash, but all of our squash family grew nice mold and died.

I've missed this site. Must come back daily. :)

[Louise]

When I was a kid, we always had yellow squash. My garden is so tiny now that I only do tomatoes, peppers and sometimes cucumbers. Zucchini is more common here and where I'm from, but yellow is a close second. I was just talking to a friend this evening. They have two plants, and it will be more than they can use, so I'll send her here to check it out!

[Carolyn A.]

Oh my! Those are some beautiful squash and yellow squash is my all time favorite. When our landlord takes his tenants to Cactus Willie's for dinner (twice a year), I take as much as I can eat from the vegetable medley. I just love that sweet fresh taste. Glad to hear yours are coming up so well. Can't wait to hear what you think of frying the squash flowers. Never tried them before, but heard about it once. xxoo

[Matthew]

Growing up we only ever had fried squash or fried squash blossoms, which if done right, is about as good as it gets, but over the past couple of years we saw someone grilling squash and thought we'd try it. Take a couple of yellow "squarsh" slice them into rounds about a half inch thick, lightly sprinkle them with oil (we use olive oil) and salt and pepper. Then grill them until you get some grill marks on them, about 10 minutes. They are really quite good, I may like this better than fried if that is possible.

I also like pasta and squash ribbons. With a veggie peeled, just cut the squash longways into ribbons, throw into cooked spaghetti, and put some chopped garlic, lemon juice and olive oil on it to coat. The hot noodles cook the squash in a few minutes.

I just love squash of all types, yellow crookneck is probably my favorite though. Talking about squash reminds me of my Uncle Beads. Uncle Beads likes "skeeny scorches" the best, that is zucchini squash to all those who aren't versed in Uncle Beads speak!lol.

I don't known when squash came to the mountain, it was there before my time.

You always have the best posts.

[Miss Cindy]

I do enjoy the summer squash! My Mon used to stew it with onions and butter. It's very good that way. I like it fried also and sauteed with other vegetables.
I like baked stuffed squash also/ The stuffed squash freezes pretty good .
I have never eaten the blooms so am anxious to hear about that.
My Dad, who incidentally was a better cook than my Mon, used to batter and fry Polk shoots and they were good. If course I like most anything fried!

[Caution]

I have always wondered about the fried squash blooms, and am excited to learn more about them through you. I planted exactly two squash plants this year and got one little, tiny squash before they died! Grocery store, here I come.

[Terry]

I love crook neck squash. Dredged in corn meal and flour. Crispy Golden Brown yummyness. I got a late start on them but they are hanging in there and growing.The 100 degree heat we are having hasn't helped but I relocated them under a small shade tree the other day and they seem to be doing a little better. I am going to put them in bigger pots and see what happens. Wish me luck.

[Mary]

Tipper,

It sure looks like you've got a bumper crop of squash this year. My favorite is butternut squash.

Dad used to grow acorn squash and a couple of other varieties. It's been so long that I've forgotten, but do know he grew a couple of varieties.

Enjoyed your post, as always and look forward to hearing about how the squash blossoms cook up.

Blessings,
Mary

[Shirley]

Squash relish was something my grandmother made up until her 90's. I love it fried, girl my mouth is watering!

[petra michelle]

I missed so much while I was away, Tipper!
You must feel exhuberant with the yield!
I've never planted squash, but do I love it! Time to raid the fridg! ;)

[Nancy Simpson]

Tipper, You get an A + for that squash in your garden.

I did not like squash as a child, but I can say it is now my favorite summer vegetable. I love it best in a casserole with onions and cheddar cheese, eggs and some breading that makes it slice into squares like dressing. I first learned to make it that way after eating it at the folk school.

[Kathleen]

Yes, I have planted the yellow like yours this year and it too is doing well. I also have zucchini and a white scalloped looking squash that I can't remember the name to save my life. I slice the squash and brush each side with olive oil, salt and pepper it, then grill it on the grill. I also have a wonderful squash cake recipe using the yellow sqaush on my cooking blog. My husband will not eat squash, but he loves this cake. It is a rather old recipe...the squash makes it so moist! You can find it by going to this link, My Country Kitchen http://countrykitchenkat.blogspot.com and look for Squash Cake recipe. Have a wonderful July 4th! blessings,Kathleen

[SandyCarlson]

Squash is a versatile vegetable. I will have to try it fried. We usually steam it.

[Mary]

Hi Tipper! Here in the Ouachitas, everyone grows yellow squash, straight neck and crook neck. Yellow squash and zuchinni are the only kinds that I've ever grown, but when I was a kid my folks used to grow some sort of winter squash. I haven't had it in years.

We were a little behind on planting, so we're still waiting for our first skillet of fried squash!

[bumblebeebags]

Oh I love fried squash. So do my boys. I dredge them in buttermilk and then in this mix called "Vegetable Frier" by House of Autry. yum, yum, yum!

[finnishwahine]

up north here our growing season starts out kinda late.didn't put anything in the ground until memorial day and still got slammed with some heavy frosts throughout june. my broccolli and stuff has done well but mark's poor tomatoes have suffered but are still hanging in there. we had to crank up the furnace today, just couldnt handle the 65 degrees in the house anymore, maybe will have to run tomarrow but after that is supposed to warm up again. i would like to get some swimming in at pentoga park before the summer is over...good for knees and whole body for that matter. been having some health issues and i think it all comes down to...
seems i have a vitD defishencee (know i spelt that one wrong, decided to have some fun with it)...have never lived anywhere that got so little sun as up here. in hawaii just hanging out the clothes or messing in the yard was enough for my body to make its own vit d...so my nephrologist has me on a supplement. maybe my bp will come down and the muscle aches will greatly lessen...i couldnt figure out why all this stuff was happening only after i moved here and it all might be because i am not getting enough sunlight to make vit d. what a trip huh?

[cathy]

Beautiful squash. I just wrote a post about our squash.
:)

[Leslie]

Looking forward to the squash relish recipe. I love yellow squash, too!

[Janet]

We grow yellow squash, but around here lots of people grow zucchini. I fry it, make casseroles with it, squash cakes (kinda like potato cakes), and squash bread (kinda like banana bread). Sometimes I'll just chop it up and fry it with potatoes and onions. It's a very versatile vegetable.

[Grammy]

I am growing both yellow squash and zucchini. I really like making a cake out of them. And I dehydrated them last year to pop in stews.

[teresa]

We grill yellow squash all the time - slice in half lengthwise - smear with olive oil - grill cut side down - when they are fork tender sprinkle with salt pepper and spread roasted garlic or butter (i use both)

[Brenda S 'Okie in Colorado']

I love yellow squash fried. My plants are getting big, just not producing yet. We had a late snow season and then rain with no sunshine for so long. I have planted yellow and zucchini, but didn't plant zucchini this year. You guys are making me hungry!!! Nothing like fried squash, okra, fresh sliced onion, tomato, a steaming piece of cornbread, and a tall glass of sweet iced tea!

[warren]

We plant yellow straight neck, zucchini and cushaw squash. I love making cushaw squash pies (in place of pumpkin). they keep forever. We baked our last squash pie (from last year's squash) about 2 weeks ago. We just stored the whole squash in a spot in our kitchen...no special treatment...

[Keary Naughton]

I love yellow and zuchinni squash this way-
Slice it up and boil it until soft- drain water and add a big dollop of Sour cream and mix together- a sprinkling of Lawry Seasoning salt is also really good on top

[Debbie]

Ohhhh...I moved my blog and thought I'd lost you, but I found you again! Yea!

We also have a bumper crop of squash. I love it! We've been eating fried squash and fried green tomatoes...a lot! And I have a really good squash casserole recipe that my MIL makes. She also cans it and uses it to make the casserole in the winter. Squash, okra, and tomatoes are my favorite things from the garden...I love peas too, but I don't have enough room to grow them (I'll have to go to the farmer's market...helps the economy)!