Goodnight Mrs. Calabash...Whatever You Are. A Tale of Ancient Squash

   Last week I went on one of my regular shopping runs to Santa Rosa. I needed to do a "Big Shop," a 50 mile round trip type shop. TP,  paper towels and  dish soap from Costco and a whirl through my favorite Asian markets on Petaluma Hill Road. The Markets in Santa Rosa aren't Indian markets. Not by a long shot. They're Thai and Cambodian. There is only one Indian Market in all of Sonoma County and that's located in Cotati, conveniently next to the girls of Sift, winners of last year's Cupcake Wars.
   I have to watch my step in that neighborhood. Too much temptation all around. Between homemade gulab jamuns at the market and tequila blueberry cupcakes and Whoopie Pies as big as my head at Sift, once I'm in these places I'm a goner. So the Thai and Cambodian markets are on my regular run. They don't have everything I need for Indian cooking but they have most of it, and there are no cupcake joints anywhere near them. So there's that.
  Just as I was about to step out the door, I tweeted that I was going on a bottle gourd, bitter melon run and a couple of seconds later Paula Wolfert tweeted back to ask if I'd  also pick her up a pound of bottle gourd for a tagine dish she was working on. This started me thinking. Ever since I'd started cooking Indian food 20 plus years ago, I'd been cooking vegetables that I'd thought of as strictly Indian. So what was Paula wanting with bottle gourd for Moroccan food? Turns out bottle gourd gets around.
   First of all, it's got a lot of aliases. It's known as Opo, opu, doodhi, jicaro, calabash, long melon, boo thee, cucuzza, lauki, ghiya, lau and quara. Paging Interpol. Secondly, it's got a lot of uses. Everything from soup to bongs. Yes, in Jamaica the calabash gourd is used by Rastafarians for just that. Dude. Thirdly, this thing's been around a looooooong time. In fact some scientists believe that bottle gourd was being cultivated in America about 8000 years ago, and grown for an equally long time all over the world.
   So why isn't it better known on the current American table? It depends on who you ask. As I mentioned above, bottle gourd gets around. It's known in many places and under many names.
 When I made my bottle gourd hand-off to Paula at the bakery this morning, Pina, a local woman who hails from Sicily said, "Oh, That's a cucuzza! Where did you get it?"
   As I said it all depends on who you ask. Right now I have a fridge full of bottle gourd, among other things.

You can too if you visit your local Asian market. If you can't get bottle gourd, something tells me this recipe for squash in a tomatoey sauce with spices and peas would work equally well with zucchini, or chayote squash.

Indian Squash Stew

Here's what to do:

In a small bowl mix together:
 2 Tbs of tomato paste
 1/2 cup of water
 1/2 cup of whipping cream

 Set it aside.
 Peel and chop 1 lb of bottle gourd (or whatever squash you have) into 1/2 inch chunks.

Set the chopped squash aside.
If you are using frozen peas, defrost them and set them aside.

Mix together a spice blend of:
 4 whole cloves
 1/4 tsp of fennel pollen ( or ground fennel)
 1/2 tsp of garam masala
 1 Tbs of ground coriander
 1 tsp of turmeric
 1/2 inch piece of cinnamon
 1/4 tsp of kashmiri chili or 1/8 tsp of cayenne 1/8 tsp of paprika

  6 curry leaves
  3 medium size tomatoes seeded and chopped or 1 can of chopped tomatoes.

1 Tbs of melted unsalted butter

  1 whole green serrano chili
Mix all of these ingredients in a large skillet or kadhai (except the peas) on medium heat.
Put a lid on it, lower the heat and simmer the whole shebang for about 30 to 40 minutes until the squash is tender.
Keep an eye on it. Check it every now and then to make sure nothing is sticking. Add a bit of water if needed.
When the squash is tender, add in the peas.

 Stir them a bit to warm them up.

Take out the cloves and the whole green chili, garnish with a bit of chopped fresh cilantro and mint and serve it up.

   This is squash at its' best, spicy with cinnamon and cloves and a bit of heat. The vegetable is soft and buttery and yet unlike the more common zucchini, it holds it's shape and firmness after cooking. This is what bottle gourd is all about. If you have any way of getting ahold of it, try. You won't regret it.
   Coming up next what happens when that same bottle gourd puts on her heels gets tarted up and goes to town? Just call her Sweetstuff. This isn't your Grandmas' zucchini cupcakes. Follow along on Twitter @kathygori

Pea-Nutty Squash, A Cheap and Easy Side Dish

    Why oh why is zucchini always the cheapest vegetable out there? If it's not cheap in the  farmers market, it turns up in piles every summer, dropped on the doorstep like some abandoned hero in a Charles Dickens novel by neighbors with too much bounty. It always seems to be there. That's why if I'm looking for something I can squeeze onto a dinner menu fast (if I'm not doing one of my sneaky cheap cabbage dishes), it's gonna be squash, you betcha.
   This recipe was originally designed to be made with chayote squash, but frankly when I was at the market last time, they wanted to much for them so I decided to go with cheaper zucchini and yellow crook necked squash. At 99 cents a pound it was a real no brainer.
   Another thing I love about this recipe is that it contains ground peanuts, or as I cal it peanut powder which in my twisted imagination turns every dish into the circus. Now I don't like circuses (never have) except the Cirque de Soleil which is not really a circus because it has no animals and a branch in Vegas. But I love peanuts and they are just the crunchy topper that makes anyone who's anti-zucchini forget what they're eating.

Squash With Peanuts

So here's how to do my adaptation of this dish:
   Slice and halve:
1/2  lb of zucchini
1/2 lb of yellow crooked neck squash
Set them aside.
In a skillet or kadhai heat 2 Tbs of vegetable oil. When the oil is hot toss in:
 1 tsp of brown mustard seeds
 1/2 tsp of cumin seeds
When the seeds start to turn color and pop add in:
 12 curry leaves (found at many Asian or Indian markets)
 1 cup of onion finely chopped
 1 crushed shallot
 2 serrano chilies slit down the middle
Stir it all around and cook it for about 4 or 5 minutes
Now toss in your squash and 1/2 tsp of garam masala
Stir it all around for about 2 minutes then add:
 1/4 cup of water
 2 Tbs of grated fresh or dried coconut

1 tsp of salt.
 Bring it all to a boil then slap a lid on it, turn down the heat and let it simmer for about 15 minutes or so until the squash is tender.

 Once it's all cooked and ready to serve it's time for the circus. Sprinkle the top with
  2 Tbs of ground up roasted peanuts.

    So there it is, painless, perfect and fast squash. Easy, tasty, making the most of what's always out there and above all cheap in a pinch.
   Coming up next, tricks with POMWonderful and getting ready for my birthday, which is on Saturday. Among the fun, I'm going to Iron Chef Morimoto's restaurant. There will  lots partying over the next several days and since I like to turn every birthday into the equivalent of a week long Indian wedding I'll also be menu planning for next weekends' Indian Birthday Buffet! Follow along on Twitter @kathygori

2 Types of Squash, Spicy and Delicious, The Perfect End To A Funky Week

    This has been one hell of a week, one of those 7 day stretches that includes everything on lifes' smorgey...except dental. Of course the week's not over yet. It's been a week of some nerves, some loss, some traveling, some stress and the general sense of just being unable to catch up. That said, I can't wait for Monday to start the week fresh. Scratch that, I'll take August or better yet 2011. Of course that puts us closer to 2012 and the end of the Mayan Calendar...you see how my mind has been working?
   This afternoon I was pooped after the weeks adventures and looking for comfort food. We're in the middle of a script and I wanted to fix something that would be tasty, easy and make the best of the fresh produce I snagged at Oak Hill Farm's Red Barn Store.
      I consider myself insanely lucky to live just a couple of clicks down the road from this place. I'm always knocked out by what I find there. This week it was beautiful squashes, Globe and Baby Crookneck.

       We started working this morning and the next time I looked at the clock it was 12:30 and I hadn't even thought about lunch! So there I was looking for something I could cook and get on the table in the next 30 minutes. Game on!
        I decided to combine the squash in a simple spice paste and add in a couple of gorgeous tomatoes that had caught my eye.

        So here's what to do when work runs late and you forget to cook, and then you remember.  Squash In A Spice Paste Done Pronto.
       First of all cut about 1 lb of mixed Globe and Baby Crookneck squash into pieces. Cut the Globe Squash into cubes and the Crookneck into slices. Set them aside.

    In a blender or spice grinder mix together:
    2 Serrano chilis seeded and chopped
    A 1/4 inch piece of fresh ginger
    3 Tbs of cashews
    1 and 1/2 Tbs of coriander seed
    1 tsp of cumin seed
    1/4 tsp of fennel seed
    1/4 cup of water
   Blend it all into a paste.

     In a deep skillet or kadhai heat 2 Tbs of unsalted butter.
When the butter is hot, toss in the spice paste. Stir it around a bit.
When it thickens, add in 2 tomatoes seeded and chopped.
Stir them around for a few minutes.

 Add in the squash
1/2 tsp of turmeric
1 tsp of salt
1 and 1/2 Tbs of freshly chopped cilantro

    Give it a stir then "put a lid on it" and let it do its' thing for about 20 minutes. Give it a check once in a while and make sure nothing is sticking.
     When the squash has cooked through, add in another 1 and 1/2 Tbs of cilantro and eat up.

   
     We had lunch on the table in no time and Alan, the eternal carnivore remarked that he could eat just this, he loved it so much. That's the way a good vegetarian dish should work. Protein amnesia. I served this squash with a piece of grilled chicken this afternoon but for a complete vegetarian meal, just some rice or dal and a raita and you're in business. It was a delicious way to slide into the end of the work week.
    I  know next week will be better. It almost has to be, and one thing that will help will be finding some  padron peppers at the Organic Farmers Market tomorrow. That will be a big improvement.