Yellow Squash Is In!!!

OK, summer's bounty is about to hit and I went to the garden on July 4 after some good and heavy rains. I had a great surprise as more than a handful of veggies that weren't there 2 days prior emerged triumphantly from the plants!

As I've posted previously, yellow squash and zucchini are two of my favorites ... seems I never get sick of them and always experiment and find new ways to do things with them......

I had a few beautiful yellow squash and decided to "get crazy" and try something totally off the wall. I love the flavors of Thai food and I thought the zingy flavor of a a yellow squash might work really well with those spices. So here's what I created!

Thai Style Summer Squash

• 1 medium onion, cut in half and sliced into long strips
• 3 small to medium yellow squash, sliced into 1/8 inch slices
• 2 tblsp canola or vegetable oil
• 3 tblsp soy sauce
• 1 tblasp tahini paste
• 2 tblsp creamy peanut butter
• 1 small red chile pepper (or 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper)
• 1 lime
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp cracked black pepper
• Fresh basil leaves

In a hot skillet, add the oil. (You'll notice that I usually use olive oil but for this, I think the flavor is too strong ... so a more mild flavored oil is in order! ) Add the onions and stir quickly to wilt. Keep them moving so the don't brown. As soon as they start to soften, add the sliced yellow squash and continue to stir and move it around. Reduce the heat to medium or medium-low. Add the salt and pepper and cook them until you start to see them get a bit wilted.

In a small bowl, juice the lime. (10 seconds in the microwave or rolling on the counter with a bit of pressure will loosen the juices inside). Add the peanut butter, tahini paste, soy sauce and minced chili or pepper flakes and stir to make a sauce.

Add this sauce to the skillet and let it cook into the squash for maybe an additional 5 minutes. At the last minute, tear approximately 10 medium basil leaves into the sjillet and stir quickly to incorporate. If the mixture looks too thick, add a bit of water at a time to create a more glossy sauce.

Serve over white rice or eat plain, as-is, for a great side dish!

I suppose you could do this with almost any fresh vegetable by adjusting the cooking times, etc. It would be awesome with fresh asian greens such as a bok choy or napa cabbage. Let me know what you create with this ... and as always, until next time, ciao!