Put me in Coach

We ate our last winter squash this week. Yep, it was picked in October, survived spring training, and has just been hanging out in the bull pen waiting for action. The butternut squash was called up in a major way: Roasted Squash Mexican Lasagna. It is amazing to us how long food lasts when it is grown sustainably. I can't imagine going to the store and buying an 8 month old squash that tasted good. Since we are getting tons of lettuce in the CSA right now, the Mexican Lasagna was a good way to break up the green onslaught (although Karen still made me eat a salad with it). With this dish you're sure to pitch the 3rd perfect game of the year.

Roasted Squash Mexican Lasagna
Ingredients
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1 large onion, chopped (about 1 cup)
• 1 cup frozen whole kernel corn
• 2 1/3 cups tomato sauce
• 3 ancho chilies, soaked in water, pureed
• 1 butternut squash, roasted, peeled, diced (about 2 cups)
• 12 corn tortillas (6-inch)
• 2 cups shredded Swiss Connection cheese (about 8 ounces) (or your favorite cheddar style cheese)
• Chopped fresh green onion
Directions
Heat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Heat the oil in a 10-inch skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and cook for 5 minutes or until they're tender. Stir in the corn. Add the tomato sauce, chilies and squash.
Spread 1/2 cup enchilada sauce in a 3-quart shallow baking dish. Line the bottom of the baking dish with 6 tortillas, overlapping as needed. Spread with half the remaining enchilada sauce. Another layer of tortillas, sauce, top with the cheese.
Bake for 20 minutes. Sprinkle with the green onion before serving, if desired.

Something Seedy

Indiana Strawberries are coming to an end. If you havent't done it yet; now is the time to freeze your for the rest of the year. In honor of our literal first fruits of the season (this year we beat the birds and the geese to the harvest along our house), we offer the following fun facts:

- Strawberries are the only fruit with seeds on the outside.

- The average strawberry has 200 seeds.

- The ancient Romans believed strawberries alleviated symptoms of melancholy, fainting, all inflammations, fevers, throat infections, kidney stones, bad breath, attack of gout, and disease of the blood, liver and spleen.

- Strawberries are a member of the rose family.

- Allegedly if you split a double strawberry in half and share it with the opposite sex, you’ll soon fall in love.



Lettuce is currently abundant as well! Why not combine the best of both worlds and prepare a strawberry vinaigrette dressing for your next big salad?



Strawberry Vinaigrette Dressing



1 c. olive oil
1/2 pint strawberries, stems removed
2 T. balsamic vinegar
1/2 t. salt
1/4 t. pepper



Combine oil, berries, vinegar, salt, pepper, in food processor. Whirl until berries are pureed. The vinaigrette dressing can be prepared ahead of time and refrigerated. Stir before using.

Fava Frenzy

One of the delicacies of early spring to early summer is the fava bean. We just got the first batch in our CSA basket today. Many farmers and gardeners plant fava beans as green manure, because they are nitrogen-fixing, and like other kinds of peas and beans, they enrich soil fertility if they are plowed back into the soil before they start to product beans. They are also planted as a cover crop. The pods form and mature as the weather warms up in early spring. I enjoy their vibrant green color and meaty texture.



If you would like to learn more about how to shell fava beans (many hands might for light work indeed), please visit our friend Michelle Fleury’s blog, “Getting Your Share”.


Here is one of our favorite fava recipes from the Alice Waters cookbook “Chez Panisse Vegetables.”



Fava Bean Puree



2 pounds mid-season fava beans

½ to ¾ c. extra-virgin olive oil

Salt and pepper

2 cloves garlic

¼ bay leaf

1 small sprig rosemary

1 sprig thyme

½ lemon



Put a large pot of water on to boil. Shell the fava beans; discard the pods. Parboil the shelled beans for 1 minute. Drain them and immediately plunge them in ice-cold water for a few minutes to cool. Drain them again and remove their pale green skins, piercing the outer skin of each bean with your thumbnail and popping out the bright green bean inside with a pinch of your thumb and forefinger. Warm about ½ c. of the olive oil in a shallow, nonreactive sauté pan. Add the beans and salt lightly. Add the garlic, peeled and chopped very fine; the herbs; and a splash of water. Cook the beans at a slow simmer, stirring and tasting frequently, for about 30 minutes, until they are completely soft and pale green ad easily mashed into a puree. Add another splash of water from time to time to prevent the beans from drying out and sticking to the pan.



When the beans are done, remove and discard the herbs, and mash the beans into a paste with a wooden spoon – or pass them through a sieve or a food mill or puree with a food processor. Taste for seasoning and add more olive oil and a few drops of lemon juice to taste. If he puree is at all dry and tight, add still more olive oil. Don’t be stingy with the oil; good olive oil is as important to the flavor of the puree as the beans. Serve warm or at room temperature, by itself or spread on grilled bread.



Makes about 3 cups.