Eat Healthy, Eat Local

by Helen Legare,
Legare Farms Inc.

If you're a vegetable lover, this is your season in coastal SC. Starting in mid May and going through June, the vegetable harvest is bountiful. Squash, zucchini, and cucumbers are being harvested now, just to name a few of the many vegetables in season. The tomatoes and sweet corn are just a few weeks away. 

Yellow squash is one of my favorite vegetables. It can be cooked in so many different ways. If you want to be healthy, just stew the squash down and add a little salt and maybe some butter substitute. Adding onions also gives the squash some extra flavor. I like to reduce my onions in bacon grease which eliminates the healthy part but the bacon grease isn't necessary for a tasty dish. Squash casseroles are also a delicious way to prepare squash. There is lots of different recipes for casseroles, some healthy, some not. My very favorite way to eat squash is fried. My Grandmother made the best fried squash, I've ever eaten. She spent hours standing at the stove frying squash for the whole family. I've never been able to find anybody including myself who could fry squash like she could or maybe I just can't find anybody that loves me enough to work at it that hard.

Take time to seek out your local farmers during this peak vegetable season. Farmers markets and vegetable stands are everywhere now. It also not too late to join a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program to pick up a bag of fresh veggies each week.
 
Zuchinni/squash Casserole

1 1/3 cup zuchunni/squash
3/4 cup water
1 medium onion, chopped
1 egg
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. pepper
1/3 cup (about 8) Ritz crackers

In saucepan combine zuchinni/squash, water, onion, salt, and pepper. Cover and simmer till soft. Drain.
In a bowl, beat the egg. Add mayonnaise, Parmesan cheese, and mix well. Stir into vegetable mixture. Transfer to a greased 1 quart baking dish; sprinkle with cracker crumbs. Bake, uncovered at 350 degrees for 25 minutes or until golden brown.

Do not use reduced fat or fat free mayonnaise.