Winter Squash

Image Source: Unsplash

What’s Below:

About Winter Squash

Cooking & Storage

Recipes

ABOUT WINTER SQUASH

Winter Squash is a delicious, hearty fruit that comes in a several varieties that range in taste and texture, from sweet to nutty and creamy to delightfully stringy. These versatile, fall fruits grow on vines and have their origins across North, South, and Central America where they’ve been cultivated by Indigenous peoples for at least 10,000 years. It’s believed that the word squash comes from the Narragansett word for “eaten raw” askutasquash." While it is possible to eat many varieties of winter squash raw, many people prefer to eat the skin, flesh, and seeds cooked.

The winter squash most folks have heard of is pumpkin, with acorn and butternut right behind them. Here at Rock Steady we grow two varieties of winter squash, which are kabocha and butternut squash. Kabocha is a Japanese squash with a green outer shell, with a flavor that’s described as sweet potato mixed with pumpkin. Butternut squash is a hybrid of a pumpkin and gooseneck squash, and is often described as being sweet, but nutty tasting.

Butternut squash

Kabocha squash

COOKING & STORAGE

• Edible parts: Fruit

• Medicine and Nutrients: Depending on the type winter squash have varying levels of different nutrients, but most are a great source of potassium, fiber, vitamin C, and beta-carotene.

• Storing and Shelf Stability: Store kabocha at room temperature in a cool, dry and dark place for up to 1 month. Refrigerate cooked and cut kabocha squash and use within 2-3 days. Store sliced kabocha in plastic wrap, foil or a sealed plastic bag. If you store uncut butternut squash, it will keep for 3-4 months in a cool, dry place. Discard if it becomes soft, squishy, or moldy.

• Ways to Prepare: Winter squash can be roasted, fried, simmered, stewed, and added to soups with or without their skin peeled. The seeds can be seasoned with spices and roasted.

RECIPES

• Dominican Sancocho (My Dominican Kitchen)

• Roasted Pepitas (Winter squash seeds) Muy Bueno

• Loaded Hasselback Butternut Squash (A Girl Called Adri)

• Kabocha Squash Caramelized Onion Spread (Sweet Potato Soul)

• Chipotle Chicken Spaghetti Squash Bowls (A Girl Called Adri)

• Roasted Butternut Squash (Well Plates)

• Butternut Squash Soup (vegan) (Love & Lemons)

• 9 Delicious Recipes for Kabocha Squash (Food & Wine)

Authored and compiled by Maya Marie of Deep Routes, Ayllen Kocher, and Amara Ullauri

Summer Squash

Pattypan squash in the center!

What’s Below:

About Summer Squash

Cooking & Storage

Recipes

ABOUT Summer squash

Summer squash is a fruit in the same family as cucumbers and winter squash. It’s earliest cultivation has been traced to Central America, particularly in Mexico where it’s been grown, cooked, and enjoyed anywhere from 7,000 - 10,000 years (depending on the type). They’ve also been included in the Indigenous agricultural practice used across several Indigenous groups of the Americas and known most ubiquitously as “The Three Sisters”. The Three Sisters are three plants that support each others’ growth and include corn, beans, and squash.

Many parts of the summer squash can be used including the fruit, leaves/shoots, and flowers. All of its parts are popular to cook with across Central American cuisines in stews, fillings for tacos or quesadillas, as well as fried and sauteed. Different types of summer squash like Zucchini have gained popularity in Southwest Asian, North African, Japanese (e.g. fried in tempura), and French (e.g. in Ratatouille) cuisines.

Summer squash have a softer, thinner skin than their winter/storage counterparts (think pumpkins) that is perfectly edible, with varying degrees of light to dense flesh. These colorful fruits come in quite the variety of types, and some of the ones we grow on the farm are listed in our photos (above and below). The flavors can range from sweet to nutty.

Zephyr squash

Zucchini is being held up here!

COOKING & STORAGE

• Edible parts: Fruit, leaves/shoots, and flowers (blossoms)

• Medicine and Nutrients: Squash fruits are rich in minerals like magnesium and potassium as well as vitamins C, B6, and A. They also provide a significant source of fiber. The leaves contain all of that plus iron and zinc. The flowers have a significant source of calcium, fiber, as well as vitamins A and C.

• Storage: Store summer squash by gently wiping the fruit with a damp cloth and then placing it in a perforated plastic bag (to maintain humidity) in the vegetable crisper of the refrigerator. Do not store summer squash in the refrigerator for more than 4 days.

Ways to Prepare 

• RAW: Some types of summer squash can be eaten raw like zucchini and crookneck if they’re cut into super thin slices, strips, or “noodles”.

• COOKED: Summer squash fruits and leaves can be sautéed, roasted, grilled, broiled, steamed, and braised; as well as added to soups, stews, and sauces. The flowers are best eaten raw or fried; either alone, in salads, or to fill tacos or quesadillas.
  

RECIPES

• Zucchini Shakshuka (Super Nummy)

• Squash Vine and Shoots Soup (Mexico in My Kitchen)

• Quesadillas de Flor de Calabaza (Squash Blossom Quesadillas) (Pati Jinich)

• Squash Au Gratin (A Girl Named Adri)

• Mexican Squash with Cheese (Mexico in My Kitchen)

• Late Summer Bruschetta with Summer Squash (A Cozy Kitchen)

• Ratatouille with Summer Squash (Cookie & Kate)

• Zucchini (or any squash) Soup (Food & Wine)

• 47 Summer Squash Recipes (Epicurious)

Authored and compiled by Maya Marie of Deep Routes, Ayllen Kocher, and Amara Ullauri.

Tomatillos

Tomatillos are considered a key ingredient in Mexican cuisine. However, it was the Aztecs that were the first to domesticate them in 800 BC. Also known as “tomate verde (green tomato)”, tomatillos have a vibrant, tart flavor. They can be eaten raw, sauteed, boiled, roasted, broiled, fried, and in soup. 

Storage: Tomatillos can be kept in the fridge for 2-3 weeks. Store them loose in an unsealed paper bag. To help keep them fresh and free of bruises, don't peel back the husks until you're ready to eat them.

Recipes and Ideas: 

1. Chef Aaron Sanchez's Salsa Verde

2. 27 Summertime Tomatillo Recipes

Cucumbers

Photo Source: Eric Prouzet

What’s Below:

About Cucumbers

Cooking & Storage

Recipes

ABOUT Cucumbers

Cucumbers are a refreshing fruit that has been cultivated for at least 3,000 years. Some researchers believe they have their origins in Southeast Asia, specifically India; whereas others believe they were first grown in Southwest Asia, specifically the region that encompasses Iraq and Kuwait. Either way, over time cucumbers have spread across Asia and the Mediterranean into the Americas and become a favorite treat during hot growing seasons. The fruits are typically at their peak from May through August.

COOKING & STORAGE

• Edible parts: Fruit

• Medicine and Nutrients: Cucumbers are a great source of hydration thanks to their high water content (96%), and are also a good source of vitamins C and K, and minerals like potassium.

• Storing and Shelf Stability: To store your cucumbers, wash them and dry them thoroughly. Place cucumbers in the warmest spot of your refrigerator for up to a week.

Ways to Prepare 

• RAW: The go-to way to enjoy cucumbers is raw, maybe with a little salt and pepper; however you can combine them with other fresh fruits and vegetables, or pickle them.

• COOKED: Cucumbers can be roasted, stir fried, sauteed, and baked.

RECIPES

• Kachumber (Indian Cucumber salad) (The Spruce Eats)

• Chinese Cucumber Salad (The Woks of Life)

• Oi bokkeum (Stir-Fried Cucumbers) (Korean Bapsang)

• 10 things to do with Cucumbers (Tablespoon.com)

Authored and compiled by Maya Marie of Deep Routes, Ayllen Kocher, and Amara Ullauri

Tomatoes

Slicer tomatoes

Cherry tomatoes

What’s Below:

About Tomatoes

Cooking & Storage

Recipes

ABOUT tomatoes

Tomatoes are a warm season plant that produces delicious fruits that come in an array of colors, shapes, and sizes. They have their origins in the Andes of South America where they’ve grown for over 9,000 years, but it wasn’t until wild tomatoes made their way to Central American region of Mexico, that tomatoes began to be cultivated and domesticated. There they would breed tomatoes into the larger, more flavorful ones we know of today.

Using tomatoes to make sauce is one of the most common ways they’re prepared today, and is also one of the more traditional ways that Aztec peoples would use them in combination with chilis. They would also preserve them through drying, and use them as medicine for respiratory issues and physical aches.

Here at Rock Steady our tomatoes are ready sometime between May through October. We have cherry and slicer tomatoes that can be orange, yellow, green, or dark red! Their taste ranges from sweet to tart, and overall very juicy.

COOKING & STORAGE

• Edible parts: Fruit, and leaves (in moderation/as seasoning)

• Medicine and Nutrients: Depending on their color (specifically those that are red or deep orange) tomatoes can be an excellent source of lycopene, they’re also a great source of vitamin C, B6, and magnesium.

• Storing and Shelf Stability: Perfectly ripe tomatoes should be kept at room temperature on the counter away from sunlight. Make sure they're in a single layer, not touching one another, and stem side up. Consume within a couple of days. Overripe tomatoes that are soft to touch with very red flesh are best kept in the fridge.

Ways to Prepare 

• RAW: Enjoy them diced up in a salsa or salad; sliced on a sandwich; or just as is with a sprinkle of salt and your favorite herbs or spices alongside some pungent cheese.

• COOKED: Tomatoes can be roasted, baked, raw, in salads, grilled, pureed, and in soups. 

RECIPES

• Tomato Confit with Pesto (A Cozy Kitchen)

• Tomato Soup (Seeds & Receipts)

• Quick Vegan Chili (Jessica in the Kitchen)

• Honey Roasted Tomato Lasagna (Nourished Palate)

• Salvadoran Rellenos de Güisquil/Chayote with Salsa de Tomate (SalviSoul) (Wondering what guisquil/chayote is?)

• Authentic Andalusian Gazpacho (Epicurious)

Authored and compiled by Maya Marie of Deep Routes, Ayllen Kocher, and Amara Ullauri