Squash, it's what's for Dinner!

Ok, there are supposed to be pictures, but once again Blogger has decided the hell with that and won't let me post any, I promise I will try again later. Rassin' Frassin Rakkin' Frakkin' Blogger...

Promised Jin a vegetarian recipe, and so it was right up until I dumped the Louisiana hot links in to the wok. You don’t have to put any meat in, so to speak, so you grazers out there are still in luck. The squash recipe started out as a low carb lasagna filling I saw on a cooking show, but has morphed into a meal in and of itself.

The basic dish is one zucchini, one yellow squash, both sliced into small chunks, a small red onion quartered, and a pepper. I usually like to use a red bell - the color helps offset all the greens and yellows, but at $1.49ea the market can keep them. I sometimes find multicolor baby peppers in packs at the market and these work well.

This is a very flexible dish. I have tossed in broccoli florets, shrimp, Portuguese linguisa, mushrooms (fresh and dried), and leftover chicken. More folks show up then expected? Toss in more squash. You can use summer squash, acorn squash, chayote, et al. The chayote tends to be a bit on the sweet side, but it is unusual looking and lends a freshness the other squash do not. You can squeeze a lemon over the mix prior to cooking this will also bring out the flavors.

Tonight I kept it simple, started the Hotlinks in a table spoon of Extra Virgin Olive Oil first, after they browned a bit tossed in some fresh crimini mushrooms added a pinch of salt and ground pepper over the dish (about ¼ Tsp). Once the mushrooms started to cook I tossed in the onion, pepper and squash. Just stir fry until everything is heated through. I don’t; like to cook the vegetables until they are soft, I prefer a little bite left. I believe the longer you cook the veggies the more taste you lose. I sprinkled a dash more slat, ½ Tsp of Italian Seasoning and a shot of white wine. I let the wine cook off and served.

This dish is quick. Easy, and can be cooked several ways. You can grill it in a special grill wok, put the ingredients on skewers, or cook it in a standard wok. I chose the stir fry method tonight, but have grilled it kebab style. The smoke adds an interesting element to the taste, quite good actually.

You could even drop in Soy products if you were of a mind to, however, I strongly advise against putting any soy “meat” products on your grill as it angers the fire gods and there will be retribution. Sorry, but there you are.