Re-inventing Squash Casserole

I love squash casserole.  It's a yummy way to eat squash, and it's also a good way to use a surplus of squash.  Actually, it's the main reason I planted yellow crookneck squash this summer - except the seeds didn't produce yellow crookneck's, I got green zucchini.  Still, it's been good sweet zucchini, so I decided to just use it in the squash casserole recipe.


The problem with the squash casserole recipe......it contains a stick of butter. No wonder it's good! And a can of cream of chicken soup - which contains 2175 mg of sodium!  So here are the original two recipes - I'm inclined to use the one on top, but in terms of fat and sodium, they are equally bad.  (From the Grace Chapel U.M.C. Cook Book, 1991 edition.)

So, working from the recipe on top, here is what I changed.  I used 1 Tablespoon butter instead of an entire stick, and 1 cup Fat Free 33% less sodium Swanson's chicken broth, and Tillamook Fat Free Sour Cream.   To give credit where due - I've been reading Cooking Light for years, and that magazine regularly lightens up traditional recipes.  One thing I've learned - you can usually cut out a LOT of butter, especially in savory dishes.  (This wouldn't apply so easily to something like a cake.)  Also, I've learned from my own experimenting that Chicken Broth instead of condensed soup of any kind will work.  If you think the soup is needed for thickening, there are lots of work-around's for that - mainly, use less broth than condensed soup, or add a little corn starch.   

I've noticed that sour cream labeled "Low Fat" isn't very low fat.  But you can get totally Fat Free Sour Cream.  It's one of those products that I consider a blessing.  I love sour cream, and in my opinion the Fat Free version has the same taste and texture as regular sour cream - at least that's true of the Tillamook brand.  

Now let's get on with the cooking!  All of the vegetables came from my garden.   I didn't think to take pictures until after I'd already started cutting, but here are the basics.

The yellow chopped item next to the orange carrot is actually a yellow carrot.  I planted Carnival Mix carrots, and they are many different colors of yellow, orange, and red.  My scallions have gotten too big, but so far they make good cooking onions.   My zucchini's in this case were fairly small.  

I sliced the onion and sautéed it in 1 Tablespoon butter.  (You could easily use olive oil or canola oil and eliminate the butter completely.)  Then I added the chopped zucchini and carrots, and sautéed until they were beginning to brown lightly.   Add a little salt, pepper and other seasoning if desired.

 

Next, I added 1/2 cup water to this pan, covered it and let it simmer.  I ended up adding another 1/2 cup in order to cook the squash and carrots the way I wanted them.  Remove from heat.  You should drain any remaining water.  

While still warm, stir in sour cream and 1 cup broth.   Add grated cheddar cheese and 1 cup croûtons or bread crumbs.   Pour into a casserole dish that has been coated with cooking spray, top with bread crumbs or croûtons.   Bake 20-30 minutes, or until bubbly, at 350 degrees.  

Here it is after I baked it.

And on the plate with some grilled chicken:

As you can see, it's thick enough not to run on the plate.  It got a thumb's up from everybody.  (Well, Liam liked it but somehow managed not to eat any of the vegetables.)  

What I would do different - the original recipe called for bread crumbs, NOT croûtons, and in the future I will take the time to crush the croûtons into crumbs.   Whole grain breadcrumbs would be even better.  

Other options - use low fat or fat free cheese.  Use vegetable broth instead of chicken broth to make it totally vegetarian.  

Here is the recipe as I made it:

2 cups sliced squash or zucchini

1 small-medium onion, sliced and chopped as desired

2 large carrots, chopped

1 Tablespoon butter (substitute olive oil or canola oil if desired)

salt, pepper or other seasoning to taste

1/2 cup to 1 cup water

8 oz Fat Free Sour Cream

1 cup grated cheddar cheese 

1 cup bread crumbs

1/4 cup bread crumbs (topping)

Sauté onion in 1 Tablespoon butter.  Add the chopped zucchini and carrots, and sauté until they begin to brown lightly.   Add a little salt, pepper and other seasoning to taste.  Next, add 1/2 cup water to the pan, cover it and let it simmer.  Add more water if necessary in order to cook the squash and carrots as desired.  Remove from heat.  You should drain any remaining water, if necessary. 

While still warm, stir in sour cream and 1 cup broth.   Add grated cheddar cheese and 1 cup croûtons or bread crumbs.   Pour into a casserole dish that has been coated with cooking spray, top with bread crumbs or croûtons.   Bake 20-30 minutes, or until bubbly, at 350 degrees.  

The Mysterious Things My Garden Bears; Or, A Tale of Two Squash

I planted two varieties of squash in the spring - an heirloom zuchinni, and an organic yellow crookneck squash..    I have not been getting what I expected - I've had some small green zuchinni's, some odd monster mutant thing, and nothing that looks like a yellow crookneck squash.  But I had some monster plants (that were bearing odd monster mutant things.)

A couple of days ago, I happened to notice that I had a third thing growing - but the plants were so inter weaved I couldn't tell which plant it was coming from.  So I decided to start cutting things back to figure out what I had.

That's some of the weird stuff.  It looks a bit like acorn squash, but much larger - and I didn't plant acorn squash!    Here's a close-up:

So I started cutting away some of the foliage to get a clear view of what's in that tangle - and what I find is two different things growing from the same plant - even the same stem! 

That is a Costata Romanesco heirloom zuchinni - which is what I planted!  


I cut one of the large acorn squash-like things in half.  It was pretty hard to cut - like an acorn squash would be.  This is what it looks like inside:

I only dug out one of the plants, because the way it had grown, I could not separate what I wanted from what I didn't want.  The really giant plant, which I had expected to dig out - most of it I cut away, but I had a remaining section that seems to be producing the right stuff, so I left it there to see what I keep getting.  For what it's worth, all of the acorn-type things also had a bad case of blossom-end rot.  Some were half rotten.    But here is what I ended up with when I was finished:

We ate one of those zucchinis tonight - VERY good.  Really sweet, not at all bitter.  I hope I keep getting more.  Meanwhile, the yellow crooknecks are completely MIA - those seeds produced very small green zucchini - which are also very good, at least.   But I really like yellow crookneck squash, and so it's disappointing that I don't have any.  

One of the reasons I wanted to get the mutant squash out of my garden is that I didn't want any seeds ending up in my beds.  I didn't even put them in my compost bin, they went into a plastic bag and into the garbage.  I had so many of those big things, I couldn't even lift the bag!  

Dave Matthews Interview from NPR

Ride to Artist Point (Mt Baker Highway)

Here are pictures from today's ride to Artist Point - the end of the Mt Baker Highway.  I rode up to Heather Meadows in late May, but the highway had not opened beyond that point.  WSDOT opened the road up to Artist Point on July 29th.  It's a nice section of road that's only open for just over 2 months.  They don't try to keep it clear in the winter.    I didn't start taking any pictures until I was just below Heather Meadows.






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Here are some pictures taken at Picture Lake, just below Heather Meadows.

In the pictures below, we are above Heather Meadows, but still below Artist Point.  This visitor center is fairly close to one of the ski runs - but I've never seen it before.  They close it and let it get snowed in.  

Bagley Lakes Basin - taken from Visitor's Center.

From a bit higher up the road.

In the picture below, we are looking down on the Heather Meadows base area.  

Table Mountain.

Ok, time to stop taking pictures and round the bend to Artist Point.  According to WSDOT, the elevation here is just over 5000 feet.  

Here is Mt Baker.

Me in front of Mt Baker.

In case you're wondering - riding down was really fast, and really fun.  Also, it wasn't the least bit cold up there - about 70.  I put on my long sleeve shirt because bugs were eating me, and it would be a bit warmer on the way down.  I was certainly not hot with the shirt on.

Pictures from the Drive Home

I didn't make it all the way home after Saturday's ride.  I drove to Pateros, WA and checked into a hotel next to a lake.  I got up very early the next morning to leave.  Here are some nice pictures from my hotel balcony.

My drive was through the Methow Valley, then over North Cascades Highway again.  Here are some pictures from near the top of the Washington Pass.  The weather was changing - sunny on the east side, rain on the west.

That's it - no more pictures on my camera from the trip.  

Saturday's Ride to Russia

I'm a day late with this one.  I actually did this ride from Coulee City, WA to Soap Lake, WA on Saturday, August 7 - but if you rode to Russia and back, it might take you awhile to post the pictures, too!  


I had originally planned to begin this ride at the Dry Falls Visitor Center, but changed my mind after Friday's ride to Coulee City.  The Coulee City Park where I took my half way break on Friday had plenty of parking and real bathrooms.  The Dry Falls Visitor Center didn't open until 9 am, so I decided my starting point would be Coulee City Park. 


I checked out of my hotel in Coulee Dam around 7:20 AM and drove to Coulee City along the same route I rode on Friday.   By the time I got there, un-racked the bike and got everything ready, I didn't leave until 8:15, a bit later than I wanted to but this ride was 10 miles shorter than Friday's ride, so I wasn't too worried about it.   In my mind, this was my "easy day."


After crossing the Dry Falls Dam - which is the Dam on the southern edge of Banks Lake - I turned south onto Hwy 17.  The first thing I noticed was that I had a significant head wind.  The good news was - based on the terrain, I was pretty sure that wind would remain out of the south all day, and I would have a nice push on the way back to Coulee City.   Dry Falls  was only about 4 miles from Coulee City Park, so I arrived there quickly.  

This was taken from the Visitor Center parking lot, looking northeast.  You should go to the Dry Falls link to read a short description of what you're looking at.  

Here is another shot looking south.

The road I'm on is just to the west of this coulee.  It descends down to the level of the lakes, and there is a series of three lakes known collectively as Sun Lakes.   The northern most lake is Park Lake, the middle lake is Lenore Lake, and the southern lake is Soap Lake.   The town of Soap Lake sits at the southern end of Soap Lake.

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Well, obviously, if I had bothered to look at a terrain map, I would have realized my ride wasn't going to be "easy."   Sorry, Kevin - when I told you "no cliffs", I honestly believed that to be true at the time.   

Park Lake, just south of Dry Falls, is blessed with a flat shoreline on both sides and lots of beaches.  It has parks and resorts, boat launches and beaches. Plenty of people were fishing when I went by, but I didn't bother to take any pictures until later when I was northbound, like this one of a resort or town on the opposite shore.

 I did make mental notes of important features - a rest area with shade at the 9 mile mark, a campground at ten miles with a store.  But after I passed that campground, I started heading into more isolated terrain.   Here is a stop in the shade at the north end of Lenore Lake.

Here's a closeup of the rock wall on the opposite side of the lake.   It looks like layers of sediment on top of basalt columns, but I haven't looked it up yet.

And here's a look down the road.  I had no idea what I was in for.

Which was....ever narrowing shoulders, heavier than expected traffic (due to proximity of intersection with I-90), and more climbing than I expected.  

Still, the lake itself is beautiful, and was full of waterfowl.  I had to wonder if it is a wildlife or waterfowl refuge - it was so different than Park Lake to the north - there were no people here.  I have since realized that Lenore Lake is surrounded by cliffs on both sides - no beaches, no where to build a boat launch or resort.  There are also rock formations in the middle of the lake - it may not be a good lake for boating.  There are some camping and public fishing areas on the eastern shore, but they were almost empty, especially compared to Park Lake.  It seemed most suitable for bird watching.

This turned out to be my largest climb southbound.  (I am looking north here.) The wind will switch directions slightly, but I only have about 4 miles to go.  About this point, I decided I needed to take a good break in Soap Lake and get something to eat at a sandwich shop or diner, if I can find one.

This is Soap Lake, at about 9:30 AM - and I am asking myself....where are the water skiers?   I have just passed a campground with plenty of boats sitting on trailers.   Why aren't they on this glassy water?  Maybe they've already come in - there is a large dragonfly hatch in progress.  They are blue, and they are everywhere.

A few minutes later I arrive in the town of Soap Lake.  The temperature is much more pleasant than in the canyon I just rode out of.  I have just ridden 23 miles that were more difficult than expected.  It feels like lunch time to me - but actually it's only 10:15, and nothing seems to be open.  I see one small store that's open, but I'm unsure if it's serving food or just a small grocery.  I ride a couple blocks and find a nice park on the lake with shaded picnic tables, but nothing else.  So I decide to go back to the small store.  It turns out - it's a Russian deli.  Just what you expect to find in a small town in the middle of Washington State, right?

So I go in....everything is in Russian.   There is all kinds of Russian candies, snacks, crackers, and about 10 people speaking Russian, including "Mom".  There is a younger woman at the counter.  They have a white board written in English, so I see I can order a sandwich.

So I just stand there and wait until the young woman taking orders looks me in the eye and speaks to me in perfect English - no accent whatsoever.   She is the only person who speaks English the entire time I'm in there.  I ordered a bologna and Havarti sandwich (Havarti is the only cheese choice.)   The only bread choice is a traditional wheat bread, which is fine.  She writes down my order but tells me it will be a few minutes - Momma is only just slicing today's bread.  There are quite a few orders in front of me.    So I started looking around and found what looked like chocolate.  

I picked out three bars.  I was pretty sure one had hazelnuts (bottom); another I picked because of the beautiful gold wrapping - it is more expensive than the others (top); and then I had a third bar.  When my sandwich was ready and I went up to pay, I asked the young woman what I had.  She said they were all dark chocolate, and the one did have hazelnuts.   I asked if there were any milk chocolate, and she pointed out all the bars with the baby picture on front.  So I traded one of my dark chocolate bars for the milk chocolate.    

(Buying the chocolate was risky.  I was carrying  a pair of lightweight hiking pants in my trunk pack, in case the sun got to be too much and I needed to cover up.  I wrapped the chocolate bars in the pants and put them in the trunk pack - they didn't melt or break.   I haven't opened them yet, but I think I've gotten them home in good condition.)

After I got my sandwich, I went to the park and found a shady picnic table.  There were plenty of people at the park, but it wasn't crowded.  The conversations around me were all in Russian, or sometimes in Russian and English.    It was sort of a bizarre experience.  Soap Lake has a population under 2000 people.  If you want to know a bit about Soap Lake and why the Russians are there, try this article about the giant lava lamp.    I didn't visit the giant lava lamp, I didn't realize it was an official attraction.  But the end of that article mentions the deli I visited, and even quotes Valentina, who I suspect is the young English speaking woman. 

I finished eating, reapplied sunscreen and added bug spray on top of that.  At this point, I have to hope that no passing motorists toss a cigarette in my direction - I'd probably ignite.   Now it's time to head north, back to Coulee City.  It's 11:00 am.  

Now that I'm familiar with the territory, the difficult part by Lenore Lake doesn't seem so awful.  I at least know how long it will last - and I know there is a shady campground with a store waiting in about 10 miles.    Here's a nice patch of shade I found near the top of a long climb.

I doubt most of the passing cars ever realized I was tucked into that spot.  After I crested that hill, I still had a mile or so of narrow shoulder with a rock face right next to me - but the advantage was that I was in a narrow stripe of shade, and I had a nice tailwind that would keep getting stronger.  I made it to the store at midpoint faster than expected.  

I love this store.  It had air conditioning, and really cold drinks, and shade.  I got an ice cold coca-cola and drank about half of it.  It was so good.  And a large bottle of water to refill my Camelbak.

I took a good rest here, about 10 or 15 minutes, because I knew what I had ahead of me.  Still, the wind out of the south just kept getting stronger - you could even see it on the surface of the lake - so I couldn't complain too much.

I continue northward.  In the next photo, I am about 5 miles from my car in Coulee City.

  

All I have to do, is climb this hill, to the top of that coulee.....

...yeah, that one.  But I've got a tail wind that just keeps getting better, and a few clouds in the sky that sometimes cover the sun.   

In the following picture, I'm about half way up the hill and looking back at Sun Lakes-Dry Falls State Park, which is down on the shore of Park Lake.

Almost to the top......(taking pictures is a great excuse to stop and rest!)

Back at the Dry Falls visitor center.  These flags may give you an idea of the tail wind I was enjoying.  From here, after a rest in the shade of a tree, I had a pretty quick trip back to my car in Coulee City.

When I get to my car at the park in Coulee City,  I am parked near the beach on Banks Lake.   There is a group of men of all ages playing volleyball.  They are all speaking in Russian.   

When I was planning the trip, I thought of today's ride as my "easy day."  It was actually the most challenging of the two rides, despite being only 46 miles, which I completed at an average speed of 12.5 mph.  I was wearing what felt like a thick coat of sunscreen, bug spray, sweat, and road grime.  Fortunately, Washington State Parks have coin operated showers, so I drove back to the state park to shower before I drove home.