Since midwinter, I’ve eagerly awaited the arrival of my summer squash. I love the delicate flavor, lightly sautéed in olive oil, tossed with garlic and sea salt and perhaps some tender pasta. And zucchini cream pie is a perfect cool, creamy summertime treat!
But this wasn’t always the case. I distinctly remember, toward the end of August last year, swearing bitterly that if I ever had to look at another squash again I would scream. By this point my family had endured endless meals of sautéed squash, zucchini bread, squash noodles, squash lasagna, stuffed zucchini, grilled squash… if you can think of a way to prepare it, we tried it.
But that’s the beauty (and perhaps the curse) of the humble, easy-to-grow summer squash. They are so productive, so carefree, that by midsummer everyone and their neighbors have more than enough to go around. But that will never stop me from growing it!
This year, I’m excited to trial several new varieties at the Gurney’s farm. We have a beautiful range of colored varieties, from deepest gold to glossy green stripes to pale, butter yellow and pastel green-grey. All of the plants are extremely healthy and productive right now, but we shall see who holds up to the disease pressures of late summer.
A favorite among the staff now is a variety aptly named Green Tiger. With its attractive dark and medium green striping, uniform straight fruit and compact habit, it’s hard not to like this variety.
Another of my favorites is a pale grey-green variety named Katie. I’m partially biased because it shares a name with my kid sister, but it’s truly a top-rate variety! An excellent variety for sautéing because of its thin skin and tender texture, Katie’s fruit is more of a squat oval than the typically elongated summer squash shape.
Look for some of these new summer squash to join the Gurney’s website product offerings next spring. And, in the meantime, I hope you are enjoying the bounty of summer squash from your own garden!