Look what we grew this summer! *

(Originally posted on Thursday, July 20, 2006 by Tim)

I have alluded to the existence of a garden in our yard in previous posts. Cat and I put it in this Spring. It is a 10 foot by 10 foot raised bed that is a mixture of the orange clay that passes for dirt in our yard and some purchased topsoil of dubious quality. We contained the ?soil? with 10 foot by 6 inch by 1 inch pine boards. I know that pine won?t last all that long, but I wanted to avoid using any chemically treated wood. The whole garden is an experiment. Once we settle on a size, I?ll likely replace the pine with more expensive cedar.

In addition to the structure of the garden, the plants are also an experiment. We wanted to see what would grow well this year. As part of this experiment, we planted one yellow squash plant. As you can see from the picture above, the squash has been an astounding success. Frankly, we can?t keep up with it. I know that I?m supposed to cut the yellow squash when it is an inch to an inch and a half in diameter. It seems like I can?t turn my back on the thing without it producing squash that rival hard to deliver babies in size. It?s even more difficult to keep up with it in the kitchen. I think we?ll be eating a lot of squash this summer.

Our response to the two monster squashes you see above was to bake them, spoon the innards out, and fill them with stuffing.

Stuffed Squash
Two squash (can be summer or winter)
Stuffing
½ cup cheddar cheese

Cut squash into halves. Bake in oven upside down on an oiled tray for 30 minutes at 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Spoon out and dice the insides of the squash. Add the insides to the stuffing. Fill squash with the stuffing and sprinkle the cheddar cheese on top. Bake an additional 10 minutes or so until the cheese is melted.

I didn?t get a chance to post yesterday, but we had another first. It was our first meal at a restaurant with Dalton. Cat?s aunt Jan and uncle Don were visiting with their kids and we went out with them, Carol, Jes, and Larry for pizza. Dalton was a good boy. He nursed a bit and was quiet for the whole meal.

We will be taking a tour of a Montessori school tomorrow. The school is our current top choice for Dalton daycare when Cat goes back to teaching in January. The school is also near our favorite Thai place in Roanoke. Since Dalton did so well at the pizza place, we?re going to try going to the Thai place tomorrow. We?ve eaten there a number of times. The staff know us and I?m sure they will get a kick out of seeing the baby.

*Thanks to Jessica for the idea for the title.