Fresh vegetables are in season, the perfect time to experiment with new recipes. I watched as Mama cooked squash; she would fry slices, coated with batter and cooking in bacon grease. Oh, so good! She also mashed squash and onions together and cooked in her skillet with the lid on. This was so tender and tasty, nothing but her fresh squash, onions and seasonings. She never measured anything so there was no recipe to keep and use later. Her measurements were an onion, a few fresh squash, a pinch of salt (from time to time she would use a sprinkle of pepper) and always bacon grease. I am still alive and well so I guess all that bacon grease growing up didn’t hurt me; at least it didn’t kill me! Today I use vegetable oil, olive oil or grapeseed oil. Don’t try to fry your food in olive oil or grapeseed oil; from my experience your fried food will burn.

Recently I went with several friends to a restaurant in Stockton, The Stagecoach Café. This neighborhood restaurant is out in the middle of nowhere. You can find it by traveling north on Highway 59; it’s located just north of I-65. Go under the bridge and there you are. Good, down home, country cooking. They served squash croquettes, the first I had ever eaten. Obviously they were good, so naturally I had to try my hand and created this recipe. A lot of times I still cook like Mama cooked. I did not measure my squash and onion by the cupful. I used one large onion, no waste there, and used two medium-sized squash, no waste there.

I have made salmon croquettes forever; at least from the time I married and left home. This is the basic recipe I used, substituting squash for salmon and adding onion. You know by now that my special friend believes onions are the fountain of youth. You also know that my fresh onions and squash came from my favorite local farmer, Krupinski Farm.

Squash croquettes

Ingredients:

2 cups yellow squash, chopped

1 cup onion, chopped

1 egg

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

½ cup all-purpose flour

1 cup vegetable oil

Preparation for squash croquettes

Use a large bowl. Combine squash, onion, egg, salt and pepper. Mix everything together, stir in flour. Heat oil in skillet. If you are using a large skillet, you may want to add more oil, only ½ cup at the time. Your oil should be approximately ¼ inch deep in your skillet. Drop squash mixture by tablespoonfuls into hot oil. Cook about 3 minutes per side or until golden brown, turning only once. Drain croquettes on paper towels. Enjoy while they are hot.

If your mixture has too much liquid, add a little more flour, one tablespoon at a time until the mixture will stick together. I have been asked about the liquid in the squash mixture, no liquid is actually added; however, eggs will add moisture, the larger the egg, the more moisture there will be in your squash mixture. So, this is why you may need to adjust the amount of flour. Use medium size eggs and no flour adjustment should be needed.

From the scriptures

Spiritual food is essential for all of us, as well as physical food. We enjoy two or three meals every day. We should nourish our mind and feed our spirit daily just as we feed our body. Reading our Bible daily is one way to feed our spirit.

Our scripture for this week is: Ecclesiastes 4:9-10

“Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work: If one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up!”

Be thankful for true friends and family, they will be there for you during times of trouble and times of loneliness.