AT LOCAL FARMERS MARKETS
Cooking demos:
6 p.m. Friday: Chef Stacy Maple. Lilburn Farmers Market, Lilburn. www.lilburnfarmersmarket.org
9 a.m. Saturday: Chef Daniel Porubiansky of Century House Tavern, working with pattypan squash. Morningside Farmers Market, Atlanta. www.morningsidemarket.com
10 a.m. Saturday: Chef Craig Richards of St. Cecilia. Peachtree Road Farmers Market, Atlanta. www.peachtreeroadfarmersmarket.com
Chef demos are held at many farmers markets. Check your local market’s Facebook page or website for information.
FOR SALE
Just arriving at markets: melons
Vegetables, fruit and nuts: arugula, Asian greens, beans, beets, blackberries, blueberries, broccoli, cabbage, carrots, chard, cucumbers, eggplant, fennel, garlic, herbs, kale, kohlrabi, leeks, lettuce, Malabar spinach, mulberries, mushrooms, mustard greens, okra, onions, peaches, pecans, peppers, plums, potatoes, radishes, raspberries, shallots, spinach, spring onions, squash blossoms, summer squash, tomatoes, turnips
From local reports
Pattypan squash, also called scallop squash for their distinctive scalloped disk shape, is less well known than its summer squash relatives the crookneck and zucchini. Farmer Cass Fraunfelder of Finch Creek Farm is ready to change that.
Pattypan squash is his favorite. “I really prefer pattypan squash because of the taste. In my opinion, it’s got a much better flavor than other summer squash.”
Fraunfelder picked this season’s first pattypan squash in late June and has had it at market ever since. He reports putting in about 4,000 plants, which will surely provide enough pattypan squash for his farmers market, restaurant and wholesale customers. At Finch Creek Farm, he grows a variety of squash, including acorn, zucchini, spaghetti, eight ball and butternut.
Fraunfelder produces Certified Naturally Grown produce on seven acres in Winder. In addition to selling to restaurant and wholesale clients, he brings his produce to the public at the city of Lilburn Tuesday night farmers market, on Fridays at the Braselton Farmers Market and Saturdays at the Snellville Farmers Market.
He’s growing two types of pattypan squash: “White Scallop” and “Benning’s Green Tint.” “One of the reasons I like growing pattypan squash is that they’re not so high maintenance. If you don’t pick a zucchini one day, by the next it’s gotten too big. It’s hard to run a farm and keep up with vegetables like that,” he said.
Eight weeks of succession plantings mean Fraunfelder will have pattypan squash available for about 20 weeks, or well into the fall.
Pattypan squash can be treated like any summer squash, cut into chunks and steamed, boiled or sauteed. But their shape makes them a prime candidate for stuffing. The squash can be harvested at anywhere from two to three inches in diameter all the way up to a foot across, with smaller squash suitable for individual servings and larger ones for a dramatic presentation.
Like all summer squash, keep your pattypan squash in the refrigerator and use within four or five days. Be careful not to bruise the squash as those are the places that will start to deteriorate first.
We caught up with Fraunfelder as he was in the field, wrestling with what he says is one of the hardest things about farming organically – dealing with the weeds. “I’m spending more time pulling weeds and grass than anything else.”
Despite his frustration with the abundant weeds brought on by this year’s wet spring and cool temperatures, Fraunfelder, who’s been farming since early 2011, clearly loves what he does. He laughed and acknowledged, “I don’t ever plan to retire from farming. I will die out in the fields.”
Nick McCormick’s Crab-Stuffed Pattypan Squash
Hands on: 20 minutes
Total time 1 hour:
Serves: 12
TAP’s executive chef Nick McCormick created this recipe when thinking about an alternative to “boring old stuffed mushrooms.” He writes that he thought patty pan squash would do the trick. “I knew they had a great texture and would hold up really well when stuffed, and for the filling, I really just like crab and cream cheese. It makes me think of Crab Rangoon.”
12 small patty pan squash (about 5 ounces each), tops cut off and reserved, middles slightly scooped out
2 tablespoons olive oil
Salt and pepper
8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
8 ounces lump crab meat
1/4 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons chopped tarragon
1 tablespoon whole grain mustard
2 teaspoons Crystal hot sauce
1 teaspoon Old Bay seasoning
1/2 cup panko
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Lightly grease a 9-by-13-inch baking dish.
Brush inside of each squash with olive oil and season lightly with salt and pepper. Set aside.
In a medium bowl, make filling by lightly mixing together cream cheese, crab, cream, tarragon, mustard, hot sauce and Old Bay seasoning.
When oven is hot, spread panko on a rimmed baking sheet and toast until light golden brown, about 5 minutes. Add panko to cream cheese mixture.
Divide filling between prepared patty pan squash shells and press firmly into squash. Place tops back on each squash and arrange in prepared baking dish. Cover dish with boil and bake 45 minutes or until squash are tender and filling is bubbling. The timing depends on the size of the squash. Be prepared for it to take a little longer. When the squash is tender, remove foil and bake 10 minutes or until squash is golden brown. Serve immediately.
Per serving: 169 calories (percent of calories from fat, 58), 8 grams protein, 11 grams carbohydrates, 4 grams fiber, 11 grams fat (6 grams saturated), 42 milligrams cholesterol, 178 milligrams sodium.
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