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Tuesday, June 24, 2014

Zucchinni Gone Insane + Lunchtime = Tasty Squash Blossom Soup

My garden has been loving the frequent rains we've been getting so far this summer with my peppers, tomatoes, and sunflowers getting visibly bigger every day. And the creeping thyme in my front yard has aspirations of becoming the next kudzu (which surprises me, as it's in partial shade). But no plant in my garden has done quite as well as my zucchini. My zucchini has grown to gigantic proportions and currently has enormous dinner plate sized leaves. And I planted four of them this year.

Zucchini, like any other squash, have separate male and female flowers. Both types of flowers are edible, but the female flowers will grow into squash while the male will just wilt and drop off after a few days. So it makes sense to pinch off most (but not all) of the male flowers and cook with them. There are lots of ways to cook them; I've stuffed them with cheese and garlic and I've heard they make good quesadillas. But today, I wanted to eat a bowl of squash blossom soup.

The recipe I used was adapted from this article:
Caldo Xochitl con Flor de Calabaza

I halved the recipe and adapted it for what I had lying around.
4 cups Chicken Broth.
2 cans Chicken Breast.
1/2 cup cooked rice.
4 chilies en adobo, minced.
2 serrano peppers seeded and sliced.
1 sweet pepper.
About 1 cup roughly chopped squash blossoms.
Shredded Cheese for garnish.

I still cooked as directed in the recipe. It makes a nice brothy soup wish just the right amount of spiciness and the squash blossoms give it a wonderful freshness. I'll definitely make it again, but next batch of squash blossoms I pick I'm turning into quesodillas...

Spring 2014 Gardening Update