Minneapolis Farmers Market and Potato, Zucchini and Yellow Squash Gratin

Wowy zowy, we had a good weekend. I sit here, out of breath, wondering where it went. We spent most of our weekend with our friends Ryan and Beckie (and the kids) watching/helping roast a hog for some upcoming events. I watched while they prepped, moved, and carved the beast. Delicious!

I told Beckie that they should open a restaurant, going a few steps beyond catering. That’s an understatement. Ryan is such a busy guy. He also works with Greg, farms, coaches and prepares roasted hogs (doing every bit of it himself with his wife’s help), using his own blends of spices. Tasty! Their kids keep them busy as well- a teen, almost 9 year old and 10 month old babe. Beckie has her own cleaning business too so if you are in need of someone that excels at her work, in southern Minnesota, let me know and I’ll connect you to her. (She is licensed and delightful.)

Sunday was our errand day and that brought us to the Minneapolis Farmers Market and since we were “in the Cities,” we stopped by the Muddy Pig pub again. We each sampled 3 beers (a few ounces worth)-sadly none that really made us sing any praises-then shared a quesadilla and a pint, relaxing with the excellent music and a show about storms on the Travel channel. We prefer that to watching sports which makes this destination awesome in our eyes. (The Pig also has sports on some of the tvs.)

A lovely time was had and much needed because our newest “better” laptop fell to a virus somehow, through layers of protection, sometime while we were gone Saturday. I couldn’t log on to any sites or check my email without it being blocked…was not a pleasant Sunday morning surprise. Greg worked some magic and we decided to leave it behind while backing up my files on the external hard drive (a task we should have performed a while back) and went to the market.

The aisles were bustling in the last hour, when we arrived, and I bought pounds and pounds of fresh produce from kind vendors. Here are a few of the items I picked up: peaches, cherries, green tomatoes, Roma tomatoes, summer squash, purple potatoes, spinach, pattypan squash, heirloom carrots, cukes, plums and squash blossoms (for $1). Can you believe that all of this was less than $25? Sadly, I intended to fry the blossoms last night but forgot and now they are wilted. Doh!

I made a zucchini and yellow squash dish last week with the squash season upon us. I grew tired of roasting these two vegetables with olive oil, coarse salt, freshly ground pepper, and a few herbs (my preparation of choice for years). Instead, I decided to make something more filling-a squash gratin with potatoes, cheese and cream, inspired by a Martha Stewart recipe. The results were scrumptious.

What are you doing with summer squash this season?

Potato, Zucchini and Yellow Squash Gratin
Serves 6

Ingredients:
2 tbsp butter
3 small potatoes, scrubbed, patted dry and sliced into thin rounds
2 medium zucchini, sliced into thin rounds
2 medium yellow squash, sliced into thin rounds
2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
half of a medium onion, sliced
coarse salt/fresh pepper
1/3 cup heavy cream
2/3 cup breadcrumbs
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Preheat the oven to 400. In a large skillet, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the potatoes, zucchini, squash, garlic and onion with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are crisp-tender, about 5 minutes. Add the cream and cook until thickened, about 5 minutes. Remove from the skillet and place into a shallow baking dish. Sprinkle the breadcrumbs and grated Parmesan over the top and bake, until golden, for 25 to 30 minutes.