McClendon's Select

There are so many things around the farm with wonderfully lyrical names like Lolla Rosa, Kohlrabi, and Kabocha Squash.  As we move through the seasons, I always enjoy hearing the names for new seeds Bob has found.  Tomatoes alone have a whole host of fun varieties, like Early Girls, Red Lightning, Green Zebras and Punta Bandas.  Fingerling potatoes aren’t just fingerlings, they can be called Red Thumb, Russian Banana, Purple Peru or Ruby Crescents.  Turnips are the same with their Baby Hakurei and Scarlet Queen varieties.  Aidan’s favorite name is the Yellow Eye Steuben beans, which he thought were “Stupid Beans” when he was little and would laugh manically every time he said it.

Sometimes these names come with stories that are even more interesting, which I found out when I asked Bob about Iitoi Onions.

Iitoi Onions look like a green onion, although the bulbs are slight pinkish tinge and a milder flavor.  The onions were first brought over by the Spaniards when the Franciscan fathers began to build missions in northern Mexico.  The onion bulbs were given to Papago Indians (now the Tohono O-Odham) living in the Sonoran desert, since Iitoi are more tolerant to drought than other onions.  They are not planted from seed, but rather from bulbs.  Within days of going into the ground, they will start to sprout and almost as fast as you can pick them they will spread.  For every ten we pick, we leave one or two in the ground, and they quickly multiply again.  Fragments of a bulb can lay dormant in the ground for months during the summer and then suddenly sprout again in the fall without having to replant.  We can see in the fields where the Iitois were planted in the past.   Since they propagate from one bulb, the Iitoi onions you find now are direct descendants from those originally brought over on the Spanish galleons.

Pretty cool for a little onion.

There is also a new publication out that is both informative and very timely right now.  AZGreen Magazine is Arizona’s first lifestyle publication dedicated to sustainability.  The magazine covers not just issues in the green movement, but opens up the conversation to how and why our choices affect our families, the community and the world around us.  The content is provocative and beautifully laid out.  They are focused not just on informing and educating, but also practicing what they preach as a corporation.  They will be available in print form soon, but you can save a tree and download the latest issue to your desktop, laptop or iPad.

Check them out… their newest issue just went up.  You can find AZGreen Magazine at www.azgreenmagazine.com, and their newest issue here.

(You may even find an article in their newest issue from your’s truly!)

We have two squash blossom seasons around here. The first is in June and then they appear once again in late September. They are funny little flowers. They grow hidden beneath the leaves of squash plants and only open early in the morning. If you don’t catch them at sunrise, they close back up and go to sleep. We handle them as delicately as possible, so as to not crush their delicate petals. Once picked they need to be refrigerated immediately, but not too cold, and they would prefer a wet paper towel nestled in with them. And, after all of that, if you don’t do something with them soon, they will wilt and break your heart.

Squash blossoms are the subject of a lot of curiosity. They are seductive and confusing all at the same time. Pretty and edible? In Mexico they are called flor de calabaza and are used in soups or quesadillas. In Italy they are fiori di zucca and are stuffed with ricotta, served with pasta or made into fritters. We work with a number of chefs who have come up with their own interpretation of what to do with them. I have tried many and have found them all enjoyable. But my favorite way to eat squash blossoms is in Marsha’s kitchen. She showed me what to do a few years ago, and after a lot of practice, mine still pale in comparison, but I am no longer intimidated.

Here’s the deal, you can really stuff them with just about anything. I have filled them with all sorts of things, mozzarella with lemon zest and basil, spinach dip with artichoke hearts, sauteed squash with parmesan and pine nuts. The female blossoms come with a little baby squash attached that I like to saute along with the flower. Really, you can’t mess them up, or I am sure that I would have by now.

So… what should you do with a squash blossom?

Well, first gently rinse and pat dry. I make a small cut along the side and then remove the stamen from the middle. I then put about a spoonful of whatever I am using, in these I had a spinach dip with some parmesan and fresh basil. The ends of the petals are then twisted closed and the flowers are rolled in flour, then an egg wash and some panko crumbs.

They were then pan fried with a little olive oil over medium heat for about 2-3 minutes per side. Just long enough for them to turn a golden.

They are so good… and will soon be so gone! Their season feels as delicate and fleeting as they are, but it is so worth it. If you really want a treat and want to go the distance for a squash blossom, next summer plan to take a trip to Winslow. John Sharpe at The Turquoise Room in the La Posada makes a squash blossom tamale that is well worth the drive!

The Turquoise Room
303 East Second Street
Winslow, Arizona