Patty Pan Squash Crumble (Reflections on Two Years of Blogging)

Patty pan squash, simmered with spices, tucked between a sweet crumble dough then baked. Summer squash for a Fall dessert. Revisited after 2 years of blogging.

Since I've been doing this blogging thing for about two years now, I've decided to revisit a recipe post from my first weeks of blogging. A post that has bothered me. Oh, the recipe is a sound one--though I did tweak it a bit--it's the rest of the elements of blogging that bothered me. I'll list them out for you.

• The title. Summer Squash = Fall Dessert? Sure, that's a valid description of the post, but it's not really going to come up on many search engines. I may be ridiculously boring and obvious in my recipe titles these days (see my Visual Pizza Recipe Index for proof) but at least you know what you're getting with a Fig Jam, Goat Cheese, and Fresh Pear Pizza, don't you think?
• The presentation. When I made this before, I observed that it probably would be good with ice cream but I didn't go get some and try it. After my IceCreamWeek experience, it doesn't make sense not to eat ice cream when you can. I'll admit this time I didn't go out and get some ice cream--I sent my son. We're all glad I did.
• The photo. This one shouldn't be a surprise, but I will point out that at least the original photo was taken in natural light and is in focus, and also not extremely close up. You can see it here.  Not a horrid photo, right? But it doesn't tell a story. I'm continually working to improve my photos by adding elements that tell a story, like I learned in my 30 Days to Better Food Photography course.

The story of this recipe remake can be told through these three photos. After setting up the shot I asked the kids for help--with the promise of snacking once I was finished. I'd say they liked it.

Happy 2 year anniversary to Farm Fresh Feasts.  Thanks for reading.

Nuts! I'd better include my tweaked recipe!  This is again inspired by the terrific resource Farmer John's Cookbook: The Real Dirt on Vegetables (Amazon Affiliate Link).

What's missing . . . the butter for one

Patty Pan Squash Crumble

4 ounces by weight (1 cup) whole wheat flour
4¼ ounces by weight (1 cup) unbleached all purpose flour
¾ cup sugar
½ teaspoon salt (I use kosher)
8 teaspoons (1 stick) butter, cut into many small pieces, plus more for the pan
1 cup rolled oats
4 cups chopped, unpeeled, patty pan squash (scoop out only the biggest seeds, leave the rest)
⅓ cup lemon juice
¼ cup water
½ cup honey
1 teaspoon vanilla
¼ teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon (about) nutmeg--I just guesstimate with my microplane (another Amazon affiliate link)
½ teaspoon cardamom
ice cream for serving

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Butter a 9 inch square baking pan. Set aside. In a large bowl, combine flours, sugar and salt until blended. Add butter, and using your fingertips or a pastry blender, coat the flour mixture so that it resembles coarse crumbs. Reserve ½ cup of this mixture. Add oats to the bowl and mix well. Divide the mixture in half and press half into the prepared pan. Bake for 15 minutes.
While the base is baking, prepare the filling.
In a large saucepan over medium high heat bring squash, lemon juice and water to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer for 10 minutes until the squash is tender. Stir in honey, vanilla, spices and the reserved ½ cup flour mixture. Cook another 2 to 3 minutes until filling is magically thickened.
Spread onto baked base, then cover with the rest of the flour and oat mixture, pressing down onto the filling lightly. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes until lightly browned. Serve warm with ice cream.

This post is shared on Clever Chicks Blog Hop, Motivation Mondays, Tasty Tuesdays, What's Cookin' Wednesday and Fresh Foods Wednesday