spicy south african stuffed squash

yesterday was a much needed day of rest, yet incredibly productive for both d and i.

my mother rolled into town on saturday after dropping off her car at a dealership to get work done on it, and proceeded to eat our way through gainesville until she left yesterday morning.

once mom departed, we headed out to the kanapaha botanical gardens spring plant festival. we went to the fall festival the year before last, but that never could have prepared us for the sheer magnitude and vivacity of the spring version. hundreds of vendors of plants, pavers, solar panels, butterfly paraphernalia, homemade soaps and oils, soy candles, fried twinkies, conservation organizations, and lawn sculptures.

once the $7 entrance fee was paid, the rest of the money we brought went quickly. d and i picked up 3 silver queen corn plants, a red grape tomato starter, almond and citrus soap, a root beer float, a frozen banana, a mullet (they just threw a live fish, fins and all, in the fryer. i swear!) sandwich, and a blackberry bush.

we also got a really interesting look at the way the garden composts most of the trash from the festival each year. they throw away only 10 bags of unrecyclable, uncompostable trash every year for over 10,000 visitors over a two day span!

after we left the festival, we headed to ward's (a whole foods market) to pick up some groceries, as well as some more herbs and veggies for planting. d's trying out goliath and sugar snap peas to trellis along the railing on the porch. with them, we planted okra as well. chenopodium, cilantro, and some cucumbers (i'm attempting to grow them from seed, so we'll see how that goes) round out the list.

we potted the plants and still had a good amount of daylight left, so we decided to grill out. after cracking open some of the raspberry belgian wheat ale we got for a steal ($4 6 pack!), d fired up the grill and i started prepping my main event, spicy south african stuffed squash.


now, the authenticity of the south african-ness of this recipe is debatable, so take it with a grain of salt. it was the second summer i spent in africa for a paleoanthropology dig that, tired and hungry, these were served to us at a braai (afrikaans for barbeque). the meat-heads dined on boerewors and the veg-heads had soya chicken schnitzel and pap. a little less than half of the crew were vegetarians, so a decent amount of our diet in the field revolved around these little balls of fire.

spicy south african stuffed squash

you'll need:

• n number of small squash* (1 per person)
• minced garlic
• grated cheese, i used 2% sharp cheddar
• butter (or margarine, or smart balance, whatever.)
• paprika
• garlic powder
• onion flakes
• crushed red pepper

*an interesting fact about squash: for some reason, most belong to the species Cucurbita pepo. This includes traditional pumpkin, zucchini, yellow crookneck squash, spaghetti squash, acorn squash, and gem squash. the original squash we had in south africa were gem squash, which are rounder than the acorn squash that i used.

1. if you haven't already, start up the coals.
   
2. halve squash and scoop out seeds and matrix with spoon, leaving little cups within each half to hold all of the yummy toppings.
   
3. for each squash, pull out a square of tinfoil and place the two halves on top.
   
4. fill the little cups with aforementioned yummy toppings. in each half spoon in a decent sized pat of butter (you'll thank me later) and a good half tablespoon of minced garlic. cover up the rest of the hole with the grated cheese. bravely sprinkle on as much paprika and crushed red pepper as you can stand (see photo above for my dosage), and top with a little garlic powder for some extra kick. try other fillings as your imagination can provide you. d thinks that datil pepper sauce would be good.
   
5. here's the fun part! with great skill and dexterity, reunite the two halves. take care not to let the filling fall out. speed is a necessity in this case. helpful hint: if using acorn squash, use some of the visual markings and coloration to held you line up the halves before attempting to smoosh them together.
   
6. roll up the reunited squash in the tinfoil.
7. place on coals.
8. wait 15 minutes or so, turning halfway through. the time will depend on the intensity of the heat given off by the coals. when the tinfoil is charred on both sides, and the squash squishes a little when squeezed by tongs, it's a fairly good indicator that they're about done. move to a large plate.
9. carefully remove the tinfoil using tongs and another utensil to stabilize it. let cool for a few minutes and dig in!
   

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