Summer Squash Fritters for the Win and Homemade Hangover Food

Squash Fritters and a Roasted Chicken on Whole Wheat Biscuit with Fresh Pesto Sandwich

A beautiful mountain setting can lead to way too much fun.

Our family spends a lot of time in the woods, and this past weekend was no exception. We were with family at a reunion in the woods outside Lincoln, Montana and as we readied ourselves to leave, we needed to create a dinner Friday night. I knew there would be copious amounts of meat at the reunion, so we decided to stay on the veggies until we visited. 

Our CSA delivery Friday came with our first batch of summer squash, a little yellow crookneck and a green monster that was definitely not a zucchini. I thought and thought and eventually remembered a recipe I had seen in an organic cookbook that compiled recipes by season, not by category. I decided we would make squash fritters, and after we did, they were so salty, cheesy, delicious that no one needed the leftover pork chop I refried alongside just in case. 

Summer Squash Fritters

 Ingredients: * means its local

2 regular sized summer squash, grated *

1/2 an onion, diced *

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1 egg *

handful fresh parsley, chopped *

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup whole wheat flour *

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 cup oil for frying in a cast iron pan, I did half camelina oil, half olive oil

Grate your squash and toss the salt into it. Mix it together with your hands and put it in a colander to drip off the moisture. Let sit at least 10 minutes.  

Squeeze out the excess liquid of the squash and then put it in a bowl. Add in the onion, cheese, parsley, beaten egg, salt and pepper and mix together.

Add your flour and baking powder mixture to the squash and mix thoroughly. It was very sticky, not soupy, but sticky. 

Heat your oil in a cast iron pan at medium heat. I used a cookie disher to plop little fritters in the oil. I let them cook about 4-6 minutes a side but had to keep checking them.

When done, they were brown and crispy on the outside, but soft and cheesy on the inside, like hash browns, but without potatoes. They did not taste squashy at all either!

Hangover Food aka Chicken in a Biscuit with Pesto

Needless to day, I had too much fun in the woods and spent most of Sunday hurting for it. The breakfast at our reunion of sugar and more sugar did not sound very appetizing after my dinner date the night before with margaritas.

Back in my youngster days of the 20's I loved good hangover food, greasy, salty, fatty, usually McDonalds, to make things right again. Now that we've sworn off the big McD, what now? (Irony, I know, that I'll drink alcohol but not eat fast food, well I picked my poison, and yes, I paid for it in spades.)

I decided on something else delicious, salty, sort of fatty, and delicious. 

By the time I'd righted myself Sunday I attacked a chicken in my fridge.  Actually, I coated it in olive oil, fresh parsley, lemon juice and minced garlic. I sprinkled it with salt. I roasted it at 375 degrees for about an hour and a half, occasionally adding butter to its crispy top. When it was done,  I peeled off all the beautiful skin and ate it immediately, forgetting about McD's all together.

I baked biscuits. Whole wheat, home made biscuits based on this recipe: Fluffy Biscuits 

I made pesto from fresh basil from our CSA. I used this recipe and ate much of it with my fingers when done:Walnut Pesto.

When all were done, about one hour 45 minutes later, after the chicken rested, I made sandwiches. Pesto, on each inside piece of the biscuit, hot roast chicken, and lusted after the greasy goodness. 

I felt amazing after. God bless good hangover food!