Cook: Summer Squash

So far I’ve sautéed, made fritters, incorporated into a lasagna, and this time incorporated zucchini or yellow squash into a gratin. I chopped and then sautéed it first with thawed frozen spinach and minced garlic.                 

 

And then I spooned the sautéed vegetables into a gratin dish and then layered two sliced hard boiled eggs on top. Next I readied the ingredients for a béchamel sauce.

I melted and heated butter just to the edge of turning nutty brown. And then I added an equal amount of flour into the pan and whisked to make a roux. 

 

And then I poured in milk and continued to whisk until it was a sauce.

I wished I had poured a little more milk to thin it so that the sauce was thick enough to coat the back of a spoon and not so much like gloppy mashed potatoes. But I figured the layer of grated gruyere cheese would remedy the dish.

 

I popped it into the oven and then made myself after a week of embracing sober curiosity, a Bloody Mary, which I justified as my salad AND soup course for this meal. And then my gratin was done enough.    

 

In retrospect, the gratin needed more salt--in the vegetables and in the béchamel because even with nutmeg and cayenne it tasted a bit bland, but I'm also hypertensive and so I'm just gonna have to train my taste buds again.

Also I only ate half, and will eat the other half for dinner another night, which I'll probably garnish with more grated gruyere cheese for more flavor. And make another gratin of macaroni and cheese for the hubs though I had also made him chili con carne and frijoles while I ate vegetarian last night.