Summer Squash and Cheddar Bread

My next-door neighbors and I exchanged plants we grew from seed this year. They got Ausilio Peppers and we got Pattypan Squash. This bread is a nice savory alternative to the many sweet quick breads that make use of summer squash and zucchini.

Our neighbors are terrific cooks and we often exchange home-cooked goodies throughout the year. We’ll notify each other with a text that ends with the sentence, “Meet at the fence?”

On August 10, 2020, their house took a direct hit from a fallen tree that came down during an historic derecho wind storm. I pitched in and helped with the cleanup and, when an arborist was finally able to cut down most of the tree, I was able to take some the sections and make a kind of stumpery/art installation out of them. I call it “Stumphenge.” The wildlife – and our dog – love it.

Our neighbors did an insightful thing by leaving the majority of the dead tree standing because it is a home for squirrels, birds and insect life. On our side of the fence, we’ve converted a great deal of our backyard into a pollinator-friendly perennial garden. We’re rewarded with copious firefly displays at dusk and bee and butterfly activity during the day. The increased bird activity keeps damaging insects like Japanese beetles in check without having to resort to chemicals.

I think the suburban landscape has incredible potential to create biodiverse ecosystems on a small scale that can add up to having a big impact. Good garden design will be key to making attractive pollinator gardens that blend with existing urban and suburban neighborhoods.

My father was something of an agricultural pioneer having been 10-15 years ahead of his time in soil-conserving tillage practices and trying to get away from heavy chemical use on a commercial working farm. I’ve carried those principals with me and am proud to have nurtured a soil in my backyard that is teeming with insect and microbial life, but the reality of modern commercial agriculture is such that the Iowa countryside is distinctly lacking in diverse plant life and the soil is treated as merely a sterile medium to pump fertilizer into. Urban and suburban landscapes offer some of the greatest potential to become pollinator havens.

Ingredients:

• 240 grams (2 cups) All-Purpose or Bread Flour
• 2 tsp. Baking Powder
• ½ tsp. Baking Soda
• 1 tsp. Sea Salt
• ¼ tsp. Black Pepper
• 2 tbsp. Fresh Dill Weed, chopped
• 2 tbsp. Green Onions, diced
• 1 cup Extra-Sharp Cheddar Cheese, shredded
• 2 Large Eggs
• 50 grams (¼ cup) Olive Oil
• 114 grams (1/2 cup) Milk
• 1 cup Summer Squash, shredded

Directions:

Step 1: Combine flour, baking powder. baking soda, salt, pepper, dill weed, green onions and cheddar cheese.

Step 2: In a separate bowl, beat the eggs, then add olive oil and milk.

Step 3: Squeeze the excess moisture out of the squash, then add to the liquid mixture.

Step 4: Add the liquid ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir until just combined.

Step 5: Pour the batter into a greased standard-sized loaf pan and bake in an oven preheated to 350° for 45 minutes or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.