If you've got a home garden, you may be wondering what to do with all the summer squash. Once summer squash plants reach maturity, they yield huge amounts of produce until the first harvest nips them. Squash cornbread cakes are an easy, tasty solution for your excess yellow squash. Serve them with a salad for a quick summer meal.
Basic Cakes
A basic cornbread cake recipe calls for 3 eggs, 4 cups grated yellow squash, 1/2 cup all-purpose flour, 1/2 tsp. salt, 1/2 tsp. pepper and 2 tbsp. olive oil. Mix the ingredients together to make a thick dough. Drop the dough by the spoonfuls into hot vegetable oil, leaving at least 1 inch between each cake. Cook the cakes until brown on each side, turning after three to four minutes. Drain the cakes on paper towels and cool slightly before serving.
Additions
Use your garden bounty and punch up the flavor with the addition of 1 cup corn kernels, 1/4 cup chopped green onions and 1 jalapeno pepper, diced. Try other tasty additions, such as shredded crab, shredded cheese, diced red pepper or chipotle pepper for a smoky flavor. Top yellow squash cornbread cakes with sour cream and salsa.
Storing Summer Squash
Enjoy summer's bounty all year long by freezing grated yellow squash. After harvesting the squash, wash it and dry it well, cutting off the stem and any blemishes. Grate the squash and store it in plastic zip-top freezer bags. Thaw it in the refrigerator 12 hours before use and drain it in a colander. Blot any excess fluid with a paper towel before adding the thawed summer squash to the cornbread dough.
Considerations
Yellow squash and green zucchini are interchangeable in this recipe, so you can substitute zucchini in cornbread cakes if you don't have yellow squash on hand. Harvest yellow squash while it is still young. If allowed to remain on the vine, it develops a hard shell, bitter flavor and inedible seeds. The plant will slow production, as well, if you don't regularly pick the squash.
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