Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes
Traditional Chinese Medicinal Properties: Spleen and Stomach support, blood-building, immune support
Ingredients: Measurements for this recipe are approximate. Feel free to adjust amounts to your liking (Personally, I never measure when I'm making this dish).- 4 large yellow squash (crookneck), chopped into 1/2” thick rounds.
- 2 tsp. Fertile Ground spice blend
- 1/2 tsp. Power Pepper
- 1 tbsp olive oil in an oil sprayer
- 1/4 cup roasted, salted cashews, chopped fine.
Instructions:
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
- In a mixing bowl or right on your baking sheet, toss the squash rounds, Fertile Ground, and Power Pepper with olive oil.
- Line up your squash slices on the baking sheet so they’re touching but don’t overlap..
- Bake for approximately 20-25 minutes, or until they have a very light golden hue to them, and you can easily push a fork through them
- Remove from the oven, sprinkle the tops with the chopped cashews and bake and additional 5 minutes.
- Allow to cool slightly and serve
*for nut allergies seasoned breadcrumbs or a small amount (about a tablespoon or so) of grated Parmesan cheese or nutritional yeast flakes can be substituted.
Yellow Squash, (or Crookneck or Summer squash) as not always been a favorite of mine. In my experience it’s often been served mushy and under-seasoned. But last week I was excited to see it at the Farmer’s market. This preparation has changed my mind. This dish is warming, grounding, and balancing.
The mushrooms in Power Pepper add a wonderful savoriness and have been traditionally used to support the immune system. Fertile Ground gives the squash an enticing depth of taste and helps balance the flow of the body’s energy while nourishing reproductive health.
If you live in place where the heat of summer lingers deep into fall and you don’t want to turn on the oven, you could place the cookie sheets on your grill and cook. I do not recommend putting the squash directly on your grill because it’s way too easy to accidentally knock them down into the grill. Also keep the grill on low or medium so you don’t burn the oil. You can use the cookie sheets and still enjoy that smoky flavor that comes from grilling because the smoke will help flavor the squash. Just watch this carefully because of the oil. You don’t want to set the whole cookie sheet on fire! And since the heat is coming from below, just flip occasionally the squash to cook both sides evenly.
I love making it to go with all sorts of things: just about any protein, brown rice and beans, quinoa, or in a green salad, and many more.
Enjoy! -Chef Kelly