Squash II and Pork Taco Meat

I'm so excited to have some more squash canned. The other day I used a jar of the first batch and made soup from it, yum. It was a simple soup, yet, so delicious. I simply heated the squash, drained the water, added butter and put it in the food chopper. I pureed it until smooth and returned it to the pan. At that point I shredded a small bit of cheddar cheese in it and mixed that up when melted. It made a thick, creamy, beautiful yellow soup with a good aroma and crisp taste.

Squash for Soup

Here is a pic of the pork taco meat mix I made while in Memphis, carted back here to Arlington and canned right after I got back this month.

Squash - Canning

Tonight I canned a few jars of squash. If you are a person who likes your veggies crisp and barely cooked, canned squash definitely doesn't fit that bill. Canning squash does cook it thoroughly and makes it soft.  However, if you cut it up chunky, it doesn't turn to mush in the jar.

If you are a hardcore locavore, or just someone who tries a bit to have local food, canning your own local squash solves the problem of variety out of season.  And talk about soups! Canned squash is perfect for smooth, creamy soup. It reduces both the prep and the cooking times. These recipes have my mouth watering:

Summer Squash Soup with Parsley Mint Pistou (which is a French version of pesto) from Epicurious.com

Creamy Summer Squash Soup which sounds delicious with a lemony, creamy taste.

Thai Red Curry Squash Soup which has me drooling, although personally I'd likely go easy on the red curry paste. For Max, I'd have to cut back on the ginger.