What you see above is called a pattypan squash. Although I'd encountered a number of different squashes up North from our old CSA (especially in the later months of the year), this particular variety was new to us when it showed up in our most recent haul of veggies from the local farm. Pattypan is a summer squash (hence its affinity for Florida climate) commonly used in Indian cooking and resembles a large toy top in size/shape. Not really sure what to do with it, I searched around online a little until I came across a simple, decent-sounding recipe for sauteed baby squash with basil and feta. I discovered during prep that, unlike most larger squashes, you don't have to either peel off the outer skin or scoop out the seeds inside (think of it as more like a zucchini or cucumber) - just the kind of low-maintenance gourd I want in my kitchen. Except for the leeks, I had all of the other ingredients on hand to make the dish, and, within 10 minutes or so, our vegetable side was served with the mustard salmon I'd made along with it. As usual, the progeny declined further consumption beyond a courtesy nibble, but Mrs. Hackknife immediately gave her stamp of approval and I thus added it to our library of squash recipes (the main question, of course, will be where to find more pattypan once my CSA concludes for the summer in a couple of weeks)...
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