CSA Week 3 - June 16th - squash noodles and garlic scape pesto

I had an interest in keeping it quick and easy tonight, and in trying not to create leftovers since there is still palak paneer, fajita salad, and sausage in the fridge.

I decided to try out this little contraption that we received as gifts from Becky at Tri Health after doing a cooking demo there last fall. I'm pretty sure I haven't used it yet because it hasn't really been summer squash season since then. 

As you can see, the tool makes noodles out of zucchini and summer squash, but let me offer some disclaimers before you run out and buy one. First, it will get jammed with seeds and a "cone" of squash in the bottom periodically. Second, the piece that is supposed to grip the top of the squash and allow you to twist and push it through the blades just breaks the squash up - the twisting and pushing must be done by hand. Finally, it is impossible to "noodle" the whole squash, so you have to just chop some up by hand (I was impatient and just made half moons). Fun stuff, though!

I steamed the squash until tender and made a garlic scape pesto, following this recipe again. I used the six scapes that were in the CSA this week, but kept the 1/3 cup Parmesan and 1/3 cup nuts (pine nuts in this case). I mixed in 1/4 cup olive oil and the extra pesto from last week (which also contained two week-old arugula mayo...). I tossed the squash noodles with the pesto and some cooking water in a skillet over medium heat to make the pesto more saucy. For some reason this step makes me feel like a TV chef. 

I had a realization today that almost everything this week (and, really, almost everything all the time) can be made into a gratin. Layer ingredients with enough bechemal, cheese, and herbs and cook them to death and it hardly matters what you started with, right? Currently, daikons, turnips, kohlrabi, squash, kale, chard, beets, and scapes are all fair game in my mind. Also, what about kohlrabi pesto? The idea comes from a cauliflower pesto recipe here.