Harvest

It's fall here in Maine-sweaters and fleece jackets have come out of storage, nights are cool, and the furnace has even been on a couple of times. A fire is laid and ready to go in the woodstove. As hard as it is to give up what was a beautiful summer, there is one thing I'm happy about and that is the garden is just about finished! I've slaved over pasta sauce from our tomatoes and pesto from the basil, and numerous servings of both are in the freezer for a cold winter night. I'm glad that we still have chard, lettuce and herbs, but I've cooked and eaten enough green and yellow beans to last a year. By far, though, it's the summer squash which have just about driven me batty. Almost every day since late July Bill has harvested one, or two, or three, or the occasional zucchini baseball bat. A plethora of squash, yes. If man could live by squash alone...

In the past couple of weeks I've served the following dish 3 times at dinner parties and potlucks, always to great acclaim. I like it because it uses up lots of squash and you can put it in the oven and forget about it. And, by the way, it tastes great! Enjoy.

Scalloped Squash

1. Preheat the oven to 350. Butter a 9 x 13 baking dish.

2. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, melt 3 tablespoons butter. Whisk in 3 tablespoons flour to make a smooth paste. Whisk in 1 1/2 cups milk and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and stir in 1 1/2 cups sharp cheddar until melted and sauce is smooth.

3. Slice 2 medium yellow squash and 2 medium zucchini in rounds. Slice or chop 1 onion. Layer these in the baking dish, sprinkling with salt and pepper frequently. Cover with cheese sauce and 1/4 cup dried bread crumbs.

4. Bake for 60 minutes, uncovered, and serve hot.