Squash & Mushroom Saute

Before we moved into our current house last summer, I dreamt of having a garden every single summer. So when May rolled around this year I couldn’t wait to get started. We took advantage of the two existing beds in our backyard and went crazy buying seeds and dirt. Mother’s Day weekend was happily spent turning soil and getting everything in the ground.

We watched anxiously for the first signs of life and rejoiced over each little sprout. Things were going along wonderfully until summer hit full on. At that time, we realized how ill-prepared we really were. In all of my time spent planning, I never once accounted for the tree growing by those beds; a tree that is lush and full and just happens to provide a blanket of shade to those garden beds. We were able to harvest a handful of chili peppers, a few tomatoes and 3 small cucumbers. We enjoyed each and every one of those to the fullest although we mourned for what could have been.

We’re already setting up a different and bigger spot for next summer that gets plenty of sunshine without any trees threatening to overtake the space. Until then, we’ve been buying our fair share of all those veggies we hoped we’d be harvesting from our own garden. Zucchini and yellow squash are right at the top of that list, especially since I was prepared to have heaps of squash coming out of my ears.

This squash and mushroom saute is one of our all time favorite side dishes. I’ve been making it for as long as I can remember and never get tired of it. Sometimes I even like to make a really big batch of it and freeze for other meals. It freezes and reheats wonderfully in the microwave.