Do you have a “bucket list” – a list of things you want to do, places you want to visit, in your lifetime? I think most of us do even if it is a loose list of ideas kept in our minds, never written down or shared with anyone else.
I have several such bucket lists, all categorized by theme – like places I want to travel to, things I want to do (think random things like goat yoga). In the past, I have even created “summer bucket lists” for my kids consisting of all the fun activities we want to squeeze into our summer breaks.
Probably to no one’s surprise who knows me well, my favorite themed bucket list is my food bucket list – a list of various dishes and cooking techniques I want to learn or at least try.
About 14 years after learning squash blossoms were edible, I was finally able to mark this one off my list!
Remember the TLC show “Take Home Chef” where Chef Curtis Stone would approach unsuspecting grocery store shoppers and offer to buy their groceries, go home with them and help them prepare a special gourmet meal? The show aired back in 2005-2008 which happens to also be the very beginning point in my life when I was enthusiastically into cooking shows and cooking magazines, expanding not only my tastes in food but trying as many different recipes during the week as I could, teaching myself how to cook with the help of tv chefs.
I remember very vividly one particular episode when one shopper also had a home garden and Chef Curtis used the zucchini blossoms, stuffed them with cheese, and fried them as part of the meal. My mind was blown!
This little idea of cooking squash blossoms stuck with me tucked away in the back of my mind. Unfortunately, no matter where I looked – small gourmet grocery stores, produce stands, and farmers markets – I had never been able to find squash blossoms – until finally a couple of weeks ago.
Of course, to no surprise, I was finally able to get my hands on squash blossoms through my “go-to” source for local produce – The Produce Box. When I saw them on the menu a couple of weeks ago, I eagerly added them to my box.
Now that I finally found myself with squash blossoms in hand I had to decide how to prepare them. While I had seen a few different recipe ideas over the years, I had to go with a similar preparation to where I was first introduced and so I decided to stuff them with an herbed goat cheese mixture, dip them in a tempura batter and fry them, using this recipe from the Cooking Channel as my inspiration and guide.
I used fresh parsley, thyme, and oregano from my garden to mix into the goat cheese. I followed the recipe for the tempura, leaving out the vodka, and fried the stuffed blossoms in peanut oil because that is what I had enough of in my pantry.
These stuffed blossoms were pretty easy to make and were absolutely delicious! I loved the tang of the goat cheese with the fresh herbs and squash blossom – which held the fresh taste even after being battered and lightly fried to a crisp golden color.
I added squash blossoms to my box this week as well. I could not help myself. I definitely want to try a couple of other preparations with them and did not want to chance not being able to get them again before the season ends.
I am so happy I was finally able to mark these off my food bucket list and I think it has renewed my motivation to get some other items marked off the list!