Squash Steaks with Peanut-Miso Sauce

We’re in the middle of one of the worst heatwaves we’ve experienced ever since we moved out to Parkdale, OR five years ago. Taylor and I have farmed in some pretty extreme conditions before. On the east coast it was August days spent harvesting thousands of pounds of food on 100 degree days with 100% humidity (with a 100% chance of 100 mosquito bites to top it off). We’ve harvested for the farmers market in the snow before and have weathered a few hail and wind storms to fill in the gaps. However, this year feels more extreme for some reason. Maybe we’re just getting older and can’t tough it out as well as we once did but damn, it’s been brutal out there! We’re in the thick of extreme weather–we haven’t had a drop of rain in months and the stress of keeping the irrigation going, moving lines every few hours, has almost been crippling. The heat not only takes its toll on the newly transplanted crops, but we’re moving slowly out in the fields which adds up to an even longer day as chores are taking longer. There’s not much we can do but keep putting one foot in front of the other, hydrate like crazy, and continue to take care of the crops that we’re counting on to take care of us and our members for the rest of the season. It’s stressful alright, but that’s farming and in the end, it’s what we choose to spend our days doing so we really can’t complain. I just want folks to recognize that growing food isn’t all that glamorous and if you aren’t careful, the workload and stress will eat you up.

In an effort to keep our bodies nourished during this heatwave we’ve turned to my favorite kitchen tool (or rather non-kitchen too) our outdoor grill! I cannot tell you how much I have fallen in love (all over again that is!) with our grill. It’s too damn hot to turn the stove or oven on so cooking our meals over an open flame is absolutely wonderful this time of the year. This recipe for squash steaks is a great way to use up the overwhelming amount of zucchini/squash that’s popping up at the farmers market and CSA boxes every week. Now I know what you’re thinking….squash steaks? The term actually refers to how the squash is cut and prepared (just like a steak) and isn’t actually trying to stand in for a true steak. And in fact, I think if we do this again these squash steaks would taste equally good layered on top of a grilled rib eye. I’ll report back if we do that! Anyhow, we served our “steaks” with a lovely peanut-miso sauce and a cabbage slaw for a perfectly light and refreshing summertime meal. Enjoy with an ice cold beer or glass of crisp white wine for a simple dinner.

Cheers from Tumbleweed Farm.