Too Much Squash

I harvested 10 large summer squash last evening. Then, since we're going away for a long weekend, i grated them all in the food processor and froze them in baggies.

10 large squash are unpleasant. Actually, the squash themselves are pleasant, but the thought, "What the heck am i going to do with all this?" is unpleasant.

We could grumble and complain and thereby perpetuate the unpleasant, but that just makes us grumpy.

The Buddha suggests we recognize unwholesome mind states and end them.
He also suggests we give rise to wholesome mind states and figure out how to continue those.

So how can we give rise to a wholesome or skillful mind state around 10 BIG summer squash?
(Your suggestions are appreciated.)

1. Give them away (and thereby practice generosity).
2. Put them in the neighbors' mailboxes and get an additional chuckle.
3. Grate them, as i did, and freeze for winter localvoring. 
4. Throw them away. There. That was way too easy. Done. And your compost pile will be so happy.

Here's my favorite recipe for grated summer squash or zucchini:

Blond Brownies
Mix:

• 1/3 cup canola or coconut oil
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

Then add:

• 1 cup flour
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• dash of salt

After mixing, add:

• 1 cup grated zucchini or summer squash, drain and squeeze all the water out
• 1 cup chocolate chips
• 1 cup walnuts 

Turn into a greased 8x8 pan.
Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes.

Photos from vegetablegardener.com and ihopeyouarehungry.blogspot.com

To Squash? Or Not to Squash?

I picked my first summer squash yesterday. I love them sauteed in butter and fresh garlic with a dash of tamari.

Even though the noun "squash" looks like the verb "to squash," the noun comes from an Algonquin word in which the -ash is the plural.

Plural is definitely the word to use when it comes to summer squash and zucchini. Fortunately, i picked these squash while they were only 6 inches long. But i even love the ones that get away, the ones i don't discover till they are a foot (or 2!) long. These i grate in the food processor and freeze in baggies to use in blond brownies.

In meditation, we can watch the plural ways of our mind wandering off. We don't squash that thought. We simply recognize it; labeling is very effective right here.

You can "pick" some thoughts while they are young and short, but others will get away from you and develop into great long stories. "Pick" that long thought by labeling it. Then settle back in to watch the mind grow.

Photo from klesickfamilyfarm.com