Most gardeners whine during squash season. “Too much squash,” they complain.

Here in Seattle, as we head into mid-August of the summer-that-never-was, too much of anything is not a garden problem we face. That’s why I was excited to see two cue-ball zucchini squash ripen at the same time. They may be the only two cue-balls we get to eat this season (just like the one-dinner’s-worth of French beans I got this past weekend from my measly bean bushes), but at least there are two. Or were two.

I picked our little, barely fist-size cue-ball squash (sometimes called eight-ball zucchini) and decided to stuff them. You can’t click your mouse without running into stuffed squash recipes on the internet, but I wanted to create a recipe using other goodies from our garden. At the ready, we had: a few ripe cherry tomatoes, basil and a variety of herbs, and Walla Walla sweet onions.

Here’s how I put together our cue-balls:

1.  I slice off the top of the cue balls first, just like I would with a Halloween pumpkin.

2.  Then I scooped out the inside of the squash with a spoon (again, like Halloween, just in miniature), I chopped what I scooped and set it aside.

3.  Next I chopped a handful of cherry tomatoes (Sungold how I love thee), diced two small Walla Walla onions and cut a handful of basil into strips, and lightly sautéed them.

4.  In a mixing bowl I put the sautéed veggies with approximately 1/8 cup of bread crumbs and some of the herb goat cheese I make (log of goat cheese, mixed with a drizzle of olive oil and an assortment of chopped herbs).

5.  I steamed the hollowed out cue-balls (open side down) for about 8 minutes. After they cooled a few minutes, I packed in the filling and put their lids back on (lightly).

6.  Finally, I put them in a baking dish, inside the 350-degree pre-heated oven and let them bake for about 20 minutes.

Then we ate ‘em. Man, were they ever cute. And, tasty.

Want to round out your summer with more deliciousness? Check out Wanderfood Wednesday!