When I read Animal, Vegetable, Miracle a couple of years ago, I was amused by the lengths that Barbara Kingsolver and her neighbors went to in order to get rid of their excess summer squashed – both because it was funny, and because I love summer squashes of all sorts and can’t imagine having excess, much less wanting to get rid of it.  One of my favorite stands at the Arlington farmers’ market had a whole table dedicated to squashes of all sorts, and each week we’d bring home an armful of patty pans, 8 balls, the firm and waxy yellow squashes the color of a stoplight, and the old reliable zucchinis.

So you can imagine my delight when patty pans appeared at the market this weekend!  I picked up a little box for $2.50 with only one thing in mind: grilling.  When tonight rolled around, though, firing up the grill seemed like an awful lot of work for a very quick dinner for two of us – so instead I put the big cast iron skillet on the high heat while I halved the little spaceships, cut up thick slices of Vidalia onion,  and made little chicken burgers.  The skillet was nice and hot when I finished prep, so I added the burgers and onions, slotting in the patty pan spaceships when the onions were done.

Quick, easy, fresh, and good for us.  I like all of these things.  And I can’t wait for the excess of squash that is coming right around the corner.