Ugly Food = Good Food

Sometimes good food isn't the prettiest food.

I can be sure of that every time I make one of my summer standards, squash rice casserole. The final product never seems to look nearly as delicious as it tastes, and I often find myself apologising for its appearance.

Originally, this recipe was a simple Italian-inspired dish with sauteed zucchini or summer squash, parmesan cheese, and rice. But, every time I haul out the recipe, I seem to be inspired to make some sort of change. The other night, I decided on a Mexican twist.

It's been fairly warm here in Wisconsin (yes, it does get warm here in the summer, People!), and I'm a big fan of smoky sweet vegetables. So, we hauled out the grill to cook the summer squash.

I had pattypan squash on hand from the farmer's market.
As well as some eight ball zucchini (which you should seek out if you can find it). It has a tender, sweet disposition, few seeds (even as it gets larger), and is perfect for slicing into rounds for sandwiches.
When the squash were grilled, I set them aside to cool, and put together the remainder of the casserole -- brown rice, black beans, sour cream, eggs, Monterey Jack cheese, and some seasonings.

After being baked in the oven, it came out looking something like this.
As I warned you, it's not the prettiest food in the universe, but it's quite satisfying. We usually eat it as a main dish, but it would make a fine side with grilled chicken or chipotle shrimp. And it makes great leftovers for lunch.

Squash Rice Casserole with Black Beans



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