Bonkers Likes His Vegetables, Us Too

I took okra out of the refrigerator to let it get to room temperature before baking it. Found out my cat 'Bonkers' likes rolling around in it, so I put the container in a cabinet and gave him one okra to play with. Of course now I can't find the piece of okra I gave him.

Last year I found out he liked green beans, he'd carry them around the house like a mouse. I grow catnip for him; he likes both fresh and dried. Above is Bonkers acting all innocent.

Crookneck squash never tasted so good! A local farmer at our farmers market gave us some leftover crookneck squash. At home I had an abundance of tomatoes, what to make? I decided to wing it. What about baked crookneck and tomatoes? Chop fine and sauté in a separate pan a shallot or half an onion, and a couple of cloves of garlic (added in the end for a minute or so).

Meanwhile slice your squash and tomatoes into quarter inch thick pieces. Olive oil a baking dish or cast iron frying pan on the bottom and sides and then line the bottom with the smaller pieces of squash and layer the larger squash and tomatoes slices in an alternating pattern. Top with sautéed shallot and garlic mixture. Top with shredded asiago or parmesan; sprinkle with some white balsamic vinegar, olive oil, then sprinkle with salt and pepper and ground rosemary. Toss in some sweet chili pepper sauce. Bake in 400 F oven for 30 to 40 minutes. I can smell the fragrant vegetables now. Neither Gary nor I like crookneck, well we didn't, but now we do. Might try it with mini tomatoes and basil next time. Thanks for reading and for all your comments.