Pine and Macadamia Nut Stuffed Squash Flowers

Yesterday morning I couldn't help but gather a few squash flowers for dinner.  I have to be careful not to take too many because I want the squash to grow.  So, I took just a couple flowers from all the squash in the garden:  zucchini, delicata, pumpkin, crookneck, acorn, and butternut.  I am amazed how all the flowers from the various varieties of  of squash all look the same.  I don't get to see them blooming too much as I usually get out to the garden in the late afternoon and they've mostly closed up by then.  Yesterday morning they were all standing up and showing their beauty. I can and do pick them occasionally and have a raw flower snack in the garden. I didn't know they were so delightful until last year when I heard about cooking them. If you haven't tried your squash flowers, I think you should.  It surprised me how much a flower can taste like a fresh zucchini.  Be sure to be careful when cleaning them and always look inside before eating them in the garden.  I have brought home some guests like bumblebees and cucumber beetles.

I made a nut cheese for some raw zucchini ravioli from a Vegan Fusion Recipe.  It's from the The Complete Idiot's Guide to Eating Raw.  I made the Turnip and Pine Nut Ravioli, page 230, substituting fresh zucchini for the ravioli. I thought the cheese would also make a lovely cheese filling for my flowers.  I squeezed about 1 tsp of cheese into the bottom of a cleaned flower with my handy tool and dipped in a mixture of ground flax seeds and non-dairy milk, then dredged in a little flour and cornmeal, and gently sautéed in hot grape seed oil with a fresh sprig each of fresh thyme and rosemary.  A small teaspoon works well for stuffing the flowers, that's what I used last year.

Pine & Macadamia Nut Cheese
      The Complete Idiot's Guide to Eating Raw.

1 cup pine nuts soaked at least 2 hours
2 cups macadamia nuts, soaked at least 2 hours **
1 TB fresh rosemary, minced
4 tsp fresh parsley, minced
4 tsp fresh thyme, minced
2 TB nutritional yeast
1 tsp sea salt
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 TB apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup rejuvelac or filtered water, as needed

**Other nuts may be substituted such as: cashews, Brazil nuts, or almonds.

Rinse pine nuts and macadamia nuts, and drain well for at least 10 minutes.  Place in a food processor fitted with an S blade, and process on high speed for about 10 seconds.

Add rosemary, parsley, thyme, nutritional yeast, salt, black pepper, and apple cider vinegar.  Blend on high speed for about 20 seconds while adding rejuvelac through the top until a smooth, cheesy consistency is reached. 

Squash Flowers, stuffed with pine and macadamia nut cheese, dipped in a mixture of ground flax seeds and hemp milk, then dredged in a little flour and cornmeal, and gently sautéed in grape seed oil with a fresh sprig each of fresh thyme and rosemary.