Vegan MoFo Day 29: Squash Casserole!

The South has a love affair with squash casserole (made from yellow summer squash only, please) and there are many variants. Above you see my paternal grandmother's "squash mold." I'm a great fan of this, and can't believe it has been such a long time since I made it. Mr. K is a confirmed hater of both yellow squash and casseroles, and he ate 3 servings.

1 1/2 cups cooked, mashed yellow squash *

1 c shredded vegan cheese (Daiya Cheddar worked well, but you can leave this out)

1 c bread or cracker crumbs (I used finely crumbled saltine crackers)

1 c scalded nondairy milk

1 T minced onion

1 T melted vegan margarine

2 T chopped pimento

1 Ener-G egg replacer (1 1/2 t powder + 2 T warm water) **

1/2 t salt

black pepper to taste

* Don't go steaming this squash for a few minutes and then putting it in the casserole. If you do, I don't want to hear the results. You'll have too much liquid and the wrong flavor. Proper Squash Cooking Instructions: Chop, place in salted water, and bring to a boil. Don't overdo the salt as you won't be draining it off. Once the squash softens, mash it. (Do not drain, just mash it in the pan with the liquid.) Continue to cook until the liquid is mostly or completely gone, and the texture is like mashed potato. This can take 60-90 minutes. (Sorry. Do it the night before, while the laundry spins. ) If you were going to eat the squash on its own, you would add some black pepper and a dollop of corn oil, and keep cooking until you can hear the oil sizzling in the bottom of the pan. But you are using it for this casserole, so those last steps are not needed.

** I'm not a regular user of egg replacer. I was going to use plain soy yogurt + a little baking powder instead of Ener-G, but I had it out for something else, and it worked well.

Mix everything together, pour into a greased casserole, and bake at 350 F for 1 hour. Try not to eat the whole thing.