Squash Blossoms were a big deal in my pantry box recently, and one I made a stink about as mine had not arrived in my box. They sent a nice email explaining why, and they were indeed delivered bright and early the next day while I was giving my Fiddle Leaf a front porch bath (but that is another story, back to squash blossoms and what the hell are they!). They look like flowers, and, hey, at least these ones looked alive. I learned from my pantry box and Google that Squash blossoms are the edible flowers of both summer and winter squash. Now, if you are like me and wondering what the hell would happen if you left the flowers to bloom — well, they would turn into squash. Fun fact – only the female squash blossoms mature into a squash. The male is just there to fertilize them.  You can eat them raw, dipped in batter and fried, stuffed with cheese and baked, served over pasta, or in a quesadilla.

Once I learned the stem had to be removed with tweezers, I decided this would be a fun date night snack. Removing the stem turned into a hilarious game of operation. My spouse was way better at this than I was (but as a chef, he has an unfair advantage). We stuffed our squash blossom with chunks of fresh mozzarella, wrapped them in prosciutto, battered them in eggs, and dipped them in flour (yes, I finally used some of the flour I was given). We didn’t have seltzer water, and I learned a kitchen hack. If you boil a cup of water and add fresh lemon juice, it’s an equal substitute. My spouse took over the frying (I don’t know how to fry anything besides bacon, and I don’t know last time I had fried food beside bacon). Once finished we sprinkled on some sea salt and fresh basil, and added a side of fresh apricot and some wine. 

Verdict — I would buy these if I saw them at my farmer’s market.