Summer squash actually hates the summer here in Florida. As soon as mid- June rolls around it starts it’s slow, painful curling-up-and-dying routine while the squash bugs, stink bugs, and stem borer moths get more and more prosperous and happy. Even if you replant, the new plants look little and sad and won’t set fruit.
Luckily I discovered a great alternative that not only survives, but takes over your garden while mass producing zucchini-like fruits that seem immune to squash bugs and the other garden riffraff that plagues regular zucchini this time of year. It will feed you. It will feed your neighbors. It will feed random people you start handing them out to in desperation.

Cuccuzi gourds come to the rescue in the late summer – delicious,  productive, easy to grow. Start seeds in April. Have a big, sturdy trellis! Vines get huge. Pick them young and tender. Here is a favorite recipe. I recommend serving with sky blue sticky rice!

Stir-fried Cucuzzi Gourd With Shrimp

1 Cuccuzi gourd
Sesame oil
Salt
White pepper
1/2 cup small shelled shrimp

Sauce:
2 teaspoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon fish sauce
1 teaspoon sweet sake
2 teaspoons coconut sugar


1. Slice the gourd in half and cut into 1/8 inch slices.
2. Heat the sesame oil in a pan and add the gourd slices. Season with salt and white pepper and stir-fry about 5 minutes, until the gourd is looking soft and cooked.
3. Lower heat and add shrimp. Cover with a lid and cook 1 minute while you whisk together the sauce ingredients.
4. Pour the sauce over, and let cook on low heat 1 minute more uncovered.