Mama’s Colache – And A Blog Birthday

This week marked my fourth year as a food blogger, so I decided to feature one of my mother’s recipes. Memories of my mother in our kitchen inspired me to begin blogging in 2010, and remain a constant source of strength, love and happiness every time I step into mine.

I’m fairly certain that this recipe came from my mother’s friend, Lydia, who was Mexican-American, and a fabulous cook and baker. My mom’s recipe card reads “Colache – Summer Squash, Mexican Style”. Lydia and Mama shared many recipes over the years. I remember my mother telling me that Lydia flew home to visit her huge family in Mexico every summer, and always took an extra suitcase full of Pennsylvania Dutch treats to share, even doughnuts!

I love simple vegetable “sides” like this. Because the colache has so few ingredients, make sure to use the very best zucchini, corn and tomatoes you can find. Summer produce is still booming here in San Diego. This corn, from our local supermarket, turned out to be the best we had enjoyed this year. I played with the cooking times, preferring the dish a bit less cooked. I decided to add some fresh herbs from my garden. Any combination of fresh herbs work here. Basil is very nice, but mine has grown tired and “leggy” these hot September days.

It has been both fun and comforting to return to blogging this month. I missed the structure of planning posts, then writing them up, struggling with my photos – and, of course, all of you, my readers.