Quesadillas De Flor De Calabaza

I usually end up doing some research on the plants I pick up to grow, and I was fascinated to read that in Mexico, the squash or zucchini blossom is sometimes considered more desirable for the kitchen than the squash fruit itself. Since other cultures usually have much to teach us, and since I had a surplus of zucchini flowers on my two plants, I figured I ought to try out one of the most popular and traditional recipes, quesadillas de flor de calabaza. 

And Madre de Dios, am I glad I did! These were some of the greatest quesadillas I've ever eaten. I pretty much made this recipe, with a few substitutions. I didn't have any fresh chiles around the house, so I used jalapeno jack cheese, which added some spice. And without access to epazote (an anisey traditional mexican green), I had to substitute some arugula and chopped cilantro. 
So in the above photos, the filling is fried local walla walla onion - cooked until golden, then you add a diced clove of local garlic, cook for 1 more minute then add a diced heritage tomato, cook for 1 more minute then add the squash blossoms and wilt them for about a minute and a half. And that's it! For each quesadilla, spread out a big spoonful of the filling, some grated cheese and some of the greens, fold over and fry flat in a pan with a touch of oil. 

I was surprised at how meaty and thick the petals were. The taste was really out of this world! This was also one of the first meals this year where I was able to use 100% local vegetables, some from no farther away than my own back yard. I'm working on some kind of ratio system for tracking the percentage of ingredients in my meals that are sustainable, but I'm still working out the details of the equation. Keep you posted!