stuffed patty pans

One of my favorite summer meals is stuffed patty pan squashes, these beauties came from the lovely people at La Milpa Organica Farm.

*patty pan squash (one per person if it's a side dish/two or three if it's the main course)
*half an onion/a whole onion, chopped
*olive oil, coconut oil, or butter, for sauteeing, be generous
*juice of half/whole lemon
*quarter/half of a bunch of parsley, chopped finely
*bread crumbs--not sure how much, I used six or eight slices of toast in this meal, made into crumbs in the food processor
*grated cheese, optional about a half a cup or so

Slice patty pans in half, along the place where it has the biggest circumfrence, so that the edges are wavy. If it will make them lie flatter, slice a little off of the top (where the squash was attached to the plant) and the bottom (where the blossom fell off). Scoop the seeds out of both halves with a tea or soup spoon, deep enough so that you make a big enough depression to stuff, but not so deep that you scoop out the bottom and make a hole in it (though if you make a hole, it's ok, use it anyway). Preheat oven to 350. Put all the halves in a steamer, and steam for about 10 minutes, until the squash are slightly soft, but not mushy. Sautee the onions and squash seeds, breaking up the seeds with a flipper (spatula?), stirring, until they are very soft, at least as long as the other parts are steaming. Season with salt, remove from heat, and add bread crumbs, lemon, parsley, and cheese. Stuff into squash halves loosely but firmly, and place on a cookie sheet. Bake for 20 minutes or so, until the cheese is slightly melted. Enjoy!