Monday, July 27, 2009

$50 Worth of Zucchini and A Day of Grace

Exponential zucchini
I've grown 25 pounds of zucchini so far on only 2 plants - that's alot of food! The Italian Romanesco zucchini seed from Peaceful Valley Farms has proven to be a keeper.

Last year I lost a battle with powdery mildew on my yellow crookneck squash. So I went looking for a variety with some resistance. And it looks like I might have found it. Needless to say, I haven't kept all of the zucchinis for our tiny household of 2. Instead, I put the extras in a basket and place it at the end of our driveway. It always goes fast! I've also pickled zucchini and frozen bags of grated zucchini.

The picture at left shows the Italian Romanesco variety with a sidekick lemon cucumber.

I wish summer's bounty would last forever!

A Day of Grace
I checked out a cookbook from the public library a couple weeks ago - The Art of Simple Food by Alice Waters. Very simple recipes with few ingredients are my favorite and this book is full of them. I was enjoying the book so much that I decided to renew it for a few more weeks. But that was not to be, since someone else had placed a hold on it. So, I had to keep it 1 one more day past the due date in order to scan all of the recipes I had marked. I hate breaking rules, well actually I hate breaking good rules. And I deemed this to be a good one, since I know what it feels like to wait for a good book to become available. Anyway, when I returned the book the next day, I put a quarter on top of it and slide it to the librarian. "I believe I owe you a quarter," I said sheepishly. She proceeded to scan the book and typed something into the computer. Then, she slide the quarter back to me, smiled warmly, and said, "There is a day of grace." A day of grace. I smiled happily and bounced down the stairs toward my car. A day of grace. I wish you a day of grace today.

7 comments:

Ellie Mae's Cottage said...

Wow that is a lot of zucchini for just too plants - but I guess that is what zucchini does! LOL I've got lots this year too on 4 plants, but I grate and freeze what I don't use and use it in zucchini bread. -Jackie

Michelle said...

I love that, a day of Grace. And I really like your idea of leaving the zucchini out to share. I'm going to have to give that a try - 10 1-day-old zucchini picked yesterday plus a monster one that emerged from the depths. From 2 plants.

I may have to take a look at that book.

Did you get my reply to your email about the seeds?

Randy Emmitt said...

Jackie,

My favorite Lemon Cucumbers! We grew Pattypan squash this year, I'm sick of them. Our cukes have downy mildew....

Jackie said...

Jackie - yes, you're right. Zucchini bread is a good use for all that extra squash.

Michelle - I got your email and just received your amaranth seeds today. Thanks! I put your bean seeds in the mail today. I think we should really consider a SAGBUTT kind of thing for our area. It sounds like fun!

Randy - The lemon cucs really are great, aren't they? I'll be posting on my cucumbers pretty soon, since they are having problems that I don't know how to solve...

betsy said...

I have to chime in as one of the neighbors that took a zucchini from Jackie's box (sorta). Last night, I shredded one (about the size of the one in the picture) for a hot dip to take to the party. It was a huge hit, I came home with an empty bowl! Here's the recipe:

1 of Jackie's Zucchini, shredded
1 cup fresh, chopped kale (with the red stem, remove the stem)
5 fresh basil leaves, chopped
1/4 cup diced union
4 cloves of garlic, diced
2 tbl spoons olive oil
1 box of cream chease
1/2 cup sour cream
1 small, juicy lemon
5-10 slices of sundried tomatoes, diced if necessary.
salt and pepper to taste

In a skillet, saute the kale, basil, onions and garlic in the olive oil, until all the vegetables are soft. Transfer to a medium mixing bowl and add the rest of the ingredients. Juice the lemon into the mixture and grate some lemon zest from the peel. Mix well with a wooden spoon and transfer mixture to a baking dish. Bake on 350 for 20 minutes.

Serve with slices of fresh baked bread.

Jackie said...

Thanks for the recipe, Betsy!

Anonymous said...

Hi Jackie,

I LOVE these zucchini, they are my favorite and mine did not do so well this year, sob.

Thanks for visiting Henbogle! I am so glad you did since your blog looks fabulous and I can't wait to dive right in. I'm heading off for some camping on our remote far eastern coast, but you can bet I'll be back to read more when I return, hopefully sunburned and rejuvenated, and ready for some fall gardening.
Ali