I can pickle
He can pickle
She can pickle
We can pickle
They can pickle
You can pickle
Oh, let’s pickle
Can you pickle, baby?
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I spent quite a long afternoon, last week, dealing with a bumper crop of cucumbers. Apparently, the trellis that my husband built, to prolong our lettuce crop, made the cucumbers very happy! The cucumbers climbed it rather fast, providing a nice afternoon shading for the lettuce below.
Continue reading “Quick & Easy Dill Pickles”
Grilled Summer Frittata
Who doesn’t love a frittata? They are easy to make and can be adapted to use just about anything in the garden. And now my husband loves them, as well, because they can also be grilled!
We had a little family get-together recently — out in the garden, of course — so we wanted to take advantage of all of the produce we had on hand. We found we had a nice combination from the local Farmers Market – and the garden – to make a great meal. We made up a few cold salads to round out the menu. The rest of the vegetables, along with a few sausages for the meat eaters, went on the fire. Continue reading “Grilled Summer Frittata”
Zucchini Parmesan Crisps
I’m not just a Guidwife, but a Luckywife, as well! My husband has discovered that he loves to cook, and he loves to try new recipes. He has jumped on the garden wagon, and embraced the challenge of “what we grow we will eat”. As a result, he’s building up his own collection of zucchini recipes. Continue reading “Zucchini Parmesan Crisps”
Zucchini Patties
There is so much beauty in the garden! But only a gardener knows that, to find the magick that grows within, you have to have the courage to pause and reach deep inside.
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May and June have brought glorious weather to the garden, with clear skies and moderate temperatures, resulting in rapid growth in my new raised beds. Rich, well-drained soil is so important!
This photo shows the obelisk that my wonderful husband made me,
Fried Zucchini with Spicy Dipping Sauce
Happy Father’s Day!
Garlic Crusted Salmon with Zucchini
This is a family favorite! We do eat this often, as it uses so few ingredients, normally just zucchini, red pepper and white onion, which we normally have on hand. We also keep chardonnay in the fridge (we are red wine drinkers, usually only cook with white) and I have a pantry stocked with salsa from last year’s garden. I had some leftover vegetables — red and green peppers and broccoli — that we had served as crudites at a gathering, so I decided to use them in this dish. Delicious! Continue reading “Garlic Crusted Salmon with Zucchini”
Fusilli with Zucchini and Bacon
My first ripe zucchini of the season! Because it was “Pasta Friday” at our house, that’s what was for dinner! I like to cook with what I have on hand, using bits of this and that — whatever I find in the fridge or pantry that needs to be eaten. I’ve gotten very good at this, which is the Good News. The Bad News is that we probably won’t ever get to have it again, no matter how good it may taste.
And so it begins…
Zucchini.
If you have a garden, that one word probably holds a lot of emotion for you. People either usually love it or hate it — not because of the taste of the vegetable, itself, but because it is so easy to grow. If you cannot get it to grow in your garden, you fear a black thumb, because EVERYONE can grow zucchini, you insist. When it does flourish, the hate for the vegetable comes because IT WILL NOT STOP.
Last summer’s garden was a bit difficult. I was experimenting with saved seeds, but my timing was off and the overall results were rather underwhelming. I did manage to cultivate two zucchini plants, however, that produced a steady supply of very nice fruit. I got out all of my favorite zucchini recipes and tried some new ones. But, smack in the peak of the growing season, my plants were struck by a very bad case of leaf mold!
My garden is totally organic. I insist on that. I always plant more than I need, so the bugs, the birds, and any small animal visitors can sample a bit and still leave enough for my family to enjoy. So, I cut off the infected leaves and hoped for the best. The leaf mold was determined, so I cut off more and more leaves, until the plant was nearly gone.
It grew back. Another steady supply of very nice fruit began in earnest. I pulled out every zucchini recipe I could find, and the zucchini continued to grow. I grilled it, fried it, baked it and pickled it. Then the leaf mold struck again.
Again and again I cut off the infected leaves, nearly leveling the plant to the ground with each attack. And each time it grew back, always producing a steady supply of very nice fruit. I fell head over heels hallelujah in love with zucchini that summer — not because of what it gave me, but because of what it taught me.
Those two sickly, apparently hopeless zucchini plants demonstrated a determination and strength that is inside all of us, no matter how broken we may seem — on the outside or the inside. We are all capable of producing greatness. We may only need a helping hand from time to time. We all need a chance to be allowed to grow.
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I think my garden has a lot more to teach me. I decided to write about it, here, so I will not forget what I learn.