There's an old joke: Why to Vermonters lock their cars at night? To keep the neighbors from putting zucchini in the back seat.
And then there's the one about the woman who left a zucchini sitting on her passenger seat while she ran into the post office. When she got back, there were two more.
I had friend's growing up who had zucchini and yellow squash pretty much every evening through mid to late summer. My parent's were not big into gardening so I don't remember any particular vegetable being relentless. Although my grandmother did seem to think rutabaga was a lovely accompaniment to any Sunday or holiday dinner.
I like zucchini well enough. There are some pretty good recipe's out there. I like them sliced thin and baked with parmesan cheese and crumbs, in a no-noodles lasagna, or in one of those cheesy casseroles.
The problem is that they pass this manageable, edible size very quickly. It's the monster size ones that become a scourge.
Our zucchini is letting us down this year. I actually like having too much zucchini during the month or two of their productive season. We try to pick them before they get big, but there are ways to use the big, not giant, ones too. This does involve olive oil, Panko , and Parmesan as well.
ReplyDeleteWe don't grow our own zucchini, cucumbers, squash or egg plant so we love it when our neighbors share!
ReplyDeleteWe had a glut of zucchini this summer and I did all sorts of things to preserve them. I even just cut them up and put them in bags in the freezer. You then just add to any slow cooker recipe and it added more vegetables to the meal. Totally fine
ReplyDeleteI did experiment by thinly slicing and drying in my dehydrator then packed them in jars covered in olive oil garlic and herbs i then processed them in a hot water bath to seal them
When opened they tasted very yummy and were great on a grazing board or as a side with salad
Those old jokes made giggle. I learned long ago that if you insist on growing zucchini and squash, you had better have a bunch of non gardening friends that love the stuff.:)
ReplyDeleteWe have the best of both worlds: We don't have a vegetable garden, we have a brother-in-law who grows much more than he can eat. We love his zucchinis as well as the beans and corn and tomatoes.
ReplyDeleteWe do the same, a lot of stuffed zucchini roasted on the grill. Our neighbors love our garden :-)
ReplyDeleteSounds like a great recipe. I'll keep it in mind the next time I buy zucchini.
ReplyDeleteThis reminds me of the time my sister accepted an armload of turnips from the neighbor and brought them home. She didn't even know what a turnip was. Mother told her that since she accepted them she had to eat them all and mother fixed them for her. The next day the neighbor called to ask why we threw all the turnips back over the fence into his yard.
ReplyDeleteOh, Annie, that is a great story -- way funnier than the old zucchini jokes!!
DeleteDarn! I thought I'd left a comment before. I mentioned that I learned to make zucchini bread in Illinois because our neighbor had a zucchini plant.
ReplyDeleteHa. I've never heard Zucchini jokes before. Can't wait to tell my Sister. She has a habit of growing things in her garden that she doesn't like to eat because they are pretty plants or they grow good in her soil. Hahaha. Can't wait to tease her.
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