Zucchini highs and lows....

I really like Zucchini. Chopped fresh with some veggie dip, grilled, in the form of bread, etc. I was so excited to see all the flowers on the plants. They were huge and beautiful and producing like crazy. Then... the borers came. Sigh. No more zucchini. The plants are all but dead. Is Monsanto working on any Bt Zucchini plants? I'd really like to prevent losing my zucchini in the future,so that would be awesome.

Two weeks ago I made zucchini bread for my entire team. Yep. My four direct reports and one of my work friends. They loved it. But, the zucchini bread used very little zucchini, so I've got to use it in some receipes!

Tonight's dinner was my Zucchini Enchilada Bake.

It is essentially my enchiladas with zucchini replacing the tortillas and it becomes more like lasagna.

Ingredients:
3 medium zucchini cut lengthwise
1 can tomato soup
1 can cream of mushroom soup
Salsa
1 lb ground turkey
Taco seasoning
Onion
Shredded cheese

So, I just used an extra large zucchini, but it was a little short when it came to layering. I generally boil it prior to putting it in the oven (which is preheated to 350)

I also browned all my turkey, onions, seasoning together.

You mix the tomato soup, cream of mushroom and salsa together. The salsa is probably just to taste, around 3/4 to 1 cup. I then spread a little of the mixture on the bottom of a 9x13 pan. Follow that with zucchini, a layer of meat, sauce cheese. Then repeat.

Bake for about 15 minutes.

It's pretty good, but doesn't always hold up on a plate:

That's all for tonight. I sure wish my tomatoes would turn red. The rest of the garden is also continuing to grow...just no updates on mature produce.

Another Love: Spaghetti Squash

Ok, I have to admit that I am still a little annoyed that the spaghetti squash has taken over my garden. But, I am also very excited that I've started seeing some results.

Spaghetti squash is an awesome vegetable substitution for pasta. I wouldn't mix it with pasta, because it's not EXACTLY the same thing, but it's close enough to give you the texture you want, without the added carbs.

I picked one spaghetti squash last week, but failed to take a picture of it. But, here are two more from the garden today. (There are also about 10 mid-sized ones out there, that should be nice and huge by the time I get back from traveling next week.)

So, what do I do with spaghetti squash? Oh lots of things! I can't wait to share! Standard cooking:

Cut it in half length-wise
Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
Empty out all the seeds and excess stuff (think like a pumpkin).
Set the Spaghetti squash cut side down in a 9x13 pan with a little water.
Puncture skin with a knife to allow heat in.
Cook for 40 minutes.
Pull from oven and shred. If you want it hot, serve immediately.

I was a little nervous about the one I picked last week, so I went ahead and changed dinner plans to not hinge on it working out. To my pleasant surprise, it actually turned out AWESOME. It was a little young, which resulted in more "angel hair" spaghetti squash vs. the normal stuff that is a little thicker.

So, I decided to make a little pasta salad to accompany my lunches this week. YUM! Here's how it turned out:

I guess I have a little bit of my grandma in me, because I dont usually measure things when I make things on the fly. But this is what's included if you want to try it yourself:

Spaghetti squash
Olive Oil
Garlic Salt
Italian Seasoning
Artichoke hearts
Black Olives
Tomatoes

Mix ingredients, serve chilled.

Enjoy! Oh - and stay tuned for my lesson on what happens when you plant Zucchini and Spaghetti Squash too close together.

So...you like to garden?

While I was out in the garden yesterday - weeding, blah - I started thinking about this question: "You like to garden?"

I get this question often. And, it usually is followed with: what sort of flowers do you plant? So, should my answer be "no"?

I'm not a big fan of flowers - my husband is thankful for this, by the way - I just am not a landscaper.

But how can I have this garden...if I don't like to garden!?!?!?

Oh wait - I know. I like to eat. And, I like to cook. These two things are definitely the motivation behind this garden. So, you won't be shocked...that this will actually be a food post.

My garden inspiration for today's post:

I have really fallen in love with zucchini since my last garden. I just love cooking with it. And, thanks to Skinny Taste (www.skinnytaste.com), I can make things that are delicious - but not quite as bad for me as Grandma Rassi's zucchini casserole...or Paula Deen's zucchini bread (which I plan to bake like a mad woman soon enough).

Today's adventure was Zucchini Lasagna. I've made it before, so I know it's delicious. And, just like regular lasagna. The second or third day is even better than the first night :)

Here's tonight's dinner:

And here's the recipe for those wanting to try it:

http://www.skinnytaste.com/2009/02/zucchini-lasagna.html

What A Month It Has Been...The Case of the Spaghetti Squash Monster

Sorry for the lack of updates on the garden! For those true detectives from the last post, my garden was planted at my new house. Patti (who was referenced in the last post) was our WONDERFUL seller, who not only offered to let me plant my garden -- but even had it tilled for me.

So, a couple things have prevented me from posting about the garden (or even getting into the garden). We moved. Two houses. And, it just keeps raining. Poor Ryan hasn't even been able to mow very much.

This week I finally had to stop ignoring the garden. I did snap some photos before we finished weeding, so these photos look TERRIBLE!

First up - Spaghetti Squash

I've never planted spaghetti squash. I had no idea its ability to completely take over my garden. I thought I had spaced things out appropriately. I THOUGHT WRONG. It just kept growing and covering everything else. I've heard similar things about cucumbers, I should have done my research. The solution was to just chop off the ends and pray for the best. So far, it looks like it has decided to flower instead of continue to grow - Yay!

Zucchini

The zucchini has the biggest leaves I've ever seen on a plant. It has remained pretty contained to its space, but there are a million flowers. I see a lot of zucchini bread in the future, along with a bunch of new recipes that I make with zucchini. I really love zucchini, so I'm looking forward to having some. I anticipate it will be ready within the next week or so!

Cantaloupe

Cantaloupe was a late addition to the garden. I wasn't sure how it would react. The plants are pretty small, but it's already flowering. We'll see what happens!

Tomatoes

Our tomatoes were an interesting situation. We were only able to cage two plants prior to our moves. So, this is one of the ones that was caged early. They are doing great and I think they will produce abundantly. However, the other 4 plants are a different story. We've had some pretty strong storms and were only able to cage them this week. Hopefully they will recover and be able to support themselves, but I'm not sure what to think right now.

Peppers

The peppers have been caught in spaghetti squash's quest to conquer the garden. They seem to be ok, but I worry about their strength since they've been shaded by the monster zucchini and spaghetti squash leaves.

Watermelon

Ryan's watermelon. We thought early on that it would not do anything. Now, it is going quite well. We should see some things later this summer.

Three nights of working in the garden made it look quite pretty this week. Hopefully we can keep up on the maintenance and it won't take as much work in coming weeks :) Is it time to eat this stuff, yet?!?!

Here it is...in all its glory

A special thanks to Patti for tilling my garden. Here is the new location:

Yep, it's a little smaller than I've had in the past, but it will work quite nicely. Ryan and I picked up our vegetables (and fruit) last night and planted this afternoon.

Watermelon - Ryan loves watermelon, so we decided this is a great addition to the garden.

Welcome to the Big10 - this addition to the garden was picked solely on the name: Rutgers Heirloom Tomatoes.

We only had room for two tomato cages in my car. So the rest will have to be caged later. They are Beefsteak, the name reminded me of Ryan the beefcake (it's good he doesn't read the blog! HA!) #HotRyan:

Because you don't want various squash to cross-pollinate, you can't plant them next to each other. Hopefully, I will find some cantaloupe to fill this space. Or, it will be a great place for weeds:

Next up, green peppers. MMMMM. Can't wait to munch on these:

Since my last garden, I've fallen in love with Spaghetti Squash. Talk about saving some money by growing my own!

An old stand-by, Jalapenos:

And the final vegetable: Zucchini. YUMMY! I can't wait:

It will be awhile before we get back to the garden, so hopefully everything goes well.

Hello, Me Not Dead!!!!!!!!! (Major Annoucement)

I'm going to have a garden this year!!!! It's happening. After three long summers without one, the garden will return. It will be small in scale compared to my last garden, but I am super excited to get this rolling.

I look forward to sharing my garden harvest and all of the great things I make with the produce along the way. We also have some wild onions we plan to transplant, so wish me luck with that adventure.

So far, I'm planning the standards of Tomatoes, Peppers, Jalapenos (for salsa!), Zucchini (for zucchini bread, duh!) and Cantaloupe. If Ryan is good, I may plant some watermelon for him. ;)

I also plan some new things: kale and spaghetti squash. We shall see how that goes.

*happy garden dance*

Transitional Year = No Garden?

Well, I've been in denial for awhile...but there likely won't be a garden this year. :( I'm heartbroken, but not sure I can take on the added responsibility of managing a garden from afar.

For those of you who aren't aware, I'm in a transition period in life. I took a new job in St. Louis last fall. Ideally, I had hoped to be in a permanent home by now, but unfortunately god has different plans. Because I'm in a townhome, I may try to do some square foot gardening on my deck, but we will see.

Ryan wants to go ahead and plant the garden at our other house, but it just seems like a lot more work when I'm not there on a regular basis.