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.

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?!?!

Fall = Winding Down The Garden

The garden is winding down. It's been a good year for some things (zucchini, lettuce, snow peas) and not so good for others (peppers, eggplant, tomatoes). The last month was slow. We had a lot of cantaloupe and watermelon, but really - that's boring.

Because the zucchini plants died, the cantaloupes over-ripened and the eggplants just weren't right - we had a surplus of rotten produce. What can you do with rotten produce? Shoot it of course!

Ryan and I used the leftover produce as target practice for his new .22. It was completely random and totally awesome at the same time.

A cantaloupe was the first victim:



Mid-way through the experiment:



We wanted to make sure the cantaloupe was completely destroyed:




The mini-sized eggplants may have been terrible to eat, but they were great target practice:



I think I nailed this thing about 20 times!



I also took A LOT of video - but I realized it's not as exciting as I expected. I tried to upload a file, but it didn't work. Oh well!

Happy fall!

Zucchini Bread A Fan Favorite

I've made a lot of zucchini bread this summer and I plan to at least freeze already portioned bags for later adventures. Of course, I was happy when Ryan liked it and thrilled when my friend RR (and family) liked it. BUT - I received the BEST compliment of all time today.

The pickiest little eater I know LOVED my zucchini bread. In fact, he said "mmmm" and just to make sure I heard him he said it again even louder "MMMMMM".



I had to refrain from giving him any more than just the one slice. While the Zucchini part is oh so healthy, the bread part isn't. He did choose my bread over his normal go-to of mac n cheese. Point, Aunt Kayla.

What To Do WIth Zucchini - Part One Million

I've lost count on the zucchini attempts. I've done fries. I've added it to pasta dishes. Ryan and I have used them in a jousting match. I even tried to convince Albert Pujols they would work good as bats!

Oh, and I made Chilled Zucchini Soup:



Today, I try use #1,000,001: Using it to barter a new car. Wish me luck and happy Tuesday.

What To Do With Zucchini - Part Cinq

I knew high school french would come in handy! We're now on to part five of "What To Do With Zucchini". I've lost faith that any of you are reading these, but I'm going to keep posting them. SO THERE!

Today's adventure in Zucchini came from self-titled, Jeannie Zucchini. The recipe? Chocolate Zucchini Cake. For those wondering, Jeannie Zucchini is my cousin's mother-in-law.

I started out by "grating" the Zucchini in my KitchenAid Mixer (it's getting a workout this summer with all this baking!).



Next, I prepared the dry ingredients in a bowl, so they were ready to be sifted later.



Then, I mixed the "wet" ingredients together following the recipe (no Zucchini yet). It looked something like this:



After sifting the dry ingredients, the cake mixture looked like this:



Time to mix in the zucchini, put it in a cake pan and top with mini chocolate chips:



45 minutes later and we have a finished product:



It smells WONDERFUL. I can't wait to eat it for dessert later. And, of course you can have the full recipe:

Chocolate Zucchini Cake

½ c margarine
1 ½ c sugar
½ c vegetable oil
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
½ c sour milk*
2 ½ c flour
4 tbls cocoa
½ tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
½ tsp cinnamon
½ tsp cloves
½ tsp salt
2 c grated zucchini
mini chocolate chips
chopped walnuts (opt.)

Cream margarine and sugar, add oil and eggs then sour milk and vanilla. Sift in dry ingredients, then mix in grated zucchini. Pour batter into 9x12 pan. Sprinkle with chocolate chips and nuts (opt.). Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes. Let stand for at least 5 minutes. Serve with whipped cream or ice cream :)

*NOTE: Sour milk by adding ½ tsp. lemon juice.

Have a great weekend!

What To Do With Zucchini - Part Quatre

When I started this, I didn't realize there would be a part four. But, now I'm guessing it will be up to 1,000,000 by the time I get rid of all this zucchini.

Yesterday's garden haul looked like this:



Of course, I haven't even touched any of those because I am still working on the ones from before.

Today's what to do with zucchini was inspired by hibachi restaurants, in other words Japanese Steakhouses. Generally, they serve zucchini in their vegetables, so I wanted to do something that style.

We had salmon on the grill, teppanyaki inspired from this recipe http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/asian-grilled-salmon-recipe/index.html Instead of using the leftover mix on the salmon (post-grilling), I set it aside for the vegetables.

Chopped zucchini:



I added the zucchini to the pan with onions and also the sauce. I sauteed them with a little margarine:



They were a great complement to the salmon. If I make again, I will probably make a separate veggie marinade, with less oil.

What To With Zucchini - Part Trois

I warned you it was coming! :) Yesterday's adventure in "what to do with zucchini" was an old family recipe - Zucchini Casserole. This one was great for a picnic!

To make zucchini casserole, you first need...Zucchini. 5 cups, chopped to be exact! I don't peel it, but you can. (You also need to cook it. I left out that step in the pictures.)



Next is carrots (2 cups chopped or shredded) and onions (1.5 cups chopped), sauteed with 4 tablespoons of butter.



Mix all of that together with some cream of chicken soup and sour cream....



I skipped a few other steps, but a 9x13 pan has a stuffing mixture in the bottom, topped with zucchini mixture and then topped with more stuffing:



Oh, and I added cheese for good measure.



I didn't get a picture of the finished product (actually cooked). But, I promise it was delicious. The full recipe is below. You can also find it in the Roanoke-Benson High School Band Cookbook, printed 1994. :)


Zucchini Casserole
5 c. Zucchini, cubed
1/2 c. butter
1 (8oz) pkg herb stuffing mix
1.5 c. chopped onions
2 c. shredded carrots
4 T. butter
1 c. sour cream
2 cans cream of chicken soup
Cheese (opt.)

Cook zucchini; drain. Melt 1/2 cup butter and mix with stuffing. Place 1/2 of the stuffing mixture into bottom of 9x13 baking dish. Cook onion and carrots in 4 tablespoons butter until tender. Remove from heat and combine with zucchini. Mix sour cream and soup; add to zucchini mixture. Spread on top of stuffing in pan. Remainder of stuffing goes on top. Bake at 350 for 35 minutes, covered. Uncover and continue baking an additional 10 to 15 minutes, or until top is browned.

What To Do With Zucchini - Part Deux

This week hasn't brought any new Zucchini. However, I am still using the first round of squash picked from the garden. I've now made three batches of zucchini bread (a new tradition, I think) and we've had grilled zucchini as well (marinated in Kraft Free Italian Dressing). Tonight's dinner paired nicely with Fried Zucchini.

I started by slicing a large zucchini (I still have half of it left, please wait for "What To Do With Zucchini - Part Trois" to find out more). I had a plate full of round slices when finished:



Then I dipped them in this three bowl process: 1) flour, 2) beaten eggs, 3) "Kayla's Italian Bread Crumbs" - also known as plain bread crumbs, Italian seasoning and garlic powder. I only buy plain bread crumbs because they are more versatile. The recipe called for Italian bread crumbs, so they can be substituted.



My frying oil was set at 375 degrees. I fried them until golden brown. Once finished, I dusted them with Parmesan cheese and garlic salt to add a little more flavor.



They were great dipped in ranch dressing or "plain" as my husband prefers. The process I used was based on this recipe: http://www.cooks.com/rec/doc/0,161,153190-241202,00.html.

Rain, Rain, GO AWAY

Rain, Rain, Go away. Come again.....in like three weeks. SERIOUSLY. I have had it with the rain. Not only does it affect my mood - it also has resulted in negative things happening in my garden.

Apparently, too much of a good thing (rain) is not a good thing with several plants. I can see things going drastically worse if someone doesn't turn off the faucet soon and for more than just a day. Below is a summary of plants that don't like this much rain.

Cauliflower:



Broccoli:



Jalapenos (sorry tilt your head and look for the little peppers):



Green Peppers:



Tomatoes:



You know what loves this water? Weeds. You'll have to excuse the huge mess of weeds, but I can hardly make it into the garden just to check on things without sinking down.

Something else that doesn't seem to care about the rain:



Zucchini. Oh well, they aren't overproducing...so I can handle a few a week. Hopefully, happy posts will return shortly. If I stop posting, I'm grieving the death of my garden.

What To Do With Zucchini

Zucchini was a last minute addition to the garden this year, so it isn't exactly a high priority when it comes to my recipes. However, I wanted to give it a shot and now we will be experimenting with various recipes along the way.

My first attempt with zucchini was simple: grilled zucchini. It was great and will work for added "green" vegetables this summer with our grilled meats!

My next attempt came from boredom on a Monday afternoon: Zucchini Bread. I found a recipe online from Paula Deen: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/paula-deen/zucchini-bread-recipe/index.html


Freshly ground nutmeg:



Two cups of shredded zucchini:



Using the kitchen aid:



Finished product:



Other Zucchini plans include fried zucchini and Grandma's zucchini casserole. We'll see if they warrant a blog post.

Dried Up (Well, Dry Enough)

The monsoons finally stopped and the garden had an opportunity to dry out. The 92 degree days with 102 degree heat index probably didn't hurt, either. The aforementioned heat index did limit my time in the garden, yesterday.

Here are some updates:

Snow Peas: Yellowing and done. No longer producing pods.
Cantaloupe: Growing and potentially flowering.
Green Beans: Strong, no sort of pods yet,
Cauliflower: No clue. They are still growing, but I don't know.

I took some pictures of the more exciting items.

Tomatoes: Seeing fruit in good sizes. I would really like to see it dry out soon for the sake of the tomatoes, though.



Jalapenos: Little peppers on various plants. I am hoping the plants will grow some more - they are small right now.



Green Peppers: Similar to the jalapenos all the way around, I really would love to see the plants grow more.



Broccoli: The heads are coming! It's pretty exciting since I like broccoli a lot.



Zucchini: We have zucchini! I picked three yesterday. They are growing like crazy.





We tried out the zucchini on the grill last night and it was FANTASTIC!