Good Reads Library
I LIKE Zucchini
Some years ago I heard Arlo Guthrie sing the "Anti-Garden Song"--a parody of "The Garden Song" (a.k.a. "Inch by Inch") which includes this verse:
Slug by slug, weed by weed,
My garden's got me really teed
All the insects love to feed upon my tomato plants
Sunburned face, scratched-up knees
My kitchen's choked with zucchinis
I'm shopping at the A & P next time I get a chance.....
Zucchini are famous for their ability to produce, and produce and produce, to the point where many people don't even plant them. There are endless jokes about people abandoning their zucchinis on other people's doorsteps or the like. The Christian Science Monitor has a funny piece called"97 Ways to Zap Those Zs" . Meanwhile the BlueMountain greeting cards affliliated site Wellcat.com, has declared today "Sneak Some Zucchini Onto Your Neighbor's Porch night" and you can find their ideas for celebrating the holiday HERE.
Zucchini also have a little trick where they go in a matter of days from teeny tiny to HUGE. This has always driven me crazy, because I am a community gardener, and can't always get out to my plot. One day, there's a tiny zuke, but by the time I get out to pick it, it's the size of a club, tough and tasteless and fit mainly for the compost heap!
Though years ago, I had an assistant who raised Oscar fish--very large tropical types and she used to take those home, chunk them up, and feed them to the fish. Apparently they thought they "taste like chicken" or whatever it was that Oscar fish liked to eat....
Ironically, I have not had a good zucchini crop in several years, because I LIKE zucchini and have a lot of different ways of making them. They're in my mixed vegetable salad with pesto. I steam or nuke them sliced and top them with lemon and butter--and occasionally add a sprinkling of feta cheese. They're good breaded and fried. And when tomatoes and zucchin are both plentiful, I make a wonderful crustless pie I will write about some other time.
Last night, I brought home 1 large zucchini. It was big, but not so big as to be tasteless, and it was big enough to make this Zucchini Casserole. It is based on one I had and loved years ago at a restaurant in Lancaster County, PA. After hunting through various recipes I tried this one and found it comes close to the taste I remember.
We ate it as a side dish last night, but it's hearty enough for a vegetarian main dish. And the Man went back for a second helping, which tells me he really liked it.
No, the girls didn't eat this. SC isn't home, and JR had already eaten. But I think I'll try it on them next time I make it. After all, SC likes ratatouille....
Anyway, here it is. And if you DO want to celebrate "Sneak A Zucchini" night, I'd be happy to have them sent my way......
Zucchini Casserole
1 largish or 3-4 small zucchini (enough to make 4 cups chopped)
4 eggs ( or 1 carton egg substitute)
2 Tbsp canola/corn oil or melted margarine
1 chopped onion (I used dehydrated chopped onion in this)
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
1/8 tsp pepper
1 cup baking mix (reduced fat works fine)
Wash and chop the zucchini--no need to peel. Place one cup in a food processor or blender and process until pureed.
Place the pureed zucchini in a large bowl. Add eggs, onion, 6 Tbsp of the cheese and the pepper. Mix well. Add the rest of the zucchini andthe baking mix and blend well.
Grease (I use cooking spray) a 9x13 baking pan and fill it with the mix. Sprinkle the rest of the parmesan cheese on top.
Bake at 350 degrees (F) for 35-40 minutes, until beginning to brown.
