Dinner from the garden

What a terrible thing it is- to be able to step out in the yard, pick an armful of fresh veggies and make dinner happen. Just terrible. Especially right now, with all the tomatoes, zucchini, herbs, onions, garlic...... just awful.

Tonight we're having dinner from our garden! Fresh yellow summer squash, zucchini, tomatoes, onions- the only thing we didn't grow was the hamburger and Parmesan cheese. This is a quick to put together dish, pop it in the oven and relax for 20 minutes or so, then get some pasta water going, toss in some pasta to go alongside and voila! Dinner is served.

Italian Stuffed Summer Squash

• 1 medium yellow summer squash or zucchini
• 1/2 medium red onion, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, chopped
• big pinch crushed red pepper
• 2-3 tb minced fresh marjoram, basil, oregano or a combo
• oil
• 1 lb hamburger
• 2 cups tomato sauce or puree

Wash squash well and cut in half lengthwise. Scoop out seeds and discard. Also scoop out some of the flesh leaving a half inch shell. Chop squash flesh.

In large oven-safe skillet heat a couple TB oil. Add onion, garlic and chopped squash. Saute for 1-2 minutes. Crumble ground beef into skillet. Cook and stir until beef is cooked. Add herbs and pepper. Add half the tomato sauce to skillet, then stuff the squash halves with mixture. Add all remaining sauce to skillet, stir, and nestle the squash in the mixture. Sprinkle with topping mixture (see below). Place in 425 degree oven about 20-30 minutes until squash is tender but not mushy.

Remove carefully to plates, cut in half if you like, and serve with pasta and extra sauce.

Topping-

• 1/4 cup panko
• 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
• pinch of herbs used in dish

Combine in small bowl. Sprinkle over squash. Drizzle with a tiny touch of oil. The topping bakes up crunchy from the panko and salty from the Parmesan cheese and makes the perfect textural element. 

You'll notice I did not precook my squash before stuffing. I prefer mine to still have some hint of crisp to it, but you can certainly precook yours if you like it softer. Put on a microwave safe plate,sprinkle with a few drops of water and cover tightly with plastic wrap- cook for a minute or two until barely tender.

All you need now is a hunk of crusty bread and a breezy spot on the patio to enjoy a perfect summertime dinner!

Canning Cookbook- Who planted 10 zucchini anyway?

Ahhhhh zucchini, that wondrous crazy vegetable that goes from blossom to BLIMP in 24 hours. We all at one point in our lives, as a cook or gardener, have had a love/hate relationship with it. We love the tender baby zucs we can halve or quarter and throw on the grill, and we love the big monster zucs that we shred and make delicious baked goods from, while at the same time we absolutely loathe dealing with those big monsters, and zucchini overload when the office master gardener shows up with yet another big bag full to share. This just might be ME this summer, since I got the wise idea to plant ten, yes ten, zucchini in the garden- and it's just The Chef and I at home. We do, after all, love fresh zucchini, and we hate to waste perfectly good food.

By the time summer is nearing the end, even though those plants are STILL producing, most of us are pretty tired of trying to use the crazy things in dinner night after night. Zucchini bread and cakes and muffins fill the freezer. What else can you do? Make relish!!

When it comes to canning recipes, everything BUT pickle relish is something I want to make. I already make pickles, I don't want to do pickle relish too. I like trying different vegetables in relishes though, like radish relish, corn relish, and a carrot relish I'm trying to figure out. It's just natural to me that zucchini should fit the bill in relish recipes. It has a mild flavor on it's own, much like cucumbers do, and should meld well with relish flavors. Almost every canning cookbook has a zucchini relish of some kind. Do a little research and reading and you will find one with the right blend of flavors for you. I tend to like "peppery" and hot spicy foods and make relishes and sauces that reflect that. This time, however, I think I'll go with a dill relish and see how that turns out. So let's get busy with Summer Zucchini Relish.

You will need:

12 cups finely chopped UNPEELED zucchini

4 cups finely chopped onion

2 finely chopped bell peppers, one green, the other red or orange

4 tb canning or kosher salt

Combine all vegetables in large mixing bowl, sprinkle with salt, toss to mix. Cover and refrigerate overnight. The next day, rinse and drain thoroughly.

In a large stock pot combine:

• 2 1/2 cups vinegar (I prefer apple cider but white is ok- 5% acidity)
• 2 1/2 cups sugar
• 4 tsp celery seed
• 2 tb mustard seed (I use one each of yellow and brown)
• 2 tb dill seed
• 2 tb dried dill weed or 4-5 tb fresh
• 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper

Bring ingredients to boil. Add vegetables and simmer for 15 minutes. 

Pack hot mixture into prepared pint or half-pint jars with 1/2" headspace. Adjust lids and rings. Process in boiling water bath for 10 minutes. Remove and allow jars to cool, check seals.

Because this is a pickled product, you will want to let it mellow and let the flavors meld. You can also switch out yellow summer squash for some or all of the zucchini if that's what you have an abundance of. 

Recipes like this always look so pretty in the jars, and I can't wait to enter them in the county fairs. Sometimes that unusual relish combination gives you an edge over the same old relish recipes that have been entered for decades. I hope you will give this recipe a try- I'm sure you will love it.