The trouble is, you cannot grow just one zucchini. Minutes after you plant a single seed, hundreds of zucchini will barge out of the ground and sprawl around the garden, menacing the other vegetables. At night, you will be able to hear the ground quake as more and more zucchinis erupt.
Dave Barry, columnist and author.
Around The Farm
As summer’s end draws near, our work returns to planting. The fall crops are now sown and we hope to continue to enjoy produce once the cooler weather arrives.
In addition to preparing the fall garden, harvest of late summer favorites continues apace. The hot summer took a toll on some crops, but others, such as peppers, are thriving. We look forward to sharing the bounty in coming weeks.
This week’s harvest may include:
Salad and/or Slicing Tomatoes, Summer and/or Zucchini Squash,
Sweet and/or Hot Peppers, Purple Coban Tomatillos, Beets, Swiss Chard.
Zucchini (Cucurbita pepo)
Christopher Columbus introduced this member of the Three Sisters to Italy about 500 years ago. Roughly 130 years ago, the variety we are familiar with was first bred near Milan. Italian immigrants then re-introduced Americans to this “little squash” (the word zucchini comes from the diminutive of zucca, Italian for squash).
The fruit of a zucchini plant is both prolific and mild. As a result, there is a dizzying array of options when it comes to preparing zucchini: grilled, baked, sautéed, fried, or raw – there is no wrong way to prepare this squash.
Fried Zucchini with Tomato Sauce
- Fill one medium sized bowl with all- purpose flour. In a second medium sized bowl, beat 2-3 eggs. Fill a third medium sized bowl with bread or cracker crumbs.
- Cut 2-3 zucchini into rounds, roughly ½ inch thick.
- Dredge the rounds into flour, followed by egg, followed by the crumbs.
- Working in batches, drop the breaded rounds into hot oil and fry until golden brown on each side (3-4 minutes).
- Drain on a cooling rack or paper towels.
Fresh Tomato Sauce
- Slice 5 pounds of tomatoes in half (10 large or 15 medium tomatoes). If desired, squeeze seeds into bowl and discard.
- Using a box grater, grate tomatoes into saucepan. Discard skins.
- Add salt to taste, 2 tablespoons olive oil, and a halved garlic clove to saucepan.
- Over medium heat, reduce tomato sauce by half, stirring occasionally (10-20 minutes).
- Salt and season to taste.