It's a big world out there, and distinguishing yourself from the crowd in even some small way is nearly impossible. Most of us must accept early on that we'll never be an Olympic athlete or an astronaut or a princess, but these days even the tiniest of titles are snatched from our grasp the second we strike up a conversation.
Just finish touring 14 European countries in 12 days? Your seatmate on the plane home did it in five. Was your child reading books at age two? One of the kids at his preschool recited Shakespeare from the womb.
Tell someone you bake your own bread, and they'll inform you that they keep five different authentic European sourdough starters in their fridge and grind all of their own wheat.
Even the dubious honors are hard to come by. Each year I'm nominated for World's Worst Housekeeper, but I never win. The second time my mother arrived for a visit, the first thing she did when she walked into
The Shack was hang a little sign on our tacky-but-practical black plastic pole lamp that said
Martha Stewart Doesn't Live Here. Out of respect to Martha and my mother, we refuse to dust the lamp.
But I do have one bonafide claim to fame:
I'm the only person on the planet who tends an enormous kitchen garden and yet bought 30 zucchini this summer.
So far this year I've harvested two zucchini from three plants. There's a third one out on the vine, but it's turned a sickly yellow. I planted four other types of heirloom summer squash that are doing almost as well.
This totally embarrassing situation mostly has to do with killer squash bugs and my refusal to use toxic poisons in my organic garden.
2011 Update: I've been taking a break from planting summer squash, but I'm still determined to grow some, and before those nasty squash bugs even show up, I'll be liberally dousing the plants and surrounding soil with food grade diatomaceous earth.
This 100% natural powder (it's even safe to eat and we regularly feed it to the animals) has numerous uses around the farm and garden, including as an organic pest control for both hard and soft shelled creatures. We buy this brand in economical 50-pound bags (it lasts indefinitely if kept dry), and I use it in the garden to successfully kill or deter everything from sow bugs and cabbage worms to those ravenous blister beetles (you can read about more ways we use it here). I'm hoping it will also help with the squash bugs!
The good news is that I paid just twenty cents per zucchini, because there's only so much you can charge for something that everybody else is desperately trying to offload for free.
Clever and tasty ways to use up zucchini are everywhere this time of year, but many people are sick to death of eating it, no matter how nicely it's served. What you should really be doing with all your late summer zucchini is freezing it for later.
Six months from now, when you're not only craving zucchini but seriously considering plunking down $2.99 a pound for some bruised and battered, rubbery specimens at the supermarket, you'll be thrilled that you did.
Fortunately, freezing zucchini and other summer squash is a snap:
All you do is cut it into half-inch slices, blanch it in a pot of boiling water for three minutes, transfer it to a bowl of ice water to cool, drain it, and bag it.
Back in 2002, I decided to freeze my first pile of zucchini and yellow straight neck squash, figuring the frozen slices would turn to mush but that I could blend them up into warm winter soups. To my pleasant surprise they emerged from the freezer in perfect shape,* so I ended up turning each package into a quick winter pantry sauté:
Heat some butter or nice olive oil in a large skillet, add chopped onion and cook until soft, then stir in some chopped fresh garlic and cook another minute or two. Add summer squash or zucchini slices, a quart jar of canned San Marzano tomatoes from the garden (or purchased canned tomatoes), a can of organic garbanzo beans, and a generous sprinkling of freshly grated Pecorino Romano or Parmesan.
Cook until tender and hot, and serve over rice or pasta if desired. A hunk of warm, crusty bread to soak up the sauce is recommended.
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Lemon zest and fresh rosemary add a flavorful twist to this just-sweet-enough zucchini bread (recipe here). Freeze the zucchini or freeze the entire loaf!
You can also freeze grated zucchini for baking. Just portion it out into the amount you'll need for a recipe (1 cup, 2 cups, etc.), squeeze out some of the liquid if it's really moist (you can use a
flour sack towel—these are so handy in the kitchen, I use
these and
these every day—or cheesecloth, but I usually just stand over the sink and use my hands), and pack it straight into zipper freezer bags or containers.
August 2011 update: For help with how to use your frozen grated zucchini (drained? not drained? etc.), check out this thread on the Farmgirl Fare Facebook page. And please join in the conversation if you have something to add!
You can pack your sliced zucchini into zipper freezer bags or plastic freezer containers, but it'll freeze better and last much longer if you vacuum seal it with a
FoodSaver.
A
FoodSaver is an investment that pays for itself in no time, and once you start sealing up everything in sight you'll wonder how you ever lived without one. I use ours to seal everything from green beans to wild venison to chainsaw chains (it keeps them from rusting).
Rather than buy pre-made bags, I've found it's more practical and economical to make my own custom bags using two different sized
rolls of the FoodSaver bag material (and I haven't had good luck using other brands).
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A whole grain, healthy zucchini bread that still tastes like a treat, made with white whole wheat flour and unsweetened coconut (recipe here).
So as tempting as it may be to toss your excess summer squash to the chickens, take a little time and freeze it instead. Come winter, you'll be so happy you did.
Related information you might find helpful:
How To Freeze Summer Squash: illustrated, step-by-step instructions from the wonderful site pickyourown.org
Quality for Keeps: A Comprehensive Guide To Freezing Vegetables from the University of Missouri Extension Center
Canning your own food is easy and economical! A granite ware waterbath canner, along with this oh-so-handy 6-piece home canning kit will only set you back about $35.
What to do with all those green tomatoes? Make My Super Simple, Salsa-Like Green Tomato Relish!
Hungry for more than zucchini? You'll find links to all my sweet and savory Less Fuss, More Flavor in the Farmgirl Fare Recipe Index. Enjoy!
*When you blanch and freeze most vegetables they lose their crunch. I actually prefer my squash on the soft and slightly overcooked side, but if you're an al dente sort of person you'll want to use your frozen squash in soup.
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in her essay, "Alone In The Kitchen With An Eggplant," which inspired both the title and the book itself. Certainly cooking for oneself reveals man at his weirdest. People lie when you ask them what they eat when they are alone. A salad, they tell you. But when you persist, they confess to peanut butter and bacon sandwiches deep fried and eaten with hot sauce, or spaghetti with butter and grape jam.