Usually my garden is so bountiful that harvesting it, along with lining my wastebaskets, puts to use the plastic bags that come home from the grocery store. Not so this year. This year, the only thing happy in the garden was the zucchini. That and the deer. But the zucchini was very happy. So happy that it showed up at meals in many forms: appetizer, side dish, main dish, even dessert. It showed up so frequently that my husband started casting a wary eye at the stove or oven when it came to mealtimes and asking ‘How are we having it tonight?’
My mother-in-law was wise to this. A minister’s wife in a rural community, she used to say that the only time she would lock the car was during zucchini season, because if she didn’t, someone would inevitably load it up with the vegetable.
I’ll admit, it’s a vegetable that is incredibly versatile. Although I haven’t tried to make it, I’ve had delicious squash blossoms at a restaurant. And zucchini is useful at any stage, large or small. I’m intrigued that summer squash and zucchini are a type of plant that the more frequently the plant is harvested, the more it yields. I think there’s a lesson there. No matter its stage, it can serve a purpose. The more it serves its purpose, the more it is prepared to do so. Something from a vegetable that I want to apply to my life.
In the meantime, I’ll enjoy what turned out to be our favorite recipe of the zucchini summer – jalapeno popper zucchini boats. (So good but not good for you.)
