Share Your Abundant Harvest

My first garden was a good learning experience for me. I purchased the seeds, everything I thought my family would eat, then I carefully followed the directions on the back of the package. When it came to the zucchini and cucumber seeds, I opened up the package and planted all the seeds. I ended up with 11 hills of zucchini and 20 hills of cucumbers! I had never heard the joke “How do you plant zucchini? Plant three plants and hope that two of them dies.”

I soon found out that everyone who likes zucchini usually has one or two plants in their backyard. I couldn't give away my surplus and was probably picking a dozen a day. Not wanting to waste any, I decided to look for new recipes. For just a dollar I got twenty pages of tried and true recipes from the USU Extension Service, everything from pickles to pancakes. I enjoyed testing the many recipes and most often my family enjoyed eating my culinary creations.

That first year I had wonderful zucchini, but the past two years something has gone wrong. Instead of getting new seeds, I've been freezing my seeds and using them again. The seed package says “Black Beauty” a nice dark green variety, but my zucchini are lighter green with stripes. I call them “zebra zucchini”. Even though they taste the same, I usually don't give them away because they look so strange.

Even if I had perfect produce this year I have been too busy to pick it. Thank goodness for my daughter and her four enthusiastic children who love harvesting the garden and I'm so glad to share with them. Summer is a great time for healthy meals that include lots of fresh vegetables from the garden. Children learn to love and eat vegetables when they help grow and harvest them.

Here's another zucchini joke: "Do you know why Mormons lock their cars when they go to church in the summer? So they don't come out and find their car full of zucchini!" I think it is a blessing to have an abundance. Just have lots of good recipes and friends to share your harvest with.

Zucchini Picnic Cake

Marilyn Atwood

2 3/4 cup flour (or half whole wheat)

1 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. soda

1 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 tsp. salt

1 3/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup melted butter

1/2 cup oil (or applesauce)

2 eggs

1/2 cup sour cream (or buttermilk)

1 tsp. vanilla

2 cups grated zucchini

Sift flour, baking powder, soda, cinnamon and salt together. Set aside. In a large bowl, cream the sugar, butter, oil and eggs. Add sour cream, vanilla and dry ingredients, stirring until blended. Stir in zucchini. Spread in a 10x15 inch pan that has been well greased. Sprinkle on the top a mixture of ½ cup packed brown sugar, 1 cup chocolate chips and ¾ cup chopped nuts. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Instead of sugar topping frost with Carmel Frosting: Melt 6 Tbsp. butter in a sauce pan. Add 1/4 cup milk and 1 cup brown sugar and bring to a boil. Remove from heat and add 1/8 tsp. soda, 1/3/4 cups powdered sugar and 1 tsp. vanilla. Beat with electric beaters until smooth.