July 2007 - Page 9 of 9 - Bumblebee Blog

Bzzzz July 3rd, 2007

Way back in February I happened on a cookbook entitled The Classic Zucchini Cookbook: 225 Recipes for All Kinds of Squash, by Nancy C. Ralston et al.

Thinking of my past summers with an over-abundance of zucchini (or zookanook, as my dad calls it), I quickly snatched it up. Then recently, I also noticed that there were NO copies of this handy cookbook at the local Barnes & Noble or Borders. (Local, in my case, being one hour away.) Obviously, I’m not the only one trying to figure out how to deal with all this zucchini!

And then just a couple of days ago, Carol at May Dreams Gardens was pondering what to do with her adorable cue ball zucchini. I posted a not-so-helpful, sketchy version of a recipe I now make all the time here at home. While I look for the version of the recipe that I have adapted and make from instinct and memory, I offer one of my FAVORITE recipes from the aforementioned book that you can use for all that abundance of zucchini!

Double Squash Cornbread Supper

Notes: Our little family TOTALLY LOVES this dish. The zucchini cornbread topping is so delicious, you can serve it all by itself.

Ingredients:

Cornbread Topping 2 cups grated zucchini 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 cup stone-ground yellow cornmeal 3/4 cup unbleached all-purpose flour 2 tablespoons sugar 2 teaspoons baking powder 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 2 large eggs, slightly beaten 3/4 plain yogurt 1/4 cup canola oil

Chili Filling 2 tablespoons olive oil 2 teaspoons ground cumin 1 tablespoon chili powder 1 onion, diced 1 red or green bell pepper, diced 2 fresh green chiles, such as poblano or jalapeno 1 medium-sized yellow summer squash, quartered and sliced 1 1/2 cups seeded and diced tomatoes (fresh or canned) 1 1/2 cups cooked black beans, red kidney beans or pinto beans (home cooked or canned) 2 tablespoons cilantro salt and freshly ground black pepper

Instructions: 1. Start the cornbread topping by combining the grated zucchini and salt in a colander. Toss to mix well and set aside to drain for 30 minutes. 2. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. 3. To prepare the chili filling, combine oil, cumin and chili powder in a large ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion, bell pepper and chiles. Saute until the onion is softened, 3 to 5 minutes. Add the summer squash and saute until softened, about 3 minutes. Add the tomatoes, beans and cilantro. Add salt and pepper to taste. Let the chili simmer while you finish the sopping. 4. To finish the cornbread topping, combine the cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder and baking soda in a medium-sized bowl. Mix well. Combine the eggs, yogurt and oil in a small bowl and mix well. Squeeze the zucchini to remove any excess moisture and add the flour mixture. Mix well. Pour the egg mixture into the flour mixture and stir just until well combined. The batter will be lumpy. 5. To assemble the dish, remove the skillet from the heat. Evenly spread the cornbread batter over the chili, spreading it to the edges of the pan. 6. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until the top is golden and firm. A tester inserted near the center should come out clean. 7. Let stand for about 5 minutes before serving with a pie server or large spoon.

Bon appetit!

–Robin (Bumblebee)

P.S.

The love triangle was back this morning. I am worried that the female bird isn’t eating.

Posted In: Food and Recipes

Tags: cornbread, Recipes, squash

4 Comments

Bzzzz July 1st, 2007

garden-07.01.07.gif

The potager garden is humming along, requiring little in the way of daily care except watering and some weed pulling here and there.

Happily, I also need to wander through with my gathering basket to pick ready vegetables. I can usually count on cucumbers, zucchini, squash, bush beans, chard and, of course, herbs. I also still have lettuce, although it is ready to bolt.

I tried to purchase some summer lettuce seed mix from the Cook’s Garden. I received an email about this amazing mix that is supposed to grow even in the heat of the summer. Not five minutes after receiving the email I tried to order some, only to later learn that they were out of stock.

Is that right? I mean, if I tried to order it FIVE MINUTES after they sent the email, what is that about? Surely there weren’t MILLIONS of lettuce lovers just waiting for their emails about these seeds, who then hopped online with their credit cards to purchase in bulk. Surely there could be one or two seed packets left for someone who waited FIVE MINUTES to order.

Oh, yes, I understand that the creative for these HTML emails must be done ahead of time. But if you’re running low on these amazing seeds, why feature it in an email, just to get the hopes of your customers dashed?

(Deep breath.)

Day lily bed

I’m very curious about this day lily bed. I put these flowers in about three years ago. The first year after they were planted, they bloomed gloriously and all were a bright orange. This year, for the first time, I notice that most of the flowers are coming up in other colors–fuschia, deep purple, even yellow. I’m curious about why this is the case. Ideas anyone?

Slicemaster cucumbers bloom with Morning Glories

I have grown Slicemaster cucumbers in the past. But I never before noticed purple blooms on the plants. All the other cucumbers I have grown have yellow blooms. At first glance I thought these were cucumber blossoms. But no. They are invasive morning glories twining among the cucumbers.

Garden gate

Here’s a developing problem–my garden gate. I have a soft heart and haven’t been able to bring myself to make a tough decision. One one side I have wisteria growing. On the other side is clematis. They are starting to touch and it will be a plant war. What to do?

Black eyed susan vines creeping through the fence

Another dilemma: How do I get my delicate black eyed susan vines to climb the fence? They are vigorous climbers when in a pot with a trellis. But the fence slats seem to be too much for the vines to grab onto to climb up. Perhaps some twisties? Some twine?

Bee balm

Double Squash Cornbread Supper

Double Squash Cornbread Supper

July Pictorial Potager Update – 07.01.07