How Does Our Garden Grow?

When we first bought the house, Austin was most excited about starting a garden.  Before we even got the furniture in the house, he and his dad were at Home Depot buying supplies to build a raised bed for his garden.  As much grief as I've given him about it, I actually enjoy the garden too - I guess it's my love of cooking.  It's really rewarding to put food on the table that we've grown.  My dad and I had a garden when I was little, but I never expected to love it so much now.

Last year's garden produced some, but we ran into a few kinks - squash borers, not enough time to tend to it, poor soil, etc.  But this year, we've gotten so much out of it already - especially squash, zucchini, and cucumbers.  The tomatoes are just starting to turn - so I'm expecting those to just overwhelm me in a few days.  Austin will be gone the majority of the summer, and I can't eat as much as the garden is producing, so I'm freezing a lot of it to use later.  I just got through grating 3 zucchini to use in suppers later on.  Tonight, I thought I'd share some of my favorite recipes using fresh produce from our garden!

Green Tomatoes!

The easiest, and least labor intensive, is a cucumber, tomato and Italian dressing salad.  And that's exactly what it is!  Peel and slice the cucumber, and slice some tomatoes.  We usually have cherry or grape, so I just halve or quarter them.  Then, pour some Italian Dressing over it, and stir together.  We also add Parmesan cheese if we have it in the fridge.  We've also added pimentos.  This makes such a light and refreshing salad, and gets better as it sits and melds together!

Lots and Lots of Cucumbers!

Austin loves to man the grill, and I'm more than happy to whip something up for him to cook!  (Plus, it's less clean up in the kitchen for me!!)  We love to grill squash and zucchini - it's a weekly staple around here.  I just slice them up, toss with olive oil, salt, pepper, and Tony's - and then hand it off to Austin.  I don't know how long he cooks it, but it comes off tender and juicy, with amazing grill marks.  :)

Another one of my favorites, but takes considerably more time, is Paula Deen's Squash and Zucchini Cakes.

Ingredients

• 3 medium zucchini
• 3 medium yellow squash
• 1 cup toasted bread crumbs
• 1 cup shredded Parmesan
• 1/3 cup minced Vidalia onion
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten
• 1 1/2 teaspoons dried Italian seasoning
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
• 1 jar store-bought marinara sauce

Directions

Grate zucchini and squash with a fine grater. Press between paper towels to remove excess moisture.

In a medium bowl, combine grated zucchini and squash and next 7 ingredients. Shape mixture into 2-inch patties, pressing together firmly.

In a large skillet, melt butter over medium heat. Cook squash and zucchini cakes 3 to 4 minutes per side or until lightly browned.

**I don't use the entire stick of butter, at least all at once.  It makes the cakes soggy.  I also don't use the Marinara as a dipping sauce, but to each his own.

This is actually what I was shredding the zucchini tonight for.  We love these, but seem to only make them in the summer.  It's like a vegetable crab cake.  If I have frozen zucchini in the freezer, I'll always have the ingredients!!!!

Next up, we'll have some bell peppers ready, and then hopefully, the watermelon I have out there will mature without something happening to it!  I also started an herb garden, but the wonderful things I've made from that will have to wait until another post!!!!