Using Your Garden's Bounty
Volume 49, Issue 8
By Michael Safdiah

This spring Jeffrey decided that we needed a real garden at Happy House, but the only sunny spots are on the bay side of the house, subject to the winds
and stormy attacks from the north. We ordered excellent soil and seedlings from Bayport Nursery, and built a frame a foot deep, lining it with a fabric to
keep the weeds from pushing through. This year we took no chances and also hooked up a sprinkler with a timer. Well, actually he did the work; I made
sandwiches.

When the first green began to sprout up I began to get really excited. The baby spinach started early,  and made delicious salads. The basil, well if you
haven't grown it yourself, you have no idea what intoxication can be. Last night I made steak with basil and ginger. For goodness' sake if you grow nothing
else, please grow your own herbs! Your cooking will improve immensely. The radishes came in fast, looking good but I'm not a fan. I guess if I place them out
on Bay Walk someone will enjoy them. Now I'm faced with oncoming eggplants, peppers and zucchini and just know it will end up being overwhelming. I never imagine I'll be up to my kazoo in veggies by mid summer. My lack of confidence
made me plant more than I'll ever need.

My annual panic makes me invent new ways to deal with the ever increasing glut as my gardening luck and the weather improves. After giving as much of it as
I can to neighbors who pretend to not be home when I ring, I still have to deal with what's left.  I'm assuming you already know the recipe for
Ratatouille, and that you can load fried peppers and 'zuch' into a frittata to get rid of a few that way, and that if you brush them with oil and seasoning, grill them a little to soften them, and then splash garlic vinegar on them, you have a great salad, so here are a few more oddities you might enjoy.
'RAT' PIE:  Blind bake a deep pie crust, or buy it, and beat two eggs with 1/2 cup cream or Half 'n Half, S&P, dash of hot sauce, and some fresh thyme that
you grew. Drain the vegetables well, reserving the liquid, which beat into the eggs. Never throw away flavor. Pour half the eggs into the shell, heap on
the rat, be generous, and then add the rest of the eggs. Bake at 350 till the eggs are set. Serve at room temperature. If it sounds like quiche you caught me.

SQUASH CASSEROLE: Thanks, Mom. Dice two onions, and sauté till lightly amber,
add 2 lb. cubed green and yellow squash, and continue to cook till it's done
to your taste. The squash won't cook in the casserole so it has to be done
before you add it to the eggs. Beat three eggs with some bread crumbs, cheddar or
white (cottage or ricotta) cheese, S&P, and the cooled cooked squash. Top
with more cheese and bake at 350 for 40 min. Serve alongside: Plain yogurt, mixed
with fresh mint, S&P,
FRIED ZUCCHINI RINGS: Three medium zucchini, cut into 2 inch lengths, so you
can scoop out the core. Slice to form rings.  Mix 1 cup flour with enough beer
to make a thin batter. Season with S&P. Coat the rings with cornstarch, then
dip into the batter. Drain., deep fry till batter crisps, and dust heavily
with coarse salt and some pepper.
ZUCCHINI BLOSSOMS: Remove the meat from three Italian sausages, add 1/2 cup
water and cook, stirring till the water evaporates. add 1 cup cooked rice, a
handful of parsley, big pinch dried oregano,  optional: two anchovies, soaked in
water, rinsed twice and mashed with a fork, 6 oz. cubed mozzarella.  Remove
the stamens from as many blossoms as you have and lightly stuff them with the
sausage mixture. Close the flowers to keep the stuffing in. Dip them in your
favorite batter, deep fry, and set aside. Bake till cheese starts to melt.  They
are great not stuffed, just battered and deep fried. Serve with lemon wedges.
SAUTEED GRATED ZUCCHINI: The best and fastest: Grate them on a box grater,
squeeze the water out, hard. Use stir fry technique: Heat a pan quite hot and
add olive oil and butter, add a crushed clove or two of garlic and just as the
garlic realizes it's cooking, add the zuch, and saute for just a minute, no
more, in more sweet butter with S&P, and a handful of bread crumbs or grated
romano cheese. Serve at once.
EGGPLANT SOUFFLÉ: Two medium eggplants grilled with pulp removed and mashed,
1 cup fresh bread crumbs, S&P, four eggs, separated, 1 oz butter, 1 oz flour,
1 cup half & half, 2/3 cup chopped ham or proscuitto, 1/4 tsp grated nutmeg,
handful parmesan cheese, 1 Tbsp. chopped parsley. In a saucepan, make a roux
with the flour and butter, then add the half & half, whisking till smooth and
add the rest of the ingreds. Add the beaten yolks, and then beat the whites to
soft peaks, and fold into the eggplant mixture. Line a dish with butter and
breadcrumbs, make a collar around the top to contain whatever rises (it will),
fill it with the mixture, bake at 400 for 10 minutes then reduce heat to 350 and
bake for 45 minutes. Serve alongside the following:
ROASTED CHICKEN HALVES BAKED OVER ZUCCHINI SLICES: Layer the pan with slices
of onion, fresh slices of tomato, then zucchini, then your seasoned chicken,
skin side up. Bake 3/4 hour at 350. When the chicken is cooked remove it to a
platter and continue to roast the vegs till the zuch is cooked thru. Lemon
wedges.
CANDIED BABY EGGPLANTS: My grandma from Syria used to do these, otherwise I'd
laugh too. She even candied spaghetti squash the same way. Take 18 very small
baby eggplants, 2 1/2 cups water, 5 cups sugar, place the eggplants in
boiling salted water, and cook till they can JUST be pierced easily with a paring
knife. Cook the sugar and water with the julienne peel of an orange and a lemon.
Cook till slightly thick. Place the eggplants into the syrup and simmer
uncovered for 25 minutes. Store covered in wide mouth jars. Serve when company
comes.
EGGPLANT CAVIAR: Split and roast a few small eggplants, and 8 cloves of
unpeeled garlic. place some water and oil on the baking sheet to prevent scorching.
Remove and while warm, scrape all the pulp out and squeeze out the roasted
garlic. Take out your frustrations by mashing it vigorously with a fork, S&P,
lemon and olive oil. Pita bread or toast triangles.

I've already got okra on my list of next year candidates, I love it with onions, tomatoes and prunes just like Mom used to make, and gherkins which I can't
get here at the island, and which I adore since I love to make pickles. Hey write to me, I'll be happy to answer you. Love, Michael