Garden Goodies: Cuke and Zuke Fest

Posted by Deb Puchalla

My mom didn't garden (six kids, no time), but she used midsummer moments in rural Connecticut to show off in the kitchen. One of her best tricks was working magic with piles of zucchini and cucumbers from neighbors' backyard rows of veggie plants.

There was a seemingly endless supply of cucumber spears we ate with a flurry of salt; more interesting were the cukes that became part of a crisp, cool, cucumber salad. Zucchini dazzled in a sauteed side dish and in huge batches of freezer-ready ratatouille -- my mom loves that word and still says it with French flair. The best recipe she had was for zucchini bread that I ate warm, slathered with too much butter.

In my kitchen now, as in so many around the food world -- and the garden world, too -- cucumbers and zucchini, gifts from friends, await. Cukes and zukes are affordable and adaptable and everpresent, so they seem ripe for this, the next in a series of garden-food parties we're hosting with A Way to Garden from now through September. Time to wave some culinary wands, folks. Abracadabra!

Some days -- especially if you're a gardener at harvest time -- you need help knowing what to do with an abundance of cukes and zukes (there are just so many of them, kind of like kids in my childhood home). When I mentioned this celebration, the messages flowed in: Rachel Ann made cucumber soup twice in the past two weeks (c'mon, post it, post it!) and Peckedbyducks made an Asian zucchini slaw with raisins, broccoli slaw, and red peppers (I'm waiting for details on that, too!). FrugalUpstate said to count her in for the festival; so did napafarmhouse, Jaden, and Grace Piper. Maybe new friends like Guy will join us, too, and add their ideas and recipe link to our comments section below.

Aren't you curious how we at the magazine and all these bloggers take two veggies and create a whole world of recipes from them? I love the dishes we've done, but I'm hoping for an easy pickle and a new twist on muffins; I like raw zucchini and I'm always in the market for something with chicken.

And it would be nice to have my own steady supply rather than relying on neighbors and farmers' markets: Anyone willing to teach me how to plant these guys for next season? For the moment, Mom, I'll be waiting for that slice of zucchini bread; next time maybe I'll bring you one I made with my own homegrown zucchini.

In the meantime, I have a few delicious recipes to share:

ZUCCHINI RECIPES
Zucchini Ribbons
Zucchini Lasagna
Zucchini Quesadillas
Salmon and Zucchini in Parchment
More Zucchini Recipes

CUCUMBER RECIPES
Cucumber Watermelon Salad
Asian Steak Salad with Cucumber and Napa Cabbage
Quick Pickled Cucumbers
Sauteed Cucumbers
More Cucumber Recipes

How about sharing your favorite recipe with me, like a good neighbor? Tell me in the comments section below and then head over to Margaret's place for more. If you missed the pesto party, it's not too late to stop by, and remember you can always see what's cooking with me on Twitter.

Comments

[Beth]

This is great! I can't wait to try a zucchini bread, and hope someone posts a muffin recipe!

[Stacey]

Mine is for Zuke Fritters:

- Shredded zucchini, drained of as much water and moisture as possible
- fresh bread crumbs
- one egg, beaten
- handful of shredded mild cheese like parm or mozza
- dried basil and dried parsley
- pinch of cayenne pepper
- salt and pepper to taste

Heat good olive oil in a skillet over med. to low heat.

Mix together till it’s one big clump in a bowl. Take chunks and roll in your hands; set on a plate.

Place about five to seven balls into the hot skillet oil, spray the back of a spatula and flatten each ball to a patty shape. (See photo.)

Let each side cook till a lovely brown crusty coating appears. Flip each patty over gently to cook the same brown, crusty coating.

Take out of the pan and place on paper towel on a plate to drain and cool. Serve with salsa, sour cream and more shredded cheese.

Note: I used a medium zucchini, and I also used three slices of whole wheat bread ground up in my Magic Bullet to make the bread crumbs. My batch yielded 13 smaller patties (or 6 healthy medium patties).

[Karina's Kitchen]

Beautiful round-up of recipes. My favorite garden recipe for zucchini is my Pesto Zucchini Tomato Gratin. Fresh and delicious as a side dish or served on a bed of pasta. Recipe at:
http://glutenfreegoddess.blogspot.com/2007/06/pesto-zucchini-tomato-gratin.html

[A Cowboy's Wife]

I had my own plans for our VERY large zucchini but my husband wanted to grill it. I know, boring but if anyone is interested, they can stop by my place and check it out. The kids gobbled it up like it was cake so I'm guessing it was good!
http://mywoodenspoon.com/2008/07/03/roasted-zucchini-on-the-grill/

[Kristen]

Fantastic party ;) Can't wait to try some of these recipes.

[Kristin]

Zucchini bread has always been a favorite of mine. I adapted my grandmother's recipe to add more whole grains but still remain sweet http://www.offbeateating.com

[Carol, May Dreams Gardens]

I come from the gardening side, for this garden/food party. The contribution I left at Margaret's is:

I tried to line up people way back in February to take my zucchini this summer. However I grow a lot of the round varieties like ‘Cue Ball’ so I have to explain, “it’s just zucchini”!
http://maydreamsgardens.blogspot.com/2008/02/put-in-your-requests-now-for-some-of-my.html

But I don’t give away a lot of cucumbers because I want to eat them all, even though they contain curcubitacin, in varying amounts that can cause “gastric distress”!
http://maydreamsgardens.blogspot.com/2008/02/im-hungry-for-real-cucumbers.html

Summer is all about homegrown vegetables!

[Rachel]

My favorite cucumber recipe is my recipe for dill refrigerator pickles. They are so crisp and tasty:
http://coconutlime.blogspot.com/2006/08/dill-refrigerator-pickles.html

[Cindy]

I am over from the gardening side as well.
I can't wait to try some of these zucchini recipes as I have quite a few pilin' up right now. The recipe I'd like to share is for Mock Crab Cakes. http://pagardening.blogspot.com/2008/07/zucchini-mock-crab-cakes.html
My cukes have not made it (darn deer!) but I do have an easy Refrigerator Pickle recipe I would like to share.
http://pagardening.blogspot.com/2008/07/refrigerator-pickles.html
Enjoy!

[Deb Puchalla]

So given the timing of some of your posts, it seems we have a pretty wild bunch at our little gathering! Thrilled to see the idea ahare and the conversation! How do you all feel about cooked cuke and raw zukes? I've always been skeptical but then pleasantly surprised. Kristin, I particularly like your idea of adding some whole grains to zucc bread--so I can have more!

[Deb Puchalla]

So given the timing of some of your posts, it seems we have a pretty wild bunch at our little gathering! Thrilled to see the idea ahare and the conversation! How do you all feel about cooked cuke and raw zukes? I've always been skeptical but then pleasantly surprised. Kristin, I particularly like your idea of adding some whole grains to zucc bread--so I can have more!

[Paige]

Check out my cuke & zuke-ful lentil salad recipe over at The Bountiful Harvest (bountifuleating.blogspot.com)

[Deb Puchalla]

Good morning, Paige--thought you were too busy reading and hanging out with Margaret at awaytogarden.com to cook up there! And you, Ms. Carol, thank you for inspiring this whole series thanks to your Garden Bloggers' Bloom Days http://tinyurl.com/59dybj So nice to see you both, and everyone else. Now, which pickle to start with??

[Sarah]

I love stuffed zucchini! Especially with those huge garden zukes you can find this time of year. Here is the recipe I love to use

http://ilookgood.blogspot.com/2007/08/stuff-dreams-are-made-of.html

[Catherine Marie Charlton]

these past weeks I've (twice) made zucchini-crusted pizza from the New Moosewood cookbook (yummmmmyy...), zucchini pancakes on my pancake griddle and cucumber-melon smoothies...

[Luke]

Instead of pickling cucumbers, you should try pickling Zucchini! There is a great recipe from the Zuni Cafe cookbook which I just tried and post on: http://www.cookography.com/2008/pickled-zucchini-the-zuni-cafe-way
It is a quick pickle recipe, and Zucchs stay nice and crisp. You could probably try lots of different flavorings. This recipe is tangy and mustardy.

[Andrea]

There's lots of good stuff here! We like to add zucchini to pasta as well as desserts, like Italian zucchini cake with lemon crunch glaze.

http://www.andreasrecipes.com/2008/07/31/zucchini-and-mushroom-pasta-with-lemon-basil/

http://www.andreasrecipes.com/2008/07/07/zucchini-olive-oil-cake-with-lemon-crunch-glaze/

[Jenn @ Frugal Upstate]

Ah yes, Zucchini season! I'm growing Zuchetta Trombocino (http://tiny.cc/EgPfW) which is very interesting. It actually vines and could be trained up a trellis-plus it has a very long neck with a bulb at the end which has the seeds-so plenty of nice seed free meat.

Recently I blogged about a quick Zucchini soup that I threw together with items out of my pantry. It was delicious both hot and cold. http://tiny.cc/h5mb9

Last year I talked about what to do with too much Zucchini: http://tiny.cc/dAmpr (make sure you read the comments, my readers had some fantastic ideas) and preserving the Zucchini harvest by canning sweet (bread and butter style) pickles: http://tiny.cc/mLi2S

[sandygluck]

here's one of my favorites:
take about 5 kiby cukes, cut them in chunks (don't bother peeling) and put them in a food processor along with a small red onion, about a 1/4 cup of walnuts, 2 cups plain yogurt, fresh dill, and a couple of tablespoons of cider or rice vinegar; pulse until not quite smooth and serve icy cold.

[Veronique]

Mine's a post from this time last year, and is far from revolutionary or new since it's a Ratatouille. The main difference with this one is it was made by a six year old boy: http://littleelephants.typepad.com/little_elephants/2007/07/bjrns-ratatouil.html

[Dayna]

Thankfully I've collected a few zucchini recipes but as far as the cukes go, my grandfather used to mix up a mean and utterly simple cucumber salad just with mayo, sour cream, s+p & fresh dill from the garden. It's one of those salads that you have to make about twice the amount you actually think you need, just to get it to the table from snacking.

Zucchini I find more versatile, hence more recipes. Sweet or savoury, they are a treat - now if anyone has a surplus I'd gladly take some.

Zucchini Ginger Scones
http://veganvisitor.wordpress.com/2007/09/25/zucchini-ginger-scones/

Simple Brown Butter Zucchini
http://veganvisitor.wordpress.com/2007/08/08/brown-butter-zucchini/

And for a freezable gift that keeps on giving into fall, is this Savoury Zucchini Bread. Use the dough and bake in mini muffin or Madeleine pans - they freeze well so you can eat them when you, well are ready to eat zucchini again.
http://veganvisitor.wordpress.com/2007/09/01/savory-zucchini-loaf/

[Kathy from Cold Climate Gardening]

Margaret sent me. Here at Purdyville, we actually favor yellow crookneck over bona fide zucchini, but any summer squash will work in my recipes. Baked goods feature prominently for when the nightly saute begins to pall.
http://www.coldclimategardening.com/2008/07/31/summer-squash/

[Kalyn]

Zucchini and cucumbers are two of my favorite summer foods. I have a big vegetable and herb garden, so every summer I'm eagerly looking for new ways to use up the garden produce. Some great ideas here! My favorite new cucumber recipe this year would have to be Cucumber and Yogurt Salad with Feta and Dill:
http://kalynskitchen.blogspot.com/2008/06/cucumber-and-yogurt-salad-recipe-with.html
Simple, but perfect!

I don't think I could never pick just one favorite zucchini recipe, but I recently posted Ten Delicious Zucchini Recipes, all my favorites in one post:
http://kalynskitchen.blogspot.com/2008/07/ten-delicious-zucchini-recipes-for.html

[margaret]

Used to always put up partly cooked trays of zuke parm (sliced lengthwise, layered w/sauce and cheeses etc.) in the freezer for winter. Even the big one (no, not baseball-bat size!) can be used this way.
Great to see you all at the fest...lots of visitors over here and great recipes, too. Now back to my pickling...

[JeanAnnVK]

I have a yummy recipe for zucchini gratin and a pickling recipe for cornichons on Portland Foodie...come and check it out!
http://www.portlandfoodie.com/2008/07/zukes-and-cukes.html

This is a lot of fun...I also have a growing post up at Gardener to Farmer... http://www.gardenertofarmer.net/2008/07/zukes-and-cukes.html