Zucchini

 
Last night we enjoyed our first farm raised zucchini, and it was delish! I sliced it up, along with some broccoli, onion, and carrots, and cooked it all up in my new All-Clad stir fry pan. I was very excited for this pan to arrive, and it didn't disappoint! The veggies cooked up beautifully! I also cooked up some chicken breast, following this recipe (almost exactly ... not quite). Mmmmm...good.

 
The slices were so tender and juicy, and it couldn't have been any fresher unless I gnawed it off the plant in the garden! *giggle*

 
By the looks of things, we'll be enjoying zucchini for some time. 

 
Time to do some more picking! I think this will be dinner tomorrow!

PS: I just came in from locking up the chickens and watering the plants, and the zuc in the last photo above is noticeably larger than it was earlier today! Holy moley, they grow fast!

PSS: Does anyone have a FoodSaver? And if so, do you like it?

Comments

[Jenn Marks]

Ok, I'm late posting to this - check out the Dehydrate2Store.com blog - Tammy dehydrates everything you can imagine. She doesn't use a Foodsaver as she does a much higher volume of vacuum packing - she uses a Weston - my dream. Her daughter uses a Foodsaver. The secret is in the bags - use a better quality bag, 3-4 ml and you can help prevent freezer burn, tears etc and your food will stay fresh longer. In these days of rising prices - that's a very good deal. Now zucchini, mmm I love it - slice it and make your own dehydrated chips, zucchini pickles, bread, stir fry - I want to try a salsa with it....

[Andrea S.]

Love the food saver. I have an older one, the newer ones are even nicer. Get one!

[Charlene]

Love my Foodsaver! We figured even with the cost of bags, it's saved us hundreds of dollars over the years in meat and cheese...no freezer burn, no mold.

Great blog! Happy blogaversary

[PatM]

They look so yummy. I'll take mine sliced in strips, breaded and deep fried, thank you very much ;)
Mum use to make Stewed Zucchini then jarred/canned it and later were added to soups and stews or served hot over Italian style bread with Parmesan cheese on top. Or after cutting into round slices she would dip them in egg yokes and fry them for breakfast. She use to do that with eggplant too. Would some of your farm critters would enjoy them raw?
See my mouth is watering for them now, umm.
Huggins
Pat

[diane mcvey]

Yum...I need to go to the Farmer's Market. I don't know if it's started here yet or not! I just love the fresh produce, though. So much better than what the store has!
I used to use a Food Saver, years ago. They do take up space on the counter, and the bags are expensive. If there is another kind, with zipper bags like someone said, I'd look into that. There's so many great things available now! But vacuum sealing IS a good thing! :D It really helps with freshness and freezer burn (and great for cheese in the fridge, too)...

[Sue]

You can stuff the flowers and cook them too :-)
I can see you will be soon under siege from the attack of the killer zucchini!!! LOL You'll never want to see one again by the end of the Summer...until next Spring anyway...

[leslie]

The bright yellow flower on the zucchini is edible and good for you! Fun to add to the dish for decor and eat for a treat!
Try slicing the zucchine thin and frying for 20 min in olive oil and during the last few minutes top with fresh real Parmesan!
We didn't care for the food saver. We didn't notice a difference and it was to slow and too much work compared to the zip lock bags. Definetely was worthless for this huge garden family!

[Sandy]

Couldn't live without the foodsaver.
I use it for LOTS of things. I cook ahead and freeze for healthy meals for lunch at the office or when I don't have time to cook at night. Things that are liquidy I freezer in zip-lock freezer containers over night and then transfer to the foodsaver bags. No freezer burn and a lot less freezer space. Last year I was in a CSA and bought a second freezer. My foodsaver gets no rest!

[Diana Gibbs]

We have a FoodEater and that is my son Eric, he hides his food but does not have a problem eating all ours...ha!

Love the garden pictures.

Oh and to your commenter Amy, please ask what cookbook the recipe was in and if you could do them as pancakes.

Hugs,
Di

[Sonya]

I have a Foodsaver...actually its my second one as the first had to be 'put out to pasture' after 10+ years of service. Bought it from Costco. Love it!!!!! You should get one - you won't be disappointed. I use mine mostly for meat but its also great for berries, spices, marshmallows...anything you don't use a lot of but don't want to waste.

[Kellie]

yes to the food saver...only two of us,,but I use it for meats/green beans/strawberries/other fruits..and yes I love it..sometimes we double seal the bags as depending on the bag brand...they do'nt always seal the greatest, or else our machine is getting old...anyway...its very useful.

[Darlene L]

Oh so yummy looking. I read your tip about snipping off the top of the tomato plant, but afraid to try it--I have 4 tomatoes already but alas a long time before they are ripe I think.

I have a foodsaver and love it--especially for meats. I like to buy in bulk, we are out in the country and it saves trips to the store.

[Dotty]

Can't help you out with the foodsaver, but the zucchini looks yummy!!

[jenny4wheel]

We have a foodsaver and like it. We use it mainly for freezing meat. We'd probably use it more if we had the counterspace to just leave it out. It's definitely a must have appliance in my book...just for stocking up on chicken breast when it's on sale!!

[Kimberly O'Rosky]

Love zucchini and we have tried out some new recipes with it lately. Made this one over the weekend. Perfect side dish with pasta: http://thepioneerwoman.com/tasty-kitchen/recipes/salads/carpaccio-di-zucchini/
Made these last month and they were a huge hit: http://thepioneerwoman.com/tasty-kitchen/recipes/breads/zucchini-muffins/
Hope y'all are getting some rain today. Been pouring since 3 this morning here!

[Kim Howard]

Fantastic pics of your zucchini's! They do tend to grow so fast. Funny you mentioned eating chicken breasts the other day as I had a conversation with a friend & was mentioning to her I wondered if you ate meat :-) You just answered my question.

[Veee]

Thank you for your blog and the photos.
I love, love, love the Food Saver. I had the early Seal-A-Meal and liked it too so I don't know that it has to be that brand. I also use the ZipLoc vac bags for short term or things that I need to get into ofter (like Ted's pepperoni!) but they do not hold a seal for very long were the heat sealed bags do.

[MaryAnn Grove]

I have had a food saver since my eldest began college. I would cook large quanities on the weekends, seal them in the food saver, store them in the freezer. when she and the others, later on, came home on weekends the would take the food back with them. I knew they were getting nutricious meals and not always junk food. and the hated cafeteria food. althouh she has been out of college for over twenty years my food saver still get a good work out for hubby and me.

[margaret]

Oops; forgot to mention cheese in the rice/veggies mixture; I liked to use a white cheese -- monterey jack to help bind it all together. Not too much, but enough to hold the mix together when it is heated.

[margaret]

You just can't wait on some of those just "perfect" sized zucchinis -- even 8 hours can turn them into "monsters"!!! (Thus speaketh the voice of experience!!!) As well as zucchini bread, you can take that over-sized monster, slice it length-wise, scrap out and discard the over-sized seeds in the center. Then scrape out the rest of the center "meat", stir fry with whatever additional veggies you like (onion, roma tomato) mix with cooked rice (white or brown) then stuff that mixture BACK into the zucchini and bake about 20 minutes at 350 degrees (or until the squash is fork-tender). Yum!! One of the ways that I used the monsters in my vegetarian/frugal college days. Enjoy your garden; thanks for posting photos. My backyard is still very desert landscaped (in AZ), but next fall I'm gonna get started again. Your garden is a great inspiration to me.

[Susan F.]

LOVE my FoodSaver & would highly recommend it

[Carol Dee]

I fixed store bought zucchini 2 nights ago and my son asked if it was our lasto ne! He sure does not like it. LOL. So far our plants are not as big as in the past. DH thinks the kids poison them :) We usually pick them small and stir fry. If they get too big I grate them for breads and cakes. The food saver is out of "sight out of mind." I even forget we own one! I sure go through the zip lock bags. Hugs...

[Sally]

Wow, now thats a lot of zucchini. I have a wonderful recipe for zucchini bisque if you run out of things to make with your harvest.

[Katarina M]

Wish I could have a garden... Anyway, about the Foodsaver. I have one and hardly ever use it. It's too big to sit out on the counter all the time, so out of sight out of mind. Also, the bags are a pain to use. Now, the new handheld one that I saw recently might be better. I bought a different brand that's does the same thing, and I use it all the time. The bags are zip style and a snap to vacuum seal/reseal. I love it, and it keeps food fresh much, much longer.

[Lisa Bakovic]

Hi Anna!

I want to be your neighbor! mysterious zukes appearing on my front porch...oh yeah!

[Carolyn G.]

I love my foodsaver. I got it for Christmas 2-3 years ago, and it really does help foods keep much longer. If you're freezing things with any amount of juice though, freeze it in the bag first, then seal it after it's mostly solid. When the vacuum kicks on, it will suck the juice where the seal will be and break the good seal. I have a wonder recipe for zucchini relish if you are interested. It takes 10 cups of zucchini, which shouldn't be a problem with your supply!

[Shala]

The stir-fry recipe looks great! But, when you are using carrots in stir-fry, it's a nuisance to slice them. Harder to pick up with chopsticks. Instead, hold the carrot upright and cut long chunks off, cutting downwards as you rotate the carrot. Give it more cooking space as well.
I 'spect in a week we'll be hearing from your neighbours that you are sneaking zucchini onto their porches late at night! :))

[Sandy H]

Anna, use the big ones for Zucchini bread, I have a great recipe that adds crushed pineapple and I substitute chocolate chips for the raisins, um-um-good. And I have a great Chocolate Zucchini cake recipe, so moist, it is fabulous. Zucchini grow very quickly! They are great sliced long ways, add some olive oil, some seasoning and throw them on the grill. Yummy. Now I have made myself hungry, lol.

[PeggyF(lefsegirl)]

Oh, forgot to mention to use the big, ugly zucchini for the pie. Save the nice small ones for cooking.

[Rebecca Ednie]

I love my Food Saver. You mean a vaccuum packing machine right? We don't use it as much as we used to but it is great. Just be willing to wash the bags and reuse them for the best value. You can put them in the DW but it is hard to position them so they stay open and don't flip. They do work wonderfully though. The seal always stayed good, the bags were quite strong for freezer or boil in bag use (takes longer than I thought though) and they really do prolong the life of many items. We used to use it for cheese but with 2 cheese living kids, we go through it fast enough we don't need it much for that. We sure got out money's worth though and after 10 years, it still works great! Oh, the containers For cereal, flour etc didn't work though (lost the vaccuum quite quickly) but they probably redesigned em by now.

[PeggyF(lefsegirl)]

Foodsaver, I don't use much. I find it a 'hassle' to save things for just the two of us. Here is a recipe from the UW-Madison Nutritionist for a Zucchini 'Mock' Apple Pie. It is Delish! People who have tried it don't believe that there are not apples in the pie. Enjoy!
http://www.channel3000.com/food/17275085/detail.html

[Amy]

We are on our second foodsaver (the first one finally died) and we LOVE it!
I have a great recipe for zucchini waffles that are savory. If you would like I could email it to you (It is from a cookbook and I couldn't find it anywhere online for free so don't want to just post it here...)
Enjoy your homegrown food!
Amy