Don’t know what to do with all your zucchini?

I didn’t plant any zucchini in my garden – I planted two yellow squash plants, which are producing at an acceptable but not out of control rate.  A few weeks ago, I traded some yellow squash for zucchini from a friend who has two zucchini plants that just basically exploded, growing full size fruits basically overnight.

Here is a solution for both of us.

Pisto Manchego and Eggs

Its here!  Garden fresh veggies in abundance!  My squash have recovered from whatever was ailing them, and I’ve harvested quite a few, with many more blossoms growing.  The cherry tomatoes are sweet and ripe, the peas are absolutely perfect, and the peppers are crisp and tasty.

This summer I am making a concerted effort to eat more homemade whole-food meals, and not use canned or boxed foods for the most part (exceptions for whole wheat pastas, couscous, and brown rice).  The big challenge is to plan ahead so that I always have something fresh ready to be made into a meal.  Its much easier to do so when so many fresh ingredients are growing right on the back deck!

The other night, I decided to make the “Pisto Manchego” from Martha Rose Shulman’s NYT column.  I added a red bell pepper and used cherry tomatoes instead of canned.  Paired with some crispy kale, this was a seriously incredible summer meal.  Tonight I made a delicious pureed soup of corn, summer squash, hot peppers, and shallots.  Tomorrow?  Perhaps a carrot soup & a pesto & tomato sandwich.