I love that old Marco series.

Me too. It's so right place, right time.

I will soon have twelve tons of zucchini and yellow squash. Please post useful and elegant recipes to reduce my anticipated stockpile. Thanks.

Take 6 tons of zucchini and turn it into compost. Use the compost in the garden and have 15 tons of zucchini next year. Repeat until you have infinity zucchini.

Buy a large quantity of paper bags equal to twenty times the number of neighbors within a reasonable commute. Pick the squashes once every other day and distribute them between a number of bags equal to to the number of neighbors. Deliver the squash laden bags to the neighbors. Repeat for the next 40 days. It is best to knock the first few times you deliver them to ensure they know you have it in for them. The last ten or so deliveries are best made at night and it is wise to keep your headlights off as you approach.*

It is important that you stop after forty days to allow the remaining fruit to grow to weaponry size.

*also don't wear squeeky shoes.

Oh boy!!!

Do you have tomatoes too, any eggplants?


I will have to ask my parents that have the same problem you do right now in their own garden. They simply give all friends and relatives what they cant cook and store. If all people in a community did that they could all save a great deal of money by the way in a period of crisis. Many fully unemployed people wouldnt probably reject spending 2-3 hours per day to take care of a garden in the neighborhood in exchange for 3 eggs, a 1 lt of milk, a kgr of vegetables a kgr of fruit etc every 2 days which basically could cover 70% of their diet if they cant find any job anywhere.

Until i get more ideas from family here it goes;

(the next is probably Turkish, Greek, French or some combination)



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ratatouille

also called "briam" in Greece;
http://m.allrecipes.com/recipe/14440...ce/?mxt=t06rda

http://greekfood.about.com/od/vegeta...vory-Sauce.htm


Of course the all time super classics;

like famous moussaka

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moussaka
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Grilled-Eggplant-Moussaka/

and of course the rice stuffed vegetables; (requires oven)

http://kalisasorexi.com/2011/01/gemi...uffed-peppers/



Where you can use instead of mostly stuffed tomatoes and peppers, stuffed zucchini in their place all else the same (or add less tomatoes and more zucchini to match what you have more available in excessive abundance) eg like in another way;

http://www.closetcooking.com/2007/07...ourgettes.html


How about something simple too using scrambled eggs;

http://m.allrecipes.com/recipe/19582...gs/?mxt=t06rda



If you dont mind frying you can also cut them (zucchini or squash) in thin slices and use flour on them to cover (like you would do with fish before frying) and then fry like you would french fries and serve as appetizer. You do not fry them a lot, probably less than you would do for french fries, but similar conditions.

Maybe like http://m.allrecipes.com/recipe/20889...ni/?mxt=t06rda

Serious Greek-related question. The stuffed grape leaves that have the smooth texture to the filling. How the **** to the chin-whispered old women do that?

Every time I try it, I get something crumbly.

Thanks Masque - good variety and great suggestions.

What are you using as the stuffing?

Standard meat and rice mixture that you see on any internet site.

It ends up looking like masque's stuffed peppers pic.

That is a question for mom. So you want to know how they manage to keep it firm?

You are talking about
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dolma

http://www.food.com/recipe/dolmadaki...-leaves-232806




Let me tell you you are very brave to try to cook such dishes as it is regardless of outcome, i am sure it is good in the end and the finesse is a detail indeed for specialists like mom that will stay forever untouchable lol. I personally havent tried recently to cook this.

Many of these dishes require such effort to prepare that you really earn the calories you then receive in advance.

My first guess it that it's the rice. If you're looking for a creamier, risotto-like texture, use a rice that you would use for risotto.

My second guess is that it's just a moisture issue. If you cook your rice so that you get nice fluffy and separate grains, you shouldn't expect that cooking it in a grape leaf will change that. But if you increase the amount of liquid you use in the rice, you'll get a different texture. Don't go so far as to make congee, but maybe do something closer to 3:1 water/rice ratio. I think this will also make it somewhat starchier (see first guess), and that might make the different you're looking for.

If you're looking for a more adventurous thing to do, try making a panade and adding it to the stuffing. I have no idea how that will work, but an old-world technique of extending the filling and making use of leftover bread sounds like something that old Italian women would do.

I think that me attempting to cook a meal doesn't quite amount to me showing bravery.

The pick you showed doesn't compare. It was a smooth filling. No notable grains of rice.

I am thinking that it might have been bread crumbs rather than rice...

The bravery is in taking the time to do a low probability to be perfect (until you master it) attempt that takes substantial effort, resources, preparation (many ingredients are not available at home right away) and commitment to deliver the final product. It takes care that most people are unwilling to offer (eg other easier dishes are available to them). This is why you deserve credit for trying it. I will ask mom to tell me how it stays firm and doesnt crumple. The filling/moisture may have a role also.

Also how do you cook them (what is the exact ingredients in the filling, these are mostly rice and then some other things,so its more "solid" and firm), do you put them on top of each other in a pot (duration, temperature, do you add water to it, i have to check all these things to find out more).

They also use cabbage leaves for similar dish that requires special white/lemon sauce you would like.

http://ellysaysopa.com/2008/03/02/la...th-avgolemono/

Still has nothing to do with bravery at all. I can throw out a couple of pounds of meat that I've ruined with nearly nothing resembling a consequence and put a call out for chinese or pizza.

Found this which seems worth trying: Baked Zucchini Fries


Did lunch today that turned out very good. My take on zucchini and scrambled eggs from above.

Sautéed diced zucchini and yellow squash and onions in a pan using olive oil and a little butter. Med heat. I cut some fresh dill and basil and cilantro from my herb garden and added a liberal amount. Added a dash of salt. Sautéed until squash were soft, then drained out the olive oil. Added butter to pan. Added 3 eggs (whisked with some whole milk) to pan and slow cooked until eggs were done. Very delicious with the combination of herbs giving the mixture a wonderful taste. You could just use one herb for this recipe depending on what you like. I have been making scrambled eggs with fresh dill for breakfast. Also very tasty. This works with well with cilantro too.

Had fresh shisheto* peppers from the garden. They are delicious and have a very pleasant mild taste. Just sauté them using some good quality light olive oil; add some salt and fresh ground pepper and cook over med to med-high heat. Use a splatter screen if you want. Cook until the peppers blister and become a soft brown color.

Just drain and eat hot when done.







*Have to misspell the word because of the damn obscene filter. ****

Zucchini boats and eventually zucchini bread will be necessitated.

Eating the flowers slows down the fruit production a bit if you are getting behind.

You can also eat them raw when they are very small. Just bite one end off and toss the rest away. Quickly, before they multiply beyond the size of the earth!

I use small/standard size ones raw in salads all the time.

In fact, my dinner last night was a salad of chickpeas (garbanzos), grated carrot and zucchini, with finely sliced onion, chilli, bell pepper and pickled beetroot, all mixed up in a spiced tahini/yogurt dressing.

Very colourful, tasty, and healthy.

Funnily enough a friend just stopped by and dropped off these, the first crop from her allotment, so I'm going to have to give some of these recipes a go over the weekend.

That looks a bit like a Global knife, thethethe.

I love my Global knife.

First 'large' harvest of yellow squash and zucchini*, pic taken by garden. The yellow squash are either straight or crookneck varieties. Ask your woman which one she likes best**.

Flood irrigation is the nuts. Note that I have a secret anti-gravity machine so I can water sideways and 'upside down'.

*already have a few in the frig.

** Btm's woman answer to this question will reveal a great deal.

First attempt at zucchini boats. Went well and actually quite tasty.



I used sausage, onion, and zucchini chop and sautéed with some garlic and dill. What helped is that after hollowing out the zucchini halves, I dropped them into boiling water for about a 1 minute or so. This softens them. I put the sautéed mixture into each half and then baked for about 20 minutes in 400 degree oven. Grated fresh parmesan cheese to top off. Yummy.

I will try this with various types of sausage for the meat. Lucky for me I can get a variety of hand made sausage within an easy drive, excellent and made daily by a Swiss couple.