Final gifts of summer

The garden has its autumn look about it. There is carnage among the sunflowers. We had four separate storms this summer and early fall that came weeks, even months apart but each took their toll. The last one was the final straw. The downed sunflowers block most of the garden paths but they will stay for a while. There is nothing urgent I need to tend and they are covered still with bees and goldfinches harvesting their bounty.

The tomatoes are pretty much done except for one lone cherry tomato that just won’t give up.

The final gifts of the summer garden give way to a stunning fall

A neighbor texted me to tell me of one of the sure signs of fall. The geese are flocked up in the creek. She also warned that tonight’s temperatures are expected to drop into the 40s for the first time this season. With that alert, I headed out to the garden to pull the last of the basil before the cold put it beyond use. Harvesting the basil brought some unexpected gifts.

My pole beans that gave up during August’s drought had five beautiful beans at the top of the trellis. Surprise!

An eggplant hid a small round fruit under its worn leaves and several peppers flashed red showing they were ready. I brought them all inside to a kitchen that is delicately perfumed with a pot of simmering quince. (More about that in my next post.)

Hectic summer slows its pace

It has been more than two months since I wrote a piece for this blog. The summer turned out to be crazy and each time I sat down to write, something came up. I had been working on a post about growing and cooking zucchinis but even though there are plenty still at the market, tips on growing them seem out of place with the changing season.

The last zucchini I harvested managed to hide and became a monster! A foot long! I really thought it would be too tough and mealy inside to cook but amazingly it was very tender and didn’t even have much in the way of seeds!

So this piece is a grateful thanks for the final gifts of the summer season, while I look forward to what fall will bring.

In the meantime, one of my favorite zucchini recipes this summer was a creamy quinoa and vegan sausage stuffed zucchini.

Creamy Quinoa Stuffed Zucchini

Start by preheating the oven to 350. Then take your zucchini (Average sized ones will cook better than my monster.) and scoop it out leaving about 1/4 inch shell. Chop up the zucchini you just scooped out and set it aside. Then chop the veggie sausage in 1/4 to 1/2 inch pieces. You could even put in a ground sausage but I prefer the chew of small pieces.

Add the Sausage and the chopped zucchini to a skillet and saute over medium heat in a little bit of olive oil. When it’s browned, move it to a bowl and set aside.

Season two cups of cooked quinoa with 1/4 teaspoon of onion powder, 1/4 teaspoon of garlic powder and salt and pepper to taste, then add the quinoa to the bowl with the sausage and mix to combine.

Mix the cashew cream (see https://creeksidekitchenandgarden.com/springs-first-planting-is-easy-and-early-peas/ for Easy Cashew Cream directions) and enough water to make a sauce the consistency of heavy cream and add it to the bowl. Stir to combine. At this point the filling should be a little soupy because it will thicken up some as it bakes but you don’t want it too runny. I think the roughly 1/3 cup of liquid total is just about right.

Oil a small baking dish and place the zucchini shells in the dish lightly coating the shells with olive oil as well. Salt and pepper the inside of the shells. Add the stuffing mixture to the shells and place in the oven and bake for about 25 minutes until zucchini is almost cooked through. (My monster zucchini took longer but regular sized zucchini should take about 25 minutes to this point.)

While the zucchini is baking, mix the Panko bread crumbs in a small bowl with a scant tablespoon of olive oil, a tablespoon of lemon juice and sprinkling of lemon zest.

After about 25 minutes, remove the zucchini from the oven and top with the breadcrumb mixture and bake for 10 minutes more or until zucchini shells are tender and the breadcrumbs are browned.

Serve with lemon wedges to add additional lemon flavor, or top with additional cashew cream and a sprinkling of smoked paprika. (Optional)

I think this goes well with either a light red wine or a fruity white. Enjoy!

Ingredients

• 2 medium zucchini
• Olive oil
• 2 cups cooked quinoa
• 1 chopped vegan sausage (I used Tofurky Italian Sausage)
• 1/2 cup of panko breadcrumbs
• Lemon
• 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 cup cashew cream
• 2 tablespoons water
• Salt and pepper

Directions

• Preheat oven to 350.
• Scoop out zucchini leaving about 1/4 inch shell.
• Chop up the zucchini you just scooped out and set aside.
• Chop the veggie sausage in 1/4 to 1/2 inch pieces according to your taste.
• Add the Sausage and the chopped zucchini to a skillet and saute over medium heat in a little bit of olive oil. When it’s browned, add it to a bowl and set aside.
• Season two cups of cooked quinoa with 1/4 teaspoon of onion powder, 1/4 teaspoon of garlic powder and salt and pepper to taste.
• Add the quinoa to the bowl with the sausage and mix to combine.
• Mix the cashew cream and enough water to make the consistency of heavy cream and add it to the bowl. Stir to combine.
• Oil a small baking dish and place the zucchini shells in the dish lightly coating the zucchini shells with olive oil as well. Salt and pepper the inside of the shells.
• Add the stuffing mixture to the shells and place in the oven and bake for about 25 minutes until zucchini is almost cooked through. (My monster zucchini took longer but regular sized zucchini should take about 25 minutes to this point.)
• Mix Panko with about a scant tablespoon of olive oil, a tablespoon of lemon juice and sprinkling of lemon zest.
• After about 25 minutes, remove the zucchini from the oven and top with the breadcrumb mixture and bake for 10 minutes more or until zucchini shells are tender and the breadcrumbs are browned.
• Serve with lemon wedges to add additional lemon flavor, if desired or top with additional cashew cream and a sprinkling of smoked paprika.