I have been wanting to plant a garden for many years now, and we finally got around to building one this spring.  It was actually being completed the day that I went into labour!

I would encourage anyone with space and the desire to think about planting one for next year. There is something about going to the backyard to get your vegetables that is very satisfying.  I have to say that it is a learning process, we planted way too much zucchini and not enough lettuce…so let me just say that we have had to come up with many different ways to eat zucchini!!   The nice thing about it is that no green thumb is required, so it makes you feel like a real star. You just plant it, and water it a couple of times and a couple of months later you a whole garden full.

That being said, I have included 2 of our favourite summer zucchini recipes!

Grilled Zucchini

This is a very simple cooking method that you can do with any vegetables.  We usually put in zucchini, onions/leeks, tomatoes from the garden and then whatever other vegetables are in season…asparagus, peppers, beans, eggplant, mushrooms.

Many books will recommend that you soak your veggies for 30min before grilling them. We don’t do that, we just purchased a grilling basket and then put them on the top rack of the BBQ on low heat. The concern about the BBQ is the charring, as it can be carcinogenic so it is important to now “blacken” your meat/fish or veggies.

Since coconut oil is very heat stable, we usually melt some coconut oil and then brush our veggies with that.  Mix them with some fresh spices…we planted parsley so we usually use some of that, or you could put in thyme, basil etc.  Let them cook for about 5min or so, stirring them often.  Pull them off of the heat, and add a very small amount of braggs soy sauce to them.  Serve these with fish or organic meats.

Stuffed Zucchini

Recipe serves two as a side dish but is easily doubled.

Ingredients:

• 1 zucchini, freshly picked and washed; scrubbed with a brush if necessary to remove dirt
• 2 tsp. olive oil
• 1 clove garlic, minced or pressed
• 2 tbsp. onions
• ½ – 1 tsp. dried oregano, to taste
• ½ – 1 tsp. dried basil, to taste
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• ½ cup tomato or spaghetti sauce…commercial versions tend to be high in salt, so we usually just crush tomatoes from the garden and then add more basil/oregano to taste
• 2 tbsp. breadcrumbs (we use ezekial or rye)
• 2 tsp. nutritional yeast (This a deactivated yeast that tastes much like parmesan cheese. It is a complete protein that is high in Bvitamins, specifically B12 which is great for vegetarians or vegans. You can find it in the health food section of Zehrs and some say it looks like cornmeal…but I think it looks like fish food!  It is also great as a topping for popcorn.)

Directions:

• Boil zucchini for 10min in hot water
• Preheat oven to 350F
• Sauté onion and garlic in coconut oil for 2-3min
• Add tomato sauce to heat and stir
• Add breadcrumbs, basil and oregano – we like it a little spicy, so usually add some chili powder or cayenne
• Allow zucchini to cool, and then cut in half lengthwise. Use a spoon to scoop the insides out and save in a small bowl. Chop any pieces that are larger than bite size into smaller pieces
• Add the zucchini mix to the sauce mixture
• Fill the empty zucchini with the mixture and top each with nutritional yeast
• Bake for 15min
• ENJOY!

Recipe adapted from http://vegetarian-recipes.suite101.com