I Hate Zucchini!

Or at least that's what the MOTH has been telling me for the past eight years.  So, when I decided to include a Zucchini plant in my garden, he was none too happy.

Poor innocent Zucchini plant - so maligned

Then, it started to grow and take over the yard:

And started producing blossoms:

Then, yesterday, I harvested these two babies:

I wanted to make sure my first zucchini dish was something really tasty - mainly so I could say "I told you so."  But I also didn't want to make anything too complicated - something to bring out the natural flavor.

I decided to cut them up into pieces ... 

And roast them in the oven with some tomatoes, onions, herbs, salt and pepper, hot peppers, garlic and a little white wine.

Right at the end, I mixed in a little Parmesan cheese and basil to finish off the dish.  I was hoping I would be able save some to take with me for lunch tomorrow:

Yeah - not happening.  By the end of the evening, the whole dish was gone ...  Apparently, we don't hate zucchini anymore.

Pesto Chicken and Roasted Veggies

I finally got around to harvesting a bunch of my basil, which has been growing like crazy and starting to go to seed.
 

About Four Cups of Basil

I made a big batch of Pesto, using almonds instead of pine nuts, some Parmesan cheese, a few tomatoes and olive oil.

Then I marinated some chicken breast - I decided to splurge and buy locally grown organic chicken, which is about three times the cost of the chicken we usually buy on sale.

I also decided to make a roast vegetable dish to accompany the chicken, so I made a dressing from fresh herbs, red onion, garlic and lime juice:

And mixed it with a variety of chopped vegetables (red and green peppers, asparagus, carrots, tomatoes), which I roasted in the oven:

I browned about half the chicken with onions and garlic and then added some homemade stock and white wine to finish it off.  Then served it with a side of the roast veggies:

The chicken in particular was amazing - using the organic chicken made a huge difference.  Luckily, we still have a batch of marinated chicken left over for another meal.

Stir Fry Chicken and Sauteed Swiss Chard

Up until now, I haven't grown enough Swiss Chard to have more than a few leaves combined in a salad with some other greens.  I've never cooked Swiss Chard in my life.  Yesterday, I felt that I finally had enough of it to make a small side dish of sauteed Swiss Chard, which I decided to serve with some Chicken-Veggie stir fry.

I harvested a bunch of leaves, along with some other herbs:

A Pile of Swiss Chard and Herbs, Freshly Picked

Swiss Chard, Ready to be Chopped

I used the herbs for the stir-fry, which I made with some chicken breast marinated overnight in a cilantro-scallion sauce.  Clockwise from the top left, the herbs are:  Oregano, Sage, Tarragon, Parsley, with Basil in the center:

I found nice, simple recipe for sauteed Swiss Chard on-line, but substituted thinly sliced Shallots and some diced Scallions (leftover from the night before) for the red onions.  I also used a bit less butter, olive oil and cheese than the recipe calls for.

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 1/2 small red onion, diced (I used shallots and a few scallions)
• 1 bunch Swiss chard, stems and center ribs cut out and chopped together, leaves coarsely chopped separately
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice, or to taste
• 2 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• salt to taste (optional)

Directions 

Melt butter and olive oil together in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Stir in the garlic and onion, and cook for 30 seconds until fragrant. Add the chard stems and the white wine. Simmer until the stems begin to soften, about 5 minutes. Stir in the chard leaves, and cook until wilted. Finally, stir in lemon juice and Parmesan cheese; season to taste with salt if needed.

Chicken-veggie stir fry and sauteed Swiss Chard

The Swiss Chard was a big hit with the Moth and I have to admit myself that it was very tasty.  I think chopping up the stems and center ribs of the Swiss Chard and cooking them first - before adding the leaves - is key.

Vegetable Plot Progress

I thought it was about time to show the progress of my little veggie plot.  I started preparing the plot back in early March, by marking out a 3 foot by 6 foot space on the sunniest side of my house with a spade.
 

I covered the sod with newspaper, watered it, and covered that with layers of dead leaves, compost, soil and manure.  Then I covered all that with black plastic and let it bake for several weeks.

When it began getting warm near the end of May, I decided it was time to start transplanting.  I started by planting with tomatoes (which I had been growing from seeds inside) along the back row.  In front of those, I put a variety of peppers (both hot and sweet) and some basil and parsley.  Here is how it looked after the initial planting.  There is also a pot of greens (lettuce and swiss chard) next to it, which I later moved to a shadier side of the house:

The Veggie Plot on May 23, 2012

Well my poor little veggie plot was inundated with insects, so I read everything I could find on-line and in my gardening books about how to control them organically.  As a result, I learned that interplanting marigolds, geraniums, onions, and certain herbs - such as sage and mint - can deter insects, so I did that.  I added a pot of geraniums on one side and a pot of mint on the other.

Around this time, I also planted a little zucchini plant on the front right corner of the plot:

The Veggie Plot on June 4, 2012

And a little summer squash plant on the front left corner of the plot:

Please make a note of how close the squash plant on the left front corner
is to the white geranium and the yellow marigold ...

 I had quite a few left over tomato plants, so I decided to put those in pots next to the veggie plot, along with a little pot of chives and some parsley:

Tomato plants in pots

Eventually, however, I knew the tomatoes would outgrow those small pots.  But I didn't want to spend a lot of money on large pots.  Then I came up with an idea.  These buckets cost about $2.98 at Home Depot:

Meet Homer

I had bought a couple of them previously to use for various gardening and household tasks.

So, I bought a few more:

Drilled some holes in the bottom:

Instant Tomato Pot!

I spent a weekend transplanting tomatoes into my new Homer Pots:

Tomato Pot Alley, on June 10, 2012

Here is the Veggie plot that same day - I mulched it with some dried leaves:

Veggie Plot - June 10, 2012

Hmm . . . squash plant getting a bit bigger ....

 I took a photo of my first hot peppers that day:

A green one

And a little tiny purple one - supposed to be very hot!

The tomato vines were starting to grow longer, so I started tying them to the bamboo posts with twine:

Also, on June 10, I had a little tiny harvest of greens:

Which I made into a tiny salad for dinner:

So Tiny ...

We had the salad for dinner, along with chicken stir fry made with some fresh herbs from the garden

Here is the Veggie garden, on June 13, just a few days later:

The next big events occurred on or about June 30:

OMG!!!!!  Tomatoes!!!!!

OMG!  The Veggie Plot!

It Lives!!!!!

Pretty blooms on the (now gigantic) squash plant:

The poor white geranium has no chance ....

 More hot peppers (pepper shown in previous photo has now been eaten):

And here is tomato pot row on June 30:

The following day, we had another harvest:

Bunch of cilantro, parsley and other herbs, and a hot pepper

I made some scallion-cilantro sauce, which I've been using to marinate chicken:

I also made some cilantro-lime dressing, which I've used for stir fry, salad dressing, and to make some spicy cilantro scrambled eggs for breakfast this morning:

I also made some fresh salsa:

Finally, a few photos from the garden today:

That little squash plant and that little zucchini plant have taken over,
and the tomatoes are reaching the tops of their bamboo stakes

Some beets I planted from seeds several weeks ago

Tomatoes

Close-up of squash plant

Another tiny purple pepper

More hot green peppers

I am also overrun with basil, so this weekend I will be making pesto sauce and freezing it for future use.

So, just to summarize -

Before:

And After: