Attack of the zucchini!

With a few lingering fears from last year, my husband went ahead and planted two zucchini plants in his 2011 garden. Bugs do not seem to bother zucchini squash. Neglect isn't much of a hazard to these hardy plants. The finger-length squash you may see on the plant one day tends to be ten times the size the very next day as if it is trying to grow it's way into your kitchen. Let's just say that we ate a lot of zucchini last summer and friends seemed to not be at home when we'd come to share our excess produce.

When my husband set out all his carefully nurtured seedlings, some of the other vegetable plants took a day or two to get over the stress of the transplant. Not the zucchini seedlings. The moment they hit the outdoor soil, I'm sure they grew an inch and spread out their leaves and got to the business of populating the world with lots and lots of zucchini. The time our vegetable-eating dog has gotten into the garden, she has pulled up radishes and eaten them happily. She actually pulls tomatoes right off the plants and chowed down. The zucchini plants? She steers clear of them.

I'm already on the look out for zucchini recipes for the upcoming onslaught. I already make a dish with zucchini/garlic/tomato and onion. The key is to not overcook the squash. You still want some crunch. I've made cakes, cookies, and bread out of this hardy green vegetable. I even eat it raw and shredded into salads. Today, however, I ran across yet another recipe that MIGHT have potential. Be warned! I, personally, haven't tried it yet but it sounds like it MIGHT work!

Zucchini Cobbler

8 cups chopped, peeled, seeded zucchini (about 3 lbs.)
⅔ cup lemon juice
1 tablespon grated lemon zest
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon nutmeg

Crust
4 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups sugar
1 ½ cups cold butter or margarine
1 teaspoon cinnamon

In large saucepan over medium to low heat, cook and stir zucchini and lemon juice for 15-25 minutes or until tender. Add sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg. Simmer one minute longer. Remove from heat. Set aside.

For crust, combine flour and sugar in a bowl. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in ½ cup of crust mixture into zucchini mixture. Press half of remaining crust mixture into a greased, 15" x 10" x 1" baking pan. Spread zucchini mixture over top; crumble remaining crust mixture over zucchini. Sprinkle with cinnamon. Bake at 375 degrees for 35-40 minutes or until golden and bubbly. Yield: 16-20 servings.