End of Summer is Squash time in the garden. There is a proliferation of Zucchini coming off the vines. Rather than eating zukes until we can't look at them anymore, I've been casting about to find different ways to preserve them so that we can enjoy them into the fall, and possibly the winter.

Here are the three things we’ve made this month using zucchinis that turned out fabulously.

I wasn’t sure how this was going to go. Frankly, I was a Dill pickle-making nube. But I had made mango and carrot pickle, Indian style from scratch before .  So I went in using that knowledge to mix it up in the recipes I found. Here is what happened:

• The pickles were dead easy to make;
• the recipes were simple to tweak based on favourite ingredients and what was on hand;
• the zuke pickles were edible within a week of making;
• my son demolished an entire 500ml bottle’s worth in a few days, crunching them down on their own or layering them into sandwiches.

So, all in all, Zuke Pickle was a big hit!

THE RECIPE

• Prep time: 10 minutes
• Cook time: 30 minutes
• Makes four 500ml jars of zuke pickles
  
  

Ingredients
2 pounds small zucchini (preferably about 4" or 8" long), trimmed and cut into spears
4 tablespoons coarse sea salt or pickling salt, divided
2 teaspoons yellow or brown mustard seeds
1 teaspoon coriander seeds
1 teaspoon dill seeds
1/4 teaspoon saffron threads
4 star anise clove
12 garlic cloves, halved
4 red jalapeños or Fresno chilies, split lengthwise
2 1/2 cups white wine vinegar
1 cup water
1/4 cup sugar

Preparation

1. Place zucchini spears in a large bowl. Add 2 tablespoons salt and 4 cups ice. Add cold water to cover. Top with a plate to keep zuke spears submerged. Let sit for 2 hours. Drain; rinse.
2. Divide next 7 ingredients between 4 clean 500ml  jars. Put zucchini spears into jars. You want them packed snugly.
3. Bring vinegar, sugar, water and remaining 2 tablespoons of salt to a boil in a large saucepan.
   
4. Divide hot syrup between jars to cover zucchini, leaving 1/2" space on top. Wipe rims, seal, and process in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes. Allow at least a week to pickle before eating.
   
   

We love a good veggie spread at our house. There is nothing more satisfying than a Baba Ganoush  or a humus and pita with a Greek salad on the side on a hot summer day. So when we stumbled across Zucchini Butter, we knew this would be a winner. It's basically Zucchini with a bit of butter, garlic and herbs, cooked down to a spreadable consistency. We have been eating it on baguette slices as an appy; in a veggie panini with Havarti cheese; and as a BBQ meat topper. It rocks in a burger or a-top a steak as an alternative to sauteed mushrooms. Added bonus: It keeps up to 2 weeks in the fridge and up to a year in the freezer. 

THE RECIPE

• Prep time: 10 minutes
• Cook time: 1 hour
  
• Makes two 500ml jars worth
  
  

Ingredients
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
5 garlic cloves, gently smashed
2 large zucchini, cut into 1/2 inch cubes (about 2 pounds)
5-6 springs of  rosemary (thyme and/or oregano is also good here)
1/2 teaspoon finely milled sea salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Preparation

1. In a large skillet over medium heat, put in the olive oil and butter;  allow them to melt together. Roughly chop the smashed garlic and add it to the pan. Add the zucchini cubes.
2. Cook for 15-20 minutes, until the zucchini has begun to soften. Strip the herb leaves off their stems and add them to the pan.
3. Reduce the heat and continue to cook, stirring often. The goal is to cook the liquid out of the zucchini and melt it into a flavorful, spreadable paste. If at any point, the zucchini starts to brown and stick, add a splash of liquid (water is fine, though if you have an open bottle, a little white wine is also delicious) and reduce the heat a bit more.
4. Total cooking time should be around an hour.
5. Once cooked, divide the spread between two 500ml canning jars. Store in the fridge for two weeks. Store in the freezer (in jar) for up to a year.
   
   

This recipe uses grated zucchini, picked fresh from the garden, semi-sweet chocolate chips and cocoa powder. The moisture from the zucchini gives the bread a decidedly brownie-like texture. Not complaining. Not now. Not ever! I’m loving this bread with a scoop of ice cream or a bit of custard and whipped cream. Okay, I’m now officially drooling!

I didn’t use all the zuke I grated so I measured out two cups, the amount needed for a loaf of Zuke bread, bagged and froze it for later use. This way we can keep enjoying Chocolate Zucchini Bread right through the fall, possibly winter.

THE RECIPE

• Prep time: 10 minutes
• Cook time: 1 hour, 10 minutes
• Makes 1 loaf
  
  

Ingredients
2 cups grated zucchini (fresh or frozen then thawed)
1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa (use natural unsweetened cocoa, NOT Dutch processed)
1 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon instant coffee granules (optional)
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup nuts or seeds (optional)
2 eggs
6T tbsp unsalted butter, melted OR sunflower oil
1 teaspoon Vanilla extract

Preparation

1. If using frozen grated zucchini, remove from freezer and let thaw. Drain excess moisture from grated zucchini: Place the freshly grated zucchini in a sieve over a bowl and let gravity drain out any excess moisture, while you work on prepping the other ingredients.
2. Preheat oven to 350°F, with a rack in the middle. Grease one 9x5-inch loaf pan with oil or butter. Add a dusting of flour if  your loaf pan is NOT non-stick.
3. In a mixing bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa, baking soda, salt, cinnamon until there are no clumps. Stir in chocolate chips and nuts (or seeds).
4. In a separate large bowl, beat together the sugar and eggs until smooth, about a minute. Add the melted butter, instant coffee granules, and Vanilla extract and beat until smooth.
5. Stir zucchini and chocolate chips into sugar egg mixture, add flour mixture: Mix the shredded zucchini into the sugar and egg mixture.
6. Pour the wet ingredients over the dry and stir until thoroughly combined.
7. Pour mixed batter into prepared loaf pan and bake for 50 minutes at 350°F, or until a skewer inserted into the center comes out clean and easily.
8. Cool: Remove to a rack. Let cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then run a blunt knife around the edges to separate the bread from the pan. Remove from the loaf pans and let cool completely on a rack.
   Note that if you try to slice the chocolate zucchini bread before it has completely cooled, it will be rather crumbly. It's also easiest to slice with a bread knife.

Zucchini has not been a favourite with my kids over the years. They've always found it bland or too mushy, though I was always able to sneak it in with chocolate. And now, we have definitely upped our zucchini game. Plus, cooking with food harvested fresh from my garden is bringing me a lot of joy and satisfaction. 

What have you been making out of zucchini lately?

Spring is a time of New Beginnings. Historically it was a time for celebrating sowing seeds, fertility, renewal and hope. But what does marking this season-change look like in the 21st Century, when our lives are not as driven by agriculture and planting cycles? Spring is a great time to examine the year just passed, to clean out the old, then re-evaluate, plan, and germinate the new.

Last year I read Marie Kondo’s The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up. I was utterly impressed that the author was able to turn her OCD into a business and a best selling book! Of her entire de-cluttering methodology, the part that stayed with me is keep only that which gives you joy. De-cluttering is seriously underway in our house right now, using the “Joy Method”. When you clear out physical junk and mental clutter, you make room for new stuff and, more importantly, new ideas and new experiences.

Spring Cleaning also extends to your inner world. Your thought patterns directly impact how you feel. In my self-evaluation, I realize I have a lot of thoughts that come up out of fears based on past negative experiences. I feel anxious when these thoughts overtake me. I do not feel joy or a sense of peaceful well being. When it comes to my thoughts, I have a choice. I can keep on in the same fear pattern and expect the same result. Or I can Recognize it, Review it and Replace it.

To do this, I Recognize my feelings and the thoughts that led to them. I give it a rest and Review, shut down that negativity, and review why I'm thinking these thoughts. What's the limiting belief that is giving rise to them? And then its Replace time. I use a variation of Byron Katie’s questions to help me shift perspective. About the fearful thoughts, I ask myself:

1. Is it true?
2. Can you absolutely, actually factually know that it's true?
3. How do you feel when you believe that it’s true?
4. How do you feel if you believed something else?
5. What’s my perspective shift on this situation? Or what’s the silver lining?
   
6. What's the the expansive belief I want to replace this limiting belief with?
   

This process brings be back from the depression precipice by helping me connect with myself, to what I know to be true for me. I know I’ve been successful when I feel lighter and happier.

Okay, so now you’ve cleaned out your junk in your space and in your spirit. It's time to germinate the new, some new ideas, new plans. My life partner Thom and I do this individually first and then as a team. We look at what went right and spend some time being seriously grateful and celebrating! Then we look at what was lousy and problem solve. We try to look at our lives holistically, at all the areas we need to pay attention to in order to experience a healthy, balanced, joyful life.

Then we make a dream board, a way to put on paper our intentions for the year. There are many ways to do this. You can Photoshop collage it, scrapbook it, cut out images from magazines, create Pinterest boards or (what we do)  just write it out on a large sheet of paper, flow chart style. Our map hangs on the wall, as reminder, inspiration and compass for the year. We consciously shape our decisions and choices throughout the course of each year to make us more joyful, fulfilled and satisfied.

This is how I concretize my intentions to create. It helps me connect with the Creative Flow in the earth and within myself. Both can be meditative experiences that give space for that “aha” moment, or for the Muse to speak to or for the imagination to fly. I’ve had some of my best ideas in these moments.
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So take some time this spring to celebrate the new life that surrounds you in nature, and to celebrate the wonder that is YOU. Dream your dream and take steps to germinate it into being. Life is a work in progress. It’s not about perfection; it’s about finding joyful balance.