Thursday, August 18, 2016

Cocozelle Zucchini and Cucumbers (Peaches Too!)



The summer of cucumbers! I planted the seeds in May and when the plants came up, Richard transplanted them into large pots and he watered and watered and watered...you get the picture, and then, cucumbers! It has been ....what is the right word, it has been such a feeling of satisfaction! We think we have learned from our gardening experience and hope to be even better at growing them next year!


I also planted a few seeds of zucchini.  The seed packet said it was a cocozelle zucchini. Just look at that striped beauty above! (I had already sliced off each end of it before I asked Richard to snap a photo!)
Richard read in a gardening magazine that this was not a good year for zucchini in the South and I believe it, we only harvested TWO but hey, those two were very good! How do you cook zucchini?  I like to melt a bit of butter and then, add some olive oil to the pan and I saute very thin slices of it, seasoned with salt, pepper, minced onion and a bit of garlic powder.  Simple but very good.

Now, you see those sweet peaches sitting on my kitchen counter?
You know what they are doing? They are ripening! Look, if you buy peaches and they seem a bit firm to the touch, just let them sit out and they will ripen and become soft, so soft that you can just peel the skin off with the edge of your knife. Guess what, I just heard on the news that this intense sun and heat that we have had this year in Georgia was really very good for peaches, it makes the fruit that much sweeter.  Too bad it doesn't do the same for THIS Georgia Peach! HA!  (As if I could get any sweeter, right?  Wait, I don't hear too many of you jumping in here now!)

I have to tell you,I have been very, very careful when I am around the front flower bed where Richard planted the zucchini. Why is  that you wonder?  I am remembering seeing a creature make its way into this same flower bed... 










  

Do you see why I step so gingerly around this area?  This is a copperhead snake and it is poisonous!  Yikes! I better stay in the kitchen and slice some cucumbers!  Stay cool, my friends!
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Would you like to hear an oldie but a goodie? How about this one?




33 comments:

  1. I have always wanted to grow my own veggies. And thank you, I have taken note of how you cook your zucchini. The copperhead would make me very leery.

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    1. Hey Denise, I am THE worst cook in the world so I am always surprised when I make something that tastes even halfway decent!
      I saw a little boy recently with his arm bandaged and his mother told me he had spent time in the hospital due to a copperhead bite! Gotta watch out since they like to stay completely still looking for prey and you very often don't see them!

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  2. I've had freshly picked cucumbers from both my parents' allotment and my friends' garden, so no shortage here, either :-) Zucchini I haven't had (yet?) this year. I like them grated and roasted in a pan, but I also like them diced and grilled in the oven.
    And peaches - mmmmh!!! I prefer them to apricots, but the only peaches I seem to be finding at the shops right now are from Spain, and I don't support their growing methods if I can avoid buying Spanish produce.

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    1. I couldn't find that much info about Spain's growing methods but I did learn that Armenia exports a lot of apricots (40 tons last year, 600 tons this year!)

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  3. What a fabulous gardener you are!

    I knew a girl once who had skin like a peach.
    Have you ever seen a 23 year old peach?
    Ugh!

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    1. Ha, ha...I am such a great gardener, TWO whole zucchini!!

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  4. I know copperheads are venomous but wow they are so beautiful!

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    1. Very interesting but I prefer them at a distance!

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  5. It looks like you picked up some things from your Dad, congratulations on your harvest!

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    1. Yes, gardening wisdom and been shared and used!

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  6. Replies
    1. Hey Lynn, cook us something up good now, you hear!

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  7. This time of year is wonderful for garden produce of all kinds. I've got some zucchini here to do up. We had some Georgia peaches that were shipped up here and they were very good ! Take care with that snake about...

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    1. Love fresh vegetables from the garden!
      And you can bet I watch out for snakes!

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  8. Didn't plant zucchini,but did well with acorn squash. Been more than a few snakes around here too, though no copperheads or at least Mac hasn't told me about any. No rain for almost a month here, very hot and humid, but no rain.

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    1. We have been praying for rain!! We have gotten some but areas around us have gotten a lot more!

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  9. Better to have two zucchini than two hundred!

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    1. Only two! Can you believe it? Oh well, there's always next year!

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  10. I have really enjoyed going to the Peach shed this summer buying peaches and peach ice cream. So sorry the season is over. Be careful outside,that visitor doesn't look friendly!

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    1. Peach ice cream! Oh, it is wonderful, isn't it?

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  11. Your produce looks yummy. I keep a bowl of sliced cucumbers in salt water in the summer. For a snack all I have to do is rinse them off and eat them. As for the music "ooh-ooh-ooh Baby Baby".

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    1. Hey! I am so glad that you liked this song too! It has been playing on the radio station at work and I find myself singing it during the day! :-)

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  12. Eating produce from your own garden, how lovely. Hope the snake moved to a new residence.
    Amalia
    xo

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    1. That copperhead snake, after I took this photo, he SHOT into this flower bed so quickly, you wouldn't believe it!
      They are very quick when they want to be!

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  13. I didn't grow anything this year - the first in ages - and have missed having the excitement of harvesting. My daughter has been glad to have a break from the courgettes though! They always grow rampant here no matter the weather. x

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    1. Oh yes, I remember that in England a courgette is a zucchini! People here will even make bread from them, you get so many, unless you are ME that is! :-)

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  14. You are always sweet, Kay, no need for a special summer!

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    1. HA, HA! They need to name a special sour peach after me, but then, no one would want it!

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  15. Isn't it satisfying to grow and eat your own food! I wonder if I could grow cucumbers in large pots. I certainly couldn't grow them in the ground around here. Those striped beetles that spread Fusarium wilt always found them and the plants died. But now I mostly garden on the deck...There are many great ways to cook zucchini but my favorite is the Hungarian way. Grate the plants and cook with finely chopped onion until tender, season with salt and lots of finely chopped dill weed and add a generous amount of sour cream. Serve Forth and Enjoy!

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    1. Well, that sounds like a good way to me! I will try it!
      I love sour cream, a good flavor and very cooling.
      Thanks for telling me this one!

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  16. And thanks for the advice about peaches. I mostly don't buy them when they are hard and that seems to be the only way I find them in the grocery stores.

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    1. Oh, I wonder if you buy them hard and leave them on a bowl on your table if they will ripen and become soft. You should try it! :-)

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  17. Well, I'm impressed with two zucchinis, which is better than my one daffodil this year! That copperhead snake looks as evil as the Eastern Brown snakes we get, which are very quick and hide in the garden. Ugh!!

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