the unpopular vegetable

First of all, thank you to all who participated in the unofficial contest on how to remind me that there are plenty of good ways to identify plants using apps, brains and computers and/or smart phones! The mystery plant (from yesterday's post) is indeed spreading dogbane, so named possibly because it is toxic for the poor pooch who would get too close to it. It's always a surprise to me how many beautiful flowers are toxic to animals and how savvy those animals are when they encounter it.

Now about vegetables: it came as a bit of a surprise for me to find out that no one in my family likes zucchini. (I don't include myself in that since I pretty much will eat anything that's fresh and honest. You can laugh at that, but it really is true.) This distaste for what has to be the most prolific summer veggie here extends to Ed and believe me, I have tried shredding it, mixing it with other stuff, roasting it, or serving it raw. It's a no go.

This distaste for summer squash would be reason enough not to sign up for a CSA, since boxes of veggies straight from the farm always include a ton of it, from June through August. I mean, it's ratatouille season! Of course you're going to get the zucchini! But I am determined! And so when the first green squash appeared in our veggie box last week and two more followed this week, I knew I had to get creative.

Today I decided to go for chocolate zucchini bread. Maybe I can fool them all into zucchini acceptance!

The plan, by the way, is to spend lots of time in the kitchen today. I have the young family coming to dinner and in addition, my daughter's friend is visiting from California. Reason enough to take extra care with the meal. First though there is the garden stuff to attend to. 

(Dance follows me on my weeding expedition...)

 

Here's what's blooming!

(Clematis Heather Herschell)

(daylily loveliness)

(ah... The Meadow!)

(Here's Bed No. 2: it's the one that runs along the driveway. Rarely photographed because it's long and narrow and a tiny bid odd in the plant selection. Still, I've made a small effort to improve it over the past two years, so I'm bringing around my camera here again!)

There's weeding to be done and I do it before breakfast. 

(morning meal that now typically gets pushed closer to noon on Sundays)

And then I get to it: chocolate zucchini bread from the Love and Lemons website. It's a great recipe because it uses no sugar (just maple syrup) and just a tiny bit of coconut oil. Otherwise it's all about eggs and flours and spices and cocoa and chocolate chips. Two loaves! They better be good!

The gang arrives!

Hey, is that a first smile that I see on Sandpiper?

Maybe, maybe not. Hard to tell!

("hey, what do you want from me? I'm only a month old!")

(held by the newly arrived guest...)

Dinner is a shrimp, squid and scallop pasta.

 

We eat.

And for all the weather fluctuations -- the hot, the dry, the wet, the steamy -- tonight was one perfect evening. Kid bedtimes always end an evening for us. Were it not for that, I'd be out there still, watching the night set in, slowly, gently, with just a touch of a summer breeze. Like a song. Like a beautiful summer song.