Patty Pan Saute

Patty pans are a very mild summer squash. They should be picked when they turn creamy white and reach about 4 inches across. If you let them get much bigger the skin becomes a hard shell and the flavor suffers somewhat. In the case of patty pans, bigger is not better!

patty pan on the vine (note dried blossom still attached on bottom)

fresh-picked patty pan

For this dish, I sauteed the sliced squash with onion, garlic, and mushrooms, and topped with a little cheese.

Ingredients:
olive oil
1 onion, diced medium
1-2 cloves garlic, minced
2-3 patty pan squash, cut in quarters top to bottom, then sliced about 1/4 inch thick
8 oz mushrooms (I like baby bellas), chopped (a bit smaller than you've cut the onion)
salt & pepper to taste
fresh herbs* - your choice - thyme, parsley, or basil (sliced into thin ribbons)
cheese - optional - bleu or parmesan

Heat a few tablespoons olive oil in skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and saute briefly before adding garlic. Saute a few minutes until onions begin to soften. Sprinkle in a little salt and pepper. Add mushrooms. Reduce heat slightly. Try to resist the temptation to add more oil. You may need to add just a little to keep the mushrooms from sticking, but they will soon start to release juices and do just fine without a lot of oil.

When the mushrooms begin to soften and release liquid, about 8 minutes, add the sliced squash. Sprinkle in a bit more salt and pepper, and thyme or parsley, if using. Continue to saute, stirring occasionally, until the squash becomes slightly golden and translucent, about 10-12 minutes. Stir in basil, if using, and cook another minute or two. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary.

Plate mixture, then top with cheese to taste, if desired.

Serves 2 as main dish, 4 as side.

* You can use dried herbs, if fresh are not available. For dried herbs, use about 1/3 the amount and rub between your fingers to release the flavor oils as you add the herbs to the skillet.

Mystery, Indeed

I have been meaning to plant some mystery lilies (a.k.a. naked ladies) in my yard, but the only way seems to be getting some from someone else's yard (with their permission, of course!) or buying the bulbs online, and I just hadn't gotten to it. But, suddenly, after nine years in this house, I have two of them in my yard. I don't know how they got there. I've never seen them before. As this blog attests, I am pretty on top of what is happening in my yard, so I don't know how I could have missed them! Either they've been dormant all this time, they were mixed into something else I planted, or a squirrel did it--they are all over the neighborhood (squirrels and mystery lilies). Whatever, I am a happy camper!

Why are they called "mystery lilies," you may well ask. Because they put up just foliage in the spring, then the foliage dies off, then in August, they put up a stalk with the flowers on top and no leaves. So they have the nickname "naked ladies." Get it?

Watering

It has been raining about one-quarter inch a day for the last few days. This works out quite well for me :) Some of the containers need a bit more water, but the main beds are doing just fine with the water from the Lord.

The zucchini are coming in at a rate I can almost keep up with. (I did give one away to my Mom.) Zucchini bread is on the way. And the old family recipe "zucchini mess," probably with some frozen for the winter. A few patty pan squashes, mild and delicious steamed or sauteed with a little butter or Parmesan. Tomatoes are beginning to ripen. I know all of the sudden there will be a lot (never too many), but for now I am savoring them one at a time.

Corn is coming along. Here it is amid a few pots of tomatoes and herbs.

I have learned that tassels and silk are two different things...

The squashes still have lots of flowers. There is a bee in this one, although I'm not sure if he was gathering pollen/nectar or taking a nap. No yellow summer squash have set fruit yet. They were supposed to be the first to be ready to harvest, so perhaps they missed their pollination window during the heavier rainy weather of a couple weeks ago. 

Meanwhile, the cosmos, cleomes, and zinnias are really starting to bloom en masse, nicely encouraging the bees to stop by and pollinate and the hummingbirds to feed and entertain.

 

More Flowers and Some Veggies

More flowers have just been waiting for a little sun. There was a little break in the humidity, too, the last couple of days, but the weather guessers say that is about over and the 90-and-above-with-spotty-showers weather is back tomorrow. Yippee.

Bumble Bee and Lady Bug on Coneflowers

"volunteer" Cleomes in the veggie garden

Purple Coneflowers

First cosmos to bloom. Lots more on the way...

Hydrangeas.

Rose of Sharon.

There are three spaghetti squash so far. At least, that's how many I saw. There may be more hiding in there. They aren't near ready yet. This is the first time I have tried growing spaghetti squash. I hope they do well...

Spaghetti Squash!

Corn! And tomatoes, and basil, and dill.

A few ears of corn are forming, silk is showing. I am so excited! It is special corn bred to grow in containers. Looks like it is working!

Corn tassels

Zinnia - candy tuft

Zinnias

the first zucchini of 2013

I did find another zucchini today. It needs another day or two. I'll try not to forget it and let it become a giant monster. Some beans are showing, too. Yummy summer produce!

First Zucchini of 2013

As I understand it, the rainy days have kept the pollinators off work lately, so some plants are a little slow to set fruit. I am hoping the current sunny spell will correct that and more squash is on the way, along with the ripening of the green tomatoes.

Meanwhile, I found this one zucchini and a few small ripe tomatoes...

So I sliced them up and made a little dinner:

1 medium zucchini, cut into chunks
2 small tomatoes, cut into chunks
olive oil
2-3 Tbls pesto, to taste
1-2 oz. fresh mozzarella, cut into small bite-size pieces

Heat a couple tablespoons of olive oil in frying pan (enough to coat pan bottom) over medium-high heat, stir in pesto, then stir in zucchini. Saute for a few minutes, stirring frequently. Add 1/3 cup water and cover. Reduce heat to medium and let cook about 5 minutes. Uncover. Add tomatoes and continue cooking until desired degree of tenderness.

Divide mixture onto two plates. Sprinkle mozzarella bits onto each--it will melt a little from the residual heat. Mmm...

(Yes, I made the pesto with fresh basil from my garden a couple weeks ago. But you could use store-bought.)

Serves two as a side dish.

Flowers in the Rain

Let me be very clear: I like rain. I have always enjoyed rain. Thunderstorms or rainbows, love it. I really appreciate not having to water the garden, even beyond my appreciation of rain for its own sake. I do think that a few consecutive days of sun without rain might be in order about now. Just a few. 1.75 inches yesterday (plenty of which ended up in my basement thanks to the Melvin crew, whose company shall remain nameless, that failed to properly install my new downspout last summer). Sprinkles today, more predicted for tomorrow. Really, the tomatoes are crying for some dry. Not to mention my sneakers.

But, I promised flower photos, and flower photos I shall show!

I'll start with the coral rose that came with the house, that blooms twice a year, no matter what abuse I, the weather, and whatever workers might be hired for household maintenance do around it. I am really more of a no-effort knock out rose person, and I do not baby this rose (although I did dig it out then replant it, along with the herb garden and coral bells, when I had the drainage work done at the back of the house a couple summers ago), but I do stop to appreciate it every time it blooms. It is beautiful.

the bud

the rose - always just one bloom

Lots of flowers around the hummingbird feeder seem to be working. I do have regular visits from hummers, not a big crowd, but that's okay. Sometimes I get to watch the little guys fight. It seems kind of silly, since there are plenty of spots at the feeder, but it is what they do, and it is actually quite entertaining.

Some perennial and some annual flowers. I always plant some red salvia, even though they are not my favorite, because I know the hummingbirds love them. My butterfly bush came back this year, has grown quite a bit, and just looks great. I am very happy.

hummingbird stopping for a snack before the rain

bee balm

cleome - a nostalgic must-have

morning glory bud

the morning glories covering the pea tunnel

morning glory

day lilies

day lilies

Easter lilies

bee balm and cleome 

 

cosmos and volunteer dill

asiatic lily

zinnia buds

oak leaf hydrangea

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shasta daisy

hostas in bloom

hydrangeas

happy returns lilies

oak leaf hydrangea

jasmine

jasmine - smells so good I had to buy it, so glad it happily overwinters in the shed!

evening primrose - I have no idea why people complain about these spreading

astilbe