That's hysterical! Squash taking over a nation, hahah!

That's a yard stick, right?
:)

By the way, yesterday's "basngs" article had me thinking about my own Cleopatra look in the late '70s, and I loved it!

Sorry, typo! Read: bangs

I love zucchini, if only i had space in my tiny little patio.

wow, they hardly look threatening in that pose!
Have they been subdued?

Such girth!
What every girl needs.

Wow. Wowowowowie wow wow. Who needs a man...

oh man! I'm starving right now and all I can think of when I look at those is FRIED ZUCCHINI! Yummmmmmmmmmmm

If I were you I would make sure that Soba and the zuchinni are never left alone together. Their forces combined could be the end of all of us.

Have you found any copies of the zucchinis' manifesto?? Vegetables can be very mean.

Have a great weekend, sweetie!!

yum! Id tell you to send me some but with your hating to go the the postofficeness they would be liquid by the time you got around to it.
Im currently addicted to grilled Zukes. Im having them every other day, And not because I have to! I go out and buy them! Actually BUY them.

.....what a weirdo....

Oh and BTW I sent you an e mail a looong time ago, is the link to your e-mail still the right e mail addy?

Dang! Those are huge.

Did you ever see that Paula Poundstone bit back in the day where the punchline was "comes in here with that damn zucchini"?

Anyway, I wonder what kind of overlords they'll be once they seize power. Merciful? Hostile? Let's hope for the best.

Those are some HUGE zucchini. I love me some of them. :) I also love the photograph...it represents their hugeness well. :) Is hugeness a real word??

Yummmmm I grilled zucchini the other night...it was faboo!
Threaten the zucchini uprising with a fiery death and that should calm them down!

Beautiful!

Check out Smitten Kitchen's gorgeous zucchini photographs and zucchini bread..mmmmmmm...

http://smittenkitchen.com/2007/07/summer-of-the-bats

All I can say is...WOW

Those zucchini would look very lovely cubed, coated with a little peanut oil and sizzling in my wok ... maybe some slivered almonds and cranberries to keep them company.

slice those things up thin-like and pan-fry them in some olive oil with garlic and sprinkle them with parmesan cheese and chopped basil. yum!

or make ratatouille.

it's the only way to fight back.

Wow, those are some huge freakin' zukes! It would almost make me afraid to go to sleep at night with those things in the house.

OO, those zucchini are prime for making ribbons and cooking them with some lovely fish. Break out that veggie peeler!

Grow that zucchini girlfriend!!! If I lived close, I'd take a few of those off of your hands for a stir fry and a zucchini bread. I can't grow any type of plants to save my life. Sigh.

Seen in my office breakroom, on a bin of veggies:

Help yourself!
Chinese cucumbers (burpless)
Zucchini (endless)

Soba and the Zukes - World Leaders! COuldn't be any worse than what we've got already. In fact, with Soba telling the Zukes what to do with the world and using her minions Bob and Frankie to keep the knitters in line, we might have a chance at world peace.

Shred those puppies, drain the shreds, and pop in the freezer. You can saute in oil and garlic, add to soups, even make zucchini bread! They are insidious, though. Fortunately, the stem boring bugs we have in the east take care of the vines before we have anything close to a surplus. Can I interest you in my glut of tomatoes?

Only Mr. Larry could make the gadzukes look beautiful...makes me want to plant some, hardy har har!

Those are BEAUTIFUL; I've duly jotted down everyone's recipe ideas, but truly - baked with buttery breadcrumbs and LOTS of parmesan, that's fit for a king or company or ... ME! And I'm with Cammie, I noticed some mighty fine ones at the new Target Superstore, so I can buy 'em. They were tiny, though, and those big ones are delicious. And I'm still laughing at "that's a yardstick, right?" (Although the DH noticed and said he's HAD one that big, you might want to harvest them before they get to that point....)

Ah zucchini, how do I love thee, let me count the ways?

Since you're from the South you'll understand the phenomena of only locking your car doors at church because if you don't people will fill your car with excess produce.

Do you know there's a fabulous recipe for Chocolate & Zucchini cake? Seems like a fantastic way to use up the surplus. Holler and I'll email it to ya. Or just Google to find the "Chocolate & Zucchini" foodie blog and the recipe is in her archives (she's got a new recipe book out, too).

Zucchinis schmucchinis--how's our Purl?

On the day the Simpsons movie opens, allow me to steal a line from Kent Brockman...

"One thing is for certain - there is no stopping them - the zucchini will soon be here. And I, for one, welcome our new zucchini overlords!"

Looks like it's time for some zucchini bread! Mmmm.

I was at Ellen's site the other day and already saw those. I was wondering if you were going to mention them... LOL

Ellen's site makes me wish I lived back in Callyfornya again.

Almost.

But now I'm all hungry for zukes!
.

Zucchini are tastiest (?) when they are small and the blossoms are a delicacy.

Slice them horizontally, coat with some EVOO and parm/Romano cheese, pop in a 400 oven for about 35 minutes, mmmmmmmmmmmmmmm good eatin'

Nutritious and Delicious.

The big ones are too pithy and are only good for chocolate cake/muffins and banana/zucchini bread.

I suddenly crave zucchini pancakes...

OOooo, all that excess tomato and those John Holmes gadzooks! Cut up small with onions and brown in butter, and serve over a blend of American Basmati and wild rice! MMMMMmmmmmushrooms, too, if there are any handy.

Am I the only one who finds it funny that you gave zukes to someone named "Bloom" ?

Yeah, I was afraid so.

Are you actually eating any of these? Pick them young, I say!

You know, if it was going to be an "artsy" photo, your camera/prop guy really should have arranged the zukes all facing the same direction, or alternating. He did 2 one way and the 3rd another. No, I'm not anally retentive, really, I'm not. Why are you laughing?

All this talk of zucchini overlords has me picturing zucchinis in viking helmets traversing the sea in a ship whilst the Immigrant Song plays in the background, a la RatherGood.com (which, if you haven't seen the viking kitty horde, you haven't lived, imho).

I think if I see another zucchini I'm going to...

We have them in our garden and evidently everyone else where I work does, too.

Anyone want some zucchini? Please?!!!!

The thought of Soba in command of all those gadzooks - scary!! Best reason yet to tell kids, "Eat your veggies."

But perhaps Soba and the Zucchini will battle each other to a standstill instead! Hope springs eternal...

wow ... they are beautiful -- betcher glad you have lots! LOL!

Same thing happened to my mom one summer -- we ate zucchini bread and muffins and chocolate zucchini cake all winter (she grated and froze it I think!) the muffins were really good (but after 3 months of eating them daily ion my lubnch, I had enough!) -- friends would want to trade their "good" treats for my muffins -- I think they had a cinnamon topping on them (she would brush the tops with butter and dip them into cinnamon sugar, from what i recall! Good, but in metered doses!

Good luck re-homing yours!

wow ... they are beautiful -- betcher glad you have lots! LOL!

Same thing happened to my mom one summer -- we ate zucchini bread and muffins and chocolate zucchini cake all winter (she grated and froze it I think!) the muffins were really good (but after 3 months of eating them daily ion my lubnch, I had enough!) -- friends would want to trade their "good" treats for my muffins -- I think they had a cinnamon topping on them (she would brush the tops with butter and dip them into cinnamon sugar, from what i recall! Good, but in metered doses!

Good luck re-homing yours!

OMG those are ginormous! I love the healthy ideas(and may have to try out the grilling), but like someone else the first idea I had was FRY those babies!! Yum, luv some fried zukes!

those are some fine fruits!

I just saw the book-case. You poor poor thing. You can call me anytime your THAT lonely. I won't be offended. Just say "Hey Hot stuff, I'm lonely and almost to the point of organizing things, wanna go get a drink?"

It's going to be OK.

Have you ever had a zucchini lasagna where, instead of noodles, you use very thinly sliced zucchini strips? MMMM. Simply DIVINE.

i agree with chocolate zucchini cake DIVINE!

p.s. does Ellen Bloom have a green thumb? hahahahahah ok not

They are quietly discussing their plan to take over the world.

Hi

I have to laugh everytime you blog re Zucchini! Know the feeling our garden runneth over with them every year and we only plant 2. Last year was the year of the pumkin - 15 and it is taking us ages to eat them all. At least they keep longer.

Anyway I digress , a couple of hints to cooking that we enjoy. I mean you do grow them to eat I presume or do you just enjoy seeing how big they can get ! LOL.

When they are sneaky and grow ignormous when I'm not looking I cut the top off long ways and scoop the seeds out. I stuff the middle with left over mince or chill add sliced tomatoes and cheese and bake at 180 C 350 F until cooked about an hour or so.

If I manage to catch them small enough I top and tail simmer until just soft in boiling water about 10 mins and slice in half long ways and again put on cheese and tomato but this time grill them until cheese is bubbling. Great with chill mince or whatever.

Enjoy. By the way thanks for brightening my day each day. Almost makes it worth while going to work.

Cheers >^..^<

I wish my zucchini were doing as well. Started out with a bang, then we had rain,and they quit. I miss them. I love zucchini!

Here's something you might appreciate. It's a poem by Marge Piercy about...Zucchini!

Attack of the Squash People

And thus the people every year
in the valley of humid July
did sacrifice themselves
to the long green phallic god
and eat and eat and eat.
They're coming, they're on us,
the long striped gourds, the silky
babies, the hairy adolescents,
the lumpy vast adults
like the trunks of green elephants.
Recite fifty zucchini recipes!

Zucchini tempura; creamed soup;
sauté with olive oil and cumin,
tomatoes, onion; frittata;
casserole of lamb; baked
topped with cheese; marinated;
stuffed; stewed; driven
through the heart like a stake.

Get rid of old friends: they too
have gardens and full trunks.
Look for newcomers: befriend
them in the post office, unload
on them and run. Stop tourists
in the street. Take truckloads
to Boston. Give to your Red Cross.
Beg on the highway: please
take my zucchini, I have a crippled
mother at home with heartburn.

Sneak out before dawn to drop
them in other people's gardens,
in baby buggies at churchdoors.
Shot, smuggling zucchini into
mailboxes, a federal offense.

With a suave reptilian glitter
you bask among your raspy
fronds sudden and huge as
alligators. You give and give
too much, like summer days
limp with heat, thunderstorms
bursting their bags on our heads,
as we salt and freeze and pickle
for the too little to come.

Marge Piercy

Uhm. Yeah.

Have you tried zuc. pancakes. They are yummy and a great way to use the gargantuan ones.
Years ago, I found a behemoth zuc in the garden, took it to work and put it on the secretary's desk. It became our zuccaphone. Of course that was so long ago that you could rest one on the telephone like a receiver. Probably not any more..those phones are history.

Laurie- LMK if you need any new summer squash/ zuchini recipes.... I have made up nearly enough to write a zuchini cookbook.

I've been eating zucchini every day. Seriously. Garlic, olive oil and zucchini are all permissible on the Diet From Hell. I love them. Yum.

I have nothing to do with their plans to conquer the Valley. Really.

Ok, so this has nothing to do w/ zucchini...but I instantly thought of you when I came across this interesting tidbit: felted cat hair...yes, like felting yarn only a bit stranger...go here:

http://www.getcrafty.com/blogs.php?user=Project%20UK!&entry=4560

you might have to scroll down a bit. I can't decide if I think it's cool or gross?!?!? Lol!

OMG! I stopped this morning to see what was in the road. IT WAS A HUGE zucchini! I picked it out and moved it to the side of the road, lest it hurt somebody's car or something.

Oh my, those zucchini's are HUGE!! Every think about making CHOCOLATE Zucchini bread. Found the recipe at Tastespotting, my Food Porn website, and thought I would share my find with you.

http://www.whatgeekseat.com/wordpress/2007/07/27/not-your-average-zucchini-bread/

MmmmmmmMMmmmMMMmmmm...chocolate...

Ooops, I just noticed that Mary in Virginia posted about the same thing, my bad.

I quit growing zucs for a reason.

But I have kept my bangs for many a year. The article on bangs was ridiculous. People do not like bangs after 30? Sheesh! No one told ME! I wore them right through my 30s, my 40s and now my 50's. Also, my hair is nearly white (it is white, not grey, thank you) and when the heat and humidity is bad, I wear a pony tail too. I do not think I am cooler than thou, I just love my bangs. If one's face it too long, they are the perfect frame. To heck with the fashionistas! who cares about emotional crisis? I wear my hair to suit me. Get those scissors out treat yourself to some nice shaggy bangs. I love it when they poke my eyes or hang over my glasses. I laugh hilariously, however, when I see short little 1 inch bangs. What's that all about?

Do you have any farmers markets in the area?? You could sell these things off at a pretty good amount!! They are HUGE!!! Who knew you had such a talent for the zukes?!?!?!

Daughter & I made a zucchini gratin a few days ago and it was great. Also, my auntie used to make me zucchini soup - alas, I don't still have the recipe!

they are very fabulous zuchinis.....now if I could only keep a plant alive..

I just picked my first zucchini of the year - I swear that it grew exponentially overnight! Soon they will be taking over the garden (right beside the buttercup and acorn squash...)

I love the poem Sue posted! Reading about your zucchini invasion almost makes me glad I couldn't have a garden this summer...

We're looking at the beginning of the end of world hunger with these puppies!! If everyone with a garden grew one extra plant( CALM DOWN!!!) we could do it. Those of you non- gardeners can sign up for the shipping and distribution gig. OK! Who's in??

Since you are overrun with zucchini, here is a recipe from Cosmicpluto for Fried Zucchini Blossoms. BTW: she is one of the best knitters north of the 49th!

Sorry, forgot to add the link: http://www.cosmicpluto.com/blog/?p=711

Laurie,

I saw this and immediately thought of you...

http://www.mikesblender.com/indexblog108.htm

Square watermelons!

Another zucchini bread recipe!

http://www.101cookbooks.com/archives/my-special-zucchini-bread-recipe.html

I want to make this but will have to go out and buy some courgettes (zucchinis) because we have no garden to be overcome by the great green things!

Bossy will take hers with sauteed onions and garden tomatoes please.

Laurie-

I second the http://chocolateandzucchini.com/ blog for great food reading. I link to it from my blogpage since I am so old fashioned I don't do RSS, and I like to have the places I go often all in one spot.

Also, Ianqui (http://ianqui.blogspot.com/) has a great link up to an article with yummy looking zuke recipes. Here it is: http://blog.washingtonpost.com/mighty-appetite/2007/07/never_enough_zucchini_recipes.html

The no-crab crab cakes look reeeally good.

We used to have the same zucchini problem every summer, when I was a kidlet. Mom used to slice up the big ones, salt and sweat them (don't skip this step!), then dip in a beaten egg and then smushed ritz crackers, and then fry a whole bunch on her huuge griddle! It's pretty amazing, though I'm sure any cardiologist would tell you to run the other way! Sometimes she'd do a few huge zukes and also an aggplant or two.

But I agree, pick them young, even if you have no plans for them. Then they don't take over the place quite so much. Alternately, pick many of them when they are just flowers. Good in sauteed dishes, and nips the zuke problem in the bud, literally.

Ursa

Sorry you're having a sucky July...but honestly, "Yak" and "Uranus" in the same post????? Freakin' awesome!!!!! Love your stuff!

some crazy woman loves you just the way you are

Huh - couldn't post a comment on the newest post, so I'll put it here. Laurie, wanted to thank you for turning me on to Karin Slaughter! Not only is she hilarious, but I just entered her knitting contest and had a great time with it. (Wish me luck!) I may attend one of her GA book signings; I'm only (ONLY!) 340 miles away...

hey laurie! find some kind of shaped tube, like a bread or cake tube, and slip it over a smallish zuccinni! they grow so fast that i bet you would have a shaped zuke in no time! i went to the japanese site with the watermelons, and they show cucumbers growing into heart shaped molds...i have seen these things for tiny loaves of breads and such that u make for party nosh things....we could DO IT! i have cucumbers growing but no zuccinni this year, since the overrun of last year...they actually scared me they got so out of hand! i will let you know and show you pics when i do this cucumber shape thing... i hope a lil zany activity will make you feel a lil better. sorry to hear you are bumming this month... time will help as you are very aware. now pamper yourself and love yourself! we understand it girl...

http://newsok.com/article/3095980
By Sharon Dowell
Food Editor
One week from today, on Aug. 8, zucchini-filled brown paper bags or plastic bags may be turning up on porches across the country as Americans mark (drumroll, please) National Sneak Some Zucchini Onto Your Neighbor's Porch Night
The premise behind this unusual designation, listed in "Chase's Calendar of Events,” is to give gardeners and growers a specific day to share the zucchini bounty, as sunny summer days, warm summer evenings and rain bring an abundance of the squash. Growers with a surplus on hand might be a bit more blunt, admitting it's an opportunity to unload some of the prolific vegetable this time of year.

In Oklahoma, zucchini is available at many farmers markets. But as Linda Knox of Knox Farms near Blanchard said, it's been a weird year for local gardeners and the zucchini crop.
"Right now, we're getting about 20 pounds of zucchini a week. Normally, late June and July are good times for zucchini, but we've had over 46 inches of rain this year, and a lot of the garden washed away. It depends where your garden is located. Normally, we'd be getting 50 to 75 pounds of zucchini a week this time of year,” said Knox, a vendor at the Children's Center Farmers Market in Bethany.

Knox said she'd never heard of the National Sneak Some Zucchini Onto Your Neighbor's Porch Night. "In good years, we don't sneak it on neighbors' porches, but there are neighbors we call,” she said. "Right now, I wish I had 40 pounds of the squash.”

One of Knox's favorite recipes is a quick vegetable salad using two zucchini (quartered and sliced), two small yellow squash that have been sliced, a chopped sweet onion from the garden, a diced bell pepper and just a drizzle of zesty Italian salad dressing.

"I use the fat-free dressing. It makes a gorgeous summer salad that's eye-catching, and people love it.” Knox also likes to steam her zucchini and make zucchini bread. "You can do savory or sweet breads with zucchini,” she said.

Claudia Crow of Crow's Vegetable Farm, Shawnee, said her family operation plants zucchini in April, and it's available well into the fall season. Crow has her produce at the Pottawatomie County Farmers Market.

She said the best zucchini should be blemish-free, feel firm and have a vibrant color. "They will keep in the refrigerator for one week,” she said. Use small to medium zucchini for stir-fries and salads, and designate larger zucchini for breads and cakes. Crow uses zucchini in her savory pancakes to accompany dinner, in casseroles, grilled with just a little olive oil and in stir-fries.

In Andrea Chesman's new book, "Serving Up the Harvest” (Story Publishing, $16.95), the Vermont resident writes about the New England myth of people having to lock their cars during September to keep friends or neighbors from anonymous gifting of surplus zucchini. Chesman writes she's had zucchini left in her unlocked car during the summer season.

Zucchini's mild flavor makes it a versatile squash to use in all types of dishes, Chesman writes. It can be used in stir-fries and casseroles, fresh vegetable salads, with pasta, even in breads and desserts, including Chesman's Dark Chocolate-Zucchini Bundt Cake accented with brewed coffee and cinnamon. Check Sherrel Jones' "A Passion for Food” column this week for ways to use zucchini in marinated salads, too.

In "Farmer John's Cookbook: The Real Dirt on Vegetables” (Gibbs Smith, Publisher, $29.95), Illinois organic farmer John Peterson writes that zucchini "is kind of like the rabbits of the vegetable world; once they start reproducing, there's no turning back.” He suggests refrigerating zucchini as soon as you get it home, storing it in a perforated plastic bag in the vegetable drawer or sealed in a plastic container lined with a kitchen towel. To use, wash the zucchini thoroughly under cool running water, then remove the blossom and stem ends to slice or grate. Farmer John shares several recipes for zucchini in his book, including a Sweet Zucchini Crumble that teams sliced zucchini with lemon juice, cinnamon and nutmeg baked in a crunchy crust.

According to allrecipes.com, the person to credit (or blame, in case you're not a zucchini fan) for National Sneak Some Zucchini Onto Your Neighbor's Porch Night is Tom Roy, a Pennsylvania native who submitted the suggestion to Chase's for a logical reason: because the zucchini is so prolific in summer.

If you've not had zucchini this summer, seek it out at farmers markets across the state or in supermarkets, providing none turns up next week on your porch. Try the year-round favorite in the recipes mentioned or perhaps in a summertime ratatouille; in Cheesy Zucchini Saute; Zucchini, Tomato and Basil Gratin; or the Zucchini With Walnuts recipe that's a great side dish to accompany grilled meats.

have you shut off the comments for your last post? I'm hoping you're in bed right now having a nice long rejuvenating sleep. August will be GREAT, you'll see.

Yeah, I'm with Sarah ... what's up with the comments? I wanted so desperately to "Yak" and couldn't. It's traumatizing.

I also wanted to say that I sincerely hope you will not start censoring yourself in your posts. While I perfectly understand and respect keeping vast parts of yourself private (I'm a Scorpio, I believe obsessively privacy is IMPORTANT!), it's your honesty and willingness to give so generously of the parts you do share with us that "we" have come to cherish about your blog. Your ability to communicate as you do often speaks eloquently and meaningfully what many of us are feeling and experiencing in our own lives ... we feel connected to someone who is warm and superbly human; who's words make all the frailty and insecurity and humor and craziness of being human seem not only normal but beautiful as well.

I can't believe how excited I am at this moment, that I actually, finally have zucchini blossoms. Right now, I'm all "Yay, zucchini! You grow girl!" (Despite their boyish appearance, I am convinced they must be girls, because once they get started, there's no stopping 'em). Anyway, I know in a month I will be doing drive-by zucchini tossings. Thanks for the reality check.

Oh - and I can't comment on it for some reason - but thank you for the Japanese watermelon link!

Now I've been so inspired by your zucchini post, that I've linked to it. August 8th is coming up soon, don't forget - "Sneak Zucchini Onto Your Neighbor's Porch" night.

Meanwhile, stuffed zucchini blossoms are an awesome form of zucchini birth control.

Fear the zucchini. Seriously. If you leave them too long, emotionless replicants of yourself hatch out of them.

Biggest one I ever saw was 42" long. Made one freaky jack-o-lantern.