THE GARDEN

I ran across a recipe that uses fresh zucchini instead of pasta. Use a spiral cutter or julienne the zucchini. Top with a marinara sauce. I've used spaghetti squash but never thought about zucchini.

While reading this recipe I started reminiscing about the gardens we used to grow. And with my father-in-law no longer with us, we are missing all the good veges and fruit.

I was 15 and we went to a family reunion in Oklahoma. One night when we were eating dinner, I commented to my parents about how thick they cut their tomatoes and how good they were. We were used to slicing our store bought tomatoes very very thin. The next spring my parents, with a roll of the eyes, gave me permission to dig up part of our back lawn and plant a garden. I figured out how big I wanted the garden and proceeded to cut the lawn out. Since I didn't have a tiller, I used the shovel to turn the dirt and add the fertilizer. I planted lettuce, tomatoes, bell peppers and sweet corn. Everything was going well. The little plants were poking their heads out of the dirt. I would sit and watch. I was just amazed. Well, the lettuce was coming up and looking pretty cool, until one morning when I noticed it wasn't there anymore. I ran downstairs and went outside to find our desert tortoise in the garden having a wonderful breakfast. I put bricks around the garden in hopes of keeping the turtle out. That crazy turtle high centered himself on the bricks. He finally gave up after a few days. We started to pick tomatoes and peppers. The corn ended up growing to a height of maybe 4 feet. It had corn though. My efforts paid off and I learned a lot.

I also planted flowers in the front yard. My dad built some planter boxes around the front windows and I planted "morning glory" Now I know some of you will get a big laugh out of this, but in Southern California, morning glory is a big pretty flower that can be hard to grow. As opposed to the morning glory weed that we fight every year in our yard.

I think I should plant a garden next year. I miss lots of yummy food. Fresh tomatoes, fried green tomatoes, fresh pico de gallo, green beans simmered with bacon, green beans with new potatoes and ham hocks, peas, carrots, black eyed peas, okra, cucumbers, bell peppers, fresh sweet corn, new potatoes, all kinds of squash, beets, strawberries, raspberries, grapes, pears, peaches, apricots and cherries. I'm sure I have forgotten some things.

Obviously, I won't be planting all the items listed above. We don't have that much land, and I'm no farmer. Mike loves to tell people about our first Halloween. Being raised in Southern California, I was not the smartest about fresh food. We bought a big pumpkin. I cut the top off and pulled out all the seeds and stringy stuff. I washed the strings and seeds. Roasted the seeds, and saved the stringy stuff. When Mike came home from work, he carved the pumpkin. What he likes to embarrass me with is the question I asked him. Innocently I asked, "How do they get these stringy things so smooth and creamy for the pies"? Needless to say, Mike laughed 'til he cried. I could cook and bake as long as I could find it packaged at the store. Fresh anything was new for me. I now know fresh grown garden fruits and veges are the best.

Hopefully, I'll be able to mooch a couple of zucchini this year. My neighbor sells yummy tomatoes, and I can get a lot of other things at the farmers market. Stay tuned for next years posts about gardening.