It’s August and the veggies are growing! Do you have any green beans, tomatoes, zucchini or other vegetables that you could share? Gardens for Growth will resume August 13 and 20, this time focusing on providing fresh vegetables for sale. If you have any surplus herbs or vegetables, please bring them to church, Sunday morning, for members to purchase. All funds donated will be used to pay the mortgage. Thanks to those who donated and purchased plants and seedlings last spring, we have already raised $942 so far this year. Not only is Gardens for Growth a great way to raise funds, it is also an easy way to pick up some tasty produce for summer barbecues or family meals throughout the week.
Speaking of zucchini…some of you may look forward to serving it as part of a main dish or as a vegetable on the side. Others may need more coaxing to eat this abundant summer squash. Although most people enjoy zucchini bread or cake, here are some other suggestions to sneak zucchini into a meal or snack. You can grate zucchini (even the really big ones- just cut in quarters length wise, cut the seeds out and grate the rest) and add it to spaghetti sauce, homemade fresh salsa or meat loaf. The zucchini mixes with the other flavors and most people would never know it was there. BuzzFeed even suggests adding zucchini to waffles. Check out the following recipes or their website for other ideas about how to use this very versatile summer vegetable.
Salsa
2 large or 3 medium tomatoes, roughly chopped and seeded
¼ cup chopped onion
1/3 cup loosely packed cilantro
2 cloves garlic, chopped
¼ teaspoon cumin
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
½ teaspoon salt
Mix all ingredients together. Blend for 5 seconds in blender if desired. Cover and refrigerate.
Optional ingredients: grated zucchini, grated carrots or grated radishes (I add a little bit of all of these)
Muffin Tin Meatloaf
1# lean ground beef
.5# ground turkey
1.5 cups shredded zucchini
1 cup soft bread crumbs
1 egg slightly beaten
1 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning
½ teaspoon salt
¼ cup ketchup
Heat oven to 400 degrees. In large bowl, combine all ingredients except ketchup, mixing lightly but thoroughly. Place ~1/3 cup of meat mixture into each of 12 medium muffin cups. Press lightly and spread Ketchup over tops. Bake 20 minutes or until centers are no longer pink. Remove from oven and let stand a few minutes before removing meat loaves from pan.
