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08/09/2018 12:01 AMI am reading a book called Educated for one of my book clubs. It’s a memoir written by a woman who grew up in Idaho. She is one of seven children whose father has turned into an “end-of-days” father. The children have never gone to a school. The father reads from the Bible every night and he is quite sure that Revelations has promised that this family can live off the grid.
I have always wanted to live on the grid. I like having a roof over my head, air conditioning in the summer, heat in the winter. I like having a car. I like being able to pay my bills. I love my Medicare, so I can see my doctors and live as long a life as possible. Most of all, I love to cook and eat.
My husband’s maternal grandparents were farmers from Michigan. He worked the farm while his wife, who graduated from normal school, was a teacher. My husband’s family spent its entire summer on the farm. My father-in-law was a professor of music at the Eastman School of Music, my mother-in-law an art teacher. They didn’t have much of a garden outside Rochester, New York, since they were away the whole summer.
When my husband and I bought our second house, we had a garden. It grew to 40 by 30 feet. We both worked full time. We loved our garden, but raccoons and deer and other varmints got way more than we gathered or could eat. We froze our veggies in a 15 cubic foot freezer in the basement. Then came Hurricane Bob. After a six-day power outage, we lost everything in the refrigerator and freezer.
We continued to have gardens, but little ones. I continued to grate zucchini for zucchini bread. We didn’t leave bags of zucchini on neighbors’ porch. I still make zucchini bread, but not so much anymore.
Last week my friend Tracie Devlin Armaos came over and gave me stuffed zucchini. It was fabulous. Once again I am buying zucchini for this terrific recipe. I didn’t freeze them, but I think I could, unbaked.
Lee White of Old Lyme has been a food editor and restaurant reviewer for more than 25 years. You can email her at leeawhite@aol.com.
Zucchini
Adapted from Tracie Devlin Armaos from a recipe by Nancy Fuller on Food Network magazine
6 medium-sized zucchini, cut in half lengthwise
2 tablespoon olive oil
12 ounces sweet Italian sausage, casings removed
(I used hot sausage)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 small onion, chopped
1 28-ounce can Muir Glen fire-roasted diced tomatoes
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
½ cup mozzarella (I omitted this)
½ cup breadcrumbs
2 tablespoons fresh parsley
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Scoop out flesh from the interior of zucchini so they resemble boats. Place zucchini in a 9 by 13 inch casserole dish. Chop scooped-out zucchini and set aside.
In a medium sauté pan over medium-high heat, add olive oil and let heat through. Add sausage and cook for 4 minutes. Add garlic, onion, tomatoes, chopped zucchini, and salt and pepper. Cook until softened, about 4 minutes. Spoon mixture into zucchini boats.
In a bowl, add cheeses, breadcrumbs, and parsley; mix to combine. Sprinkle the breadcrumb mix on the zucchini. Place in oven and bake until golden on top, 20 minutes.