Zen and Zucchini

I love this time of year when the zucchini are so prolific that the search begins for creative ways to consume this yummy vegetable.  New to me this year is a zucchini taco inspired by a recipe from my CSA (community shared agriculture) farmer. This is a very, very delicious way to eat up your zucchini.

Zucchini Tacos

2 Tbs. olive oil

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 small sweet onion, diced

1 zucchinis, cut lengthwise into quarters, then chopped

into 1/2 inch pieces.

Salt and Pepper to taste

1 cup corn kernels

1/2 cup grated monteray jack cheese.

3/4 cups chicken or vegetable stock

2 Tbs chopped fresh cilantro

1 pablano pepper, seeded and sliced

Heat the oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add garlic,

onion, chili pepper (optional), and zucchini, stirring and

cooking until the zucchini begins to soften—about 5 minutes.

Stir in salt, pepper, broth and corn. Cover, reduce heat

to low, and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from heat

and sprinkle with cheese. Cover again to hold in the

heat and melt the cheese—about 2 to 3 minutes.

Serve immediately wrapped in a tortilla.

Zucchini Taco - Sunflower from my friend Heather Harrington

My favorite summer time treat is zucchini bread.  Wowser, it's so good fresh from the oven.   Here's the recipe I used:  Best Zucchini Bread EVER

Zucchini bread on my Grandma's platter

I just realized that I have so many zucchini recipes that I'm going to have to continue this onto a later blog because I have many, many favorites.

My garden is all about the harvest now and I love it.  Here's a picture of today's partial harvest minus the cucumbers and zucchini.  As for my extra tomatoes, I'm washing, bagging, and freezing until canning day in the not so distant future.

Today's Harvest - veggies on my Grandma's veggie platter

Hey, I'm starting to turn the corner.  Having 10 days of "slow down, breathe, practice gratitude, no rushing" really paid off.   Finally, for the first time in toooooooo long, I enjoyed the sound of the wind through the trees, I watched swarms of hummingbirds enjoying succulents from my flowers, and I simply enjoyed the laughter of my kids.  Over the last 10 days I experienced many moments of zen that I had lost in all my crazy "rushiness".  Yup, lesson learned - I need to slow down once in awhile and focus on the journey, not the destination.  Burning the candle from both ends doesn't make me very bright and I found it easy to completely eliminate the following for a week and a half straight:   working from home, to-do lists, Facebook, blogging, alarm clocks, texting, and Twitter.  I'll be doing that more often!!

What do you eliminate from your day when you are feeling overwhelmed and over committed?

Thanks for reading,

Kristin