First fruit

While TDN has been out of town for business, I have been periodically checking up on the garden.  I love seeing things grow over short and long periods of time, and the plants in the garden are no different.  I can't wait for the tomatoes to be ready!

The strawberries are trying to grow and ripen about halfway through TDN's time away.

Leroy came outside to help me check on things.

Look very closely and you can see the first yellow bloom of the tomato plants.  This one just happens to be on the purple tomato plant, my favorite!

When I checked the garden this week - the last week of his trip - there was a beautifully ripe strawberry.  Yes, just one.  It was the first fruit (or vegetable) I found ready to eat from this summer's garden!  I brought it home for MB to enjoy, and enjoy it she did!

(Not so patiently) awaiting fresh veggies

The last Saturday that Tall Dark and Nerdy and I spent together before he left for his big trip (three weeks of work in India, followed by two weeks trekking in the Annapurnas in Nepal) involved getting our hands a little dirty.  Okay, actually, a lot dirty.

It was mid-April in the San Francisco Bay Area (and he was about to leave for 5 weeks) so it was time to put in the garden!

We planted tomatoes, zucchini, squash, basil, strawberries, artichokes, a blueberry bush, and I forget what else.  There was already kale, chard, and a lemon tree growing.

After we got everything planted, we got the fun job of setting up the new drip system so that everything will be perfectly watered.  

Once we finished, I had a farmer's tan on one side of my body - apparently I didn't turn around enough - and more mud caked under my fingernails than I had seen since moving to California, but the garden looked really good!  I can't wait for the veggies to start coming in - and if it happens while TDN's still on his trip, they're ALL MINE!

Chocolate Zucchini Muffins

My GIANT zucchini.  This is what's
left AFTER making a double batch
of this recipe!

Tall Dark and Nerdy has a great garden.  It seemed small to me at first (because I was comparing it to my mom's monster garden), but last summer I realized that it may be small, but it sure is mighty!  It produced kale, tomatoes, and zucchini like CRAZY (among other things in reasonable amounts).  I had never eaten kale before last summer, then all of a sudden I had it in nearly every meal it seemed.  Same with zucchini.  A vegetable that I had previously only been able to stomach in Grams's zucchini bread became something I ate regularly and enjoyed.

Yet, I didn't know how to cook it.  All I knew how to do with it was bake - surprise, surprise!  Once I told TDN this, he made sure to give me all the giant zucchini that aren't as yummy to just eat but still do great when baking (just cut out middle part with the seeds)  This chocolate zucchini bread/muffin recipe became my most-used recipe of the summer, and I can't wait to use it again this year!

Ingredients:

Who knew veggies could
look so good?

• 2 cups flour
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 6 Tablespoons cocoa powder (unsweetened)
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 3 eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 3 cups grated zucchini
• 3/4 to 1 cup mini chocolate chips

Directions:

Grate your zucchini if you haven't already.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Grease and flour muffin tins or 2 loaf pans.  If using loaf pans, after greasing, use a paper towel to wipe the top 1 inch of the pan (to keep the loaf from getting a funny edge).  Set aside.

Whisk together flour, cinnamon, baking soda, salt, and cocoa powder in a small bowl and set aside.

Just stirred in the zucchini.

Beat oil, sugar, brown sugar, and eggs until combined and slightly fluffy using and electric mixer.

Add vanilla and sour cream.  Mix until combined.

Gently stir in the grated zucchini.

Mmm chocolate AND
chocolate chips.

Stir a spoonful of the flour mixture in with the chocolate chips so they will combine with everything evenly.

Add the rest of the flour mixture to the batter.  Stir until just combined.  Stir in chocolate chips.

Divide the batter between pans.

If you want, you can sprinkle a mixture of equal parts brown sugar and white sugar with a little cinnamon on top.  (Do it, it's delicious!)

Ready to bake.  These have the
topping on them also.

For bread, bake for 45-60 minutes.  For muffins, bake around 12 minutes (I can't remember exactly how long they took).  When it's done, a toothpick should come out fairly clean.

Cool slightly on a rack, then remove from pans.


Adapted from Our Best Bites