Stuffed Zucchini

I just wanted to share what I created with the giant zucchini I was lucky enough to happen upon in our garden last week. Sometimes the mistake of an over grown vegetable can be quite rewarding.

I sauteed the inside of the zucchini that I scraped out to create room for the stuffing, 1 lb of diced white button mushrooms, and some vegetarian "meat" crumbles and combined that with 1 jar of spaghetti sauce for the top layer. I mixed low fat cottage cheese, grated parmesan, fresh garlic, and some mozzarella for the cheesy bottom layer. I baked the zucchini without filling at 400 F until soft (20 or so minutes) then layered the cheese and sauce mixture in the halves and baked for about 25-30 minutes until they were bubbly and warmed through. This is a total "no-recipe" required dish so go with flavors you like and it will be great!

For more of my recipes please visit my other blog Cooking.In.College by clicking HERE.

October Harvest & Update

The new crop of radishes is ready to be picked

Peppers are doing much better now than they did at the beginning of the summer

Guest Post by Emily Cecil

We are getting close to a full tomato harvest! They have been ripening on the vine for several 

days now. There are so many that are on the verge of ripening all at once that I recommend 

we set a time for us to meet at the garden to pick them together. That 

way no one gets the lions share. 

As you can see here, the zucchini plants have been prolific. My zucchini bread recipe has 

been well used this summer. It never leaves my house though, it tastes too good. I should 

make several loaves simultaneously so you can taste it. 

Interestingly, the Burmese immigrants I've been assisting 

this summer at the ROC program taught me how to eat 

more of the plant. Look at the long, thick, round stems. As 

the leaf gets old, they taught me how to pick them off from 

the main body, slice them into rings, and then stir-fry or 

sauté them. The flowers that would overproduce on the 

plant can be picked and stir-fried or sautéed, also. Yum! I 

recommend each of you try at least one stem. If you have 

any raw-food eating friends, they may like these to replace 

pasta, since the rings are so pretty when sliced. They can 

easily be added to any gazpacho soup, too. 

End of Summer Update & Garden Envy

It's a shame that the last days of summer are upon us but August has been pretty good to the garden. Despite the fact that it has been exceptionally dry, the weather has been warm and sunny so with diligent watering our crops have thrived. 

Our garden:

Our cantaloupe are doing very well. We have quite a few small melons but nothing is ready to pick yet. When they become heavy for their size, are very fragrant, and the skin beneath the webbing is orange or golden in color they are ready to pick.

Update

The hot hot hot weather in Greeley has made for a wonderful growing climate. Here's a short and sweet garden update for everyone.

Bonus: I got to harvest a few things last time I was at the garden. Very exciting!

The plant that I thought was a gigantic pepper plant was in fact a sunflower. The flowers are very pretty but not quite the humongous peppers I was hoping for!

Garden Update

I hope the summer has been treating everyone well! The gardens (and weeds) certainly have flourished, I visited today and spent about an hour weeding, admiring plants, and contemplating what I would make with the numerous crops in our garden.

Some exciting news about our community involvement: We have been able to forge a relationship with a group of Burmese immigrants who have a garden in an area called the Clay Gardens here in Greeley. So far some of our UNCO Gardeners have visited the Clay Gardens with the Burmese people, shared a snack including radishes from our garden, made a pizza using garden vegetables, experienced new herbs and usage of plants, and learned how to communicate with people who do not speak the same language. This is a wonderful experience and a relationship I hope we can continue to work on.

A gardener and Burmese immigrant trying a crop together

Garden Update and A How-To

The last time I visited the garden I brought along four cherry tomato plants that had been happily growing in my windowsill. I had one Orlov Yellow, one Red Cherry, one Cherokee Purple, and one Marizol Purple. These little plants were yearning for an outside life so I planted them. Planting seedlings isn't complicated but it is important that it is done correctly. Here's a quick how-to on everything I know about it, if you have any suggestions let me know, we're all here to learn!

Planting Day!!!

Hello All

We are a group of Dietetics students at the University of Northern Colorado who are starting a community garden in the UNC garden plots. For some of us this is our first garden and a few of us have had a green thumb for many years and are just hoping to share our knowledge.

This blog is going to focus on the progression of our garden, the weather and its effect on our plants' growth, and recipes utilizing our crops. Our main goal for this project is to provide nutrition education and fresh produce to the community all while learning about gardening together.

We planted our seeds and seedlings last Monday and are very excited to see what happens over the next couple of weeks!

Our garden plot before planting.