![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.fathead-movie.com\/images\/GardenFrontView.jpg\")
<\/p>\nOn a hot summer day long ago, my dad warned me not to leave my car\u2019s windows open when I parked in front of the house.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy not?\u00a0 No one\u2019s going to steal this piece of junk.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes, but the people around here with gardens will leave zucchini in your back seat.\u201d<\/p>\n
Prolific stuff, zucchini.\u00a0 See the giant plants in the picture below, over there to the right?\u00a0 That\u2019s our zucchini.\u00a0 Since we\u2019re only sitting on five acres here in the middle of Tennessee, Chareva decided to try a technique called \u201csquare-foot gardening\u201d \u2026 you know, the kind of garden people grow in little back yards or on rooftops in urban areas.\u00a0 I understand the rationale, but the zucchini has apparently responded to the tight quarters by launching a hostile takeover of the garden.<\/p>\n
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I wouldn\u2019t mind seeing so many zucchini exploding from the garden if half of them weren\u2019t as big as my leg.\u00a0 Chareva\u2019s determined to make use of them and is already sounding a bit like Bubba talking about shrimp in Forrest Gump:<\/em> \u201cZucchini salad, zucchini stew, boiled zucchini, fried zucchini, zucchini noodles, zucchini pancakes \u2026\u201d<\/p>\n For lunch today, I had zucchini stuffed with sausage and cheese.\u00a0 For dinner, I had zucchini stuffed with sausage and cheese.\u00a0 I\u2019m probably going to find zucchini stuffed with something in my lunch-bag at work tomorrow.\u00a0 Fortunately, zucchini stuffed with sausage and cheese is delicious.\u00a0 Someone asked for the recipe last week in comments, so I\u2019ll include it at the end of this post.\u00a0 Not much to it, really.<\/p>\n The other foods we\u2019ve started harvesting from the garden so far are green beans, sugar-snap peas, parsley and basil \u2013 all of which are (for now) a safe distance from the zucchini.\u00a0 Later in the year, we hope to be harvesting butternut squash, pumpkins, sweet potatoes, carrots, sweet corn, cantaloupe and tomatoes.\u00a0 (No, I didn\u2019t ask for the sweet corn.\u00a0 It was the Chief Gardener\u2019s idea.)<\/p>\n Maybe it\u2019s just the satisfaction of knowing that we grew them ourselves (and by \u201cwe\u201d of I course mean \u201cChareva\u201d), but the sugar-snap peas and green beans taste crisper and juicier to me than their store-bought cousins.\u00a0 The zucchini is good too, even though I\u2019m afraid we\u2019ll soon be looking for open car windows to offload some of our supply.<\/p>\n The chickens are getting bigger by the day, and at least one of them started laying little mini-eggs.\u00a0 Nothing inside yet, so I guess chickens get the hang of making the shells first then learn to fill them later.\u00a0 They\u2019re supposed to be laying full-sized eggs in early autumn.\u00a0 If we end up overloaded with eggs, I doubt we\u2019ll have to sneak them into unlocked cars.\u00a0 We have neighbors who would no doubt volunteer to take those off our hands.<\/p>\n The ferocious guard dogs are getting bigger by the day as well.\u00a0 It\u2019s gotten to the point that when they charge into the kitchen to maul me with affection, they can almost knock me over.<\/p>\n The only downside of living on a mini-farm during the summer growing season is the ticks.\u00a0 I don\u2019t know how many live on our land, but at least one manages to attach itself to me pretty much every time I go out and spend an hour or so playing frisbee golf.\u00a0 I used to make the mistake of coming inside, tossing my clothes on the bed, then taking a shower.\u00a0 I learned my lesson after going to bed tick-free and waking up with one of the little @#$%ers<\/em> digging into the side of my knee.<\/p>\n Now whenever I come back in after spending time outside, I go straight to the laundry room in the basement and remove every stitch of clothing before walking upstairs.\u00a0 Last week, Chareva was tossing some of my clothes into the washer and tick jumped from the clothes onto her arm.<\/p>\n Our original flock of guinea fowl \u2013 the designated hit men for the ticks \u2013 ran off, so we\u2019ve got another on the way.\u00a0 This time we\u2019ll make sure they\u2019re raised in a pen outside and get used to the place before they can get loose and wander around.\u00a0 I want the tick-eaters to consider this their home.\u00a0 I\u2019d happily put Guinness in their water dispenser on Saturday nights if they\u2019d promise not to leave.<\/p>\n Now about that recipe \u2026<\/p>\n Chareva’s Kitchen:\u00a0 Stuffed Zucchini<\/strong><\/p>\n Cut zucchini in half and scoop out the insides.\u00a0 Salt and pepper the zucchini boat.<\/p>\n Cook up some sausage.<\/p>\n Spoon in salsa, fresh chopped basil, chopped mushrooms, then add the browned crumbled sausage.<\/p>\n Top with mozzarella or cheese of your choice.<\/p>\n Bake at 350 for about 30 minutes or until cheese is bubbly and starting to brown.<\/p>\n I know what you\u2019re thinking:\u00a0 but what the heck do I do with the zucchini I scooped out?<\/em> Well, don\u2019t let it go to waste.\u00a0 Chareva fried some zucchini slices in the sausage grease today then sprinkled on some Parmesan and sea salt.\u00a0 It was delicious.\u00a0 Great little zucchini side dish to go with the zucchini main course.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.fathead-movie.com\/images\/PeasOnVine.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.fathead-movie.com\/images\/FarmChickensBarn.jpg\")
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<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.fathead-movie.com\/images\/GirlsCocoMisha.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.fathead-movie.com\/images\/StuffedZucchini01.jpg\")
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<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.fathead-movie.com\/images\/FriedZucchini.jpg\")
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