This month鈥檚 heavy rains and strong winds have been more characteristic of November 鈥� except for the fair-day intervals when the October sun blossomed forth with a penetrating warmth that will be听missing next month.
Two weeks ago I woke to see a听section of my side fence had blown over in the wind. A neighbour, noticing me struggle trying to shore it up with props, arrived with her handy-husband on the morning of Thanksgiving Day to听repair the decrepit, old, flagging structure.
Such touching generosity and kindness, from busy poeple, on听a听holiday, elevated the sense of听gratitude in my home that day.
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Best zucchini. With each growing season I become increasingly enamoured of and grateful for climbing zucchini. The plants abound in virtue. They are easily grown, vigorous and highly productive. Given a trellis or fence to听clamber onto, they take up a minuscule amount of ground space. The long, slender fruits yield substantial amounts of food and they are a delight to handle and process. The flesh is tender and sweet, flavourful and firm.
The name for this upwardly mobile Italian zucchini is Tromboncino (West Coast Seeds), or Tromboncino d鈥橝lbenga in the Chiltern Seeds catalogue, which lists it as a 鈥渂est seller.鈥�
Tromboncino fruits dangle decoratively from their vines 鈥� long, slender, pale green. At the bottom end, a small bulge indicates the seed cavity. This makes for easy slicing of rounds from the zucchini鈥檚 long neck, with no seedy section in the way. If peeling is desired, it鈥檚 a听snap: Just run a vegetable peeler along the neck. Tromboncino fruits can grow up to 150-centimetres long, but are at their best at 25-听to听30-centimetres long.
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... and a winter squash. Over the past few years I鈥檝e become equally thrilled with a somewhat similarly shaped winter squash. Pennsylvania Dutch Crookneck (Seed Savers Exchange) also has a long neck and bulbous end, but the neck is curved. These plants are grown at ground level. The neck section is quickly peeled and cut into rings for roasting or steaming. Even though this is not a thick-skinned squash, it lasts well through the winter.
The orange flesh is wonderful 鈥� juicy, sweet, tender and fine-textured. I鈥檝e been using some of this year鈥檚 fruits for 鈥減umpkin鈥� pies and puddings.
Like Tromboncino, Pennsylvania Dutch Crookneck squashes are ornamental, and large. Their productivity and good looks make these two plants ideal for the home garden.
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A treat. There鈥檚 something about fresh lemon juice that enhances the flavour of zucchini dishes. For a quick dinner vegetable, I听often slice zucchini into rounds and rectangles for frying and lacing with lemon.
Olive oil and butter together work well for the frying, but I鈥檝e discovered that coconut oil more quickly creates the golden, crusty coating I like on the cooked zucchini slices. When they are golden on one side, I听turn them over, dust the slices with freshly grated salt and sprinkle them with fresh lemon juice. The zucchini is ready to听serve when both sides are golden.
So fast and easy. So delicious.
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GARDEN EVENTS
Lily meeting. The Victoria Lily Society will meet Monday in the Mel Couvelier Pavilion of the Horticulture Centre of the Pacific, 505 Quayle Rd., in Saanich. This open meeting will feature the annual rare bulb and plant auction. Viewing with wine and cheese runs 6:30 to 7:30 p.m., auction at 7:30.
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Orchid meeting. The Victoria Orchid Society meets Monday, 7:30 p.m. in听the Gordon Head Church Hall, 4201听Tyndall Ave. Plant display and sale table viewing starts at 7. The evening鈥檚 topic will be the Ecuagenera and other orchids of听Ecuador. Non-members are welcome.
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View Royal meeting. The View Royal Garden Club meets Wednesday, 7:30 p.m. in Wheeley Hall at Esquimalt United Church, 500 Admirals Rd. Lana Popham, MLA and past president of the Vancouver Island Grape Growers Association, will discuss best practices for homegrown grapes. There will be a judged mini-show and sales table. Visitors and new members are welcome. Drop-in fee is $5.
