Zucchini Garden Lunch: Unique and Easy ways to Use Zucchini

 

 

By: Lauran Bell

Have you ever heard of a zucchini hot dog or how about zucchini slices being used instead of bread for a lunch? As someone who gravitates towards meat or seafood at the center of pretty much every meal, I would have had that “really?!” look if someone suggested making zucchini hot dogs. A sandwich that ditches the carbs for zucchini slices – “seriously?!”

I would have laughed even harder if you told me that my eleven-year-old would say that zucchini slices in that sandwich taste better than Hawaiian bread! (I’m not promising your kid will do the same.) It turns out that not only is zucchini star worthy and brings the garden back to your lunch, but it’s worth growing too, even if you’re not a gardener.

 

When the Garden Just Won’t Stop with Those Zucchinis

So why then have I gotten so zucchini-centric lately? Well, my husband happens to be an annoyingly good gardener. It’s the end of August, and we have a boatload of zucchini. I have made stuffed zucchini boats, zucchini kebabs, zucchini orzo, zucchini hummus wraps, zucchini bread, zucchini brownies https://chocolatecoveredkatie.com/zucchini-brownies-recipe/ and still… more zucchini! I’m at the point where I see three or more zucchinis growing, even more enormous by the day, and I just want it to stop. But zucchinis just keep coming at me.

I’ve also learned through the years that not everyone likes to be gifted a zucchini. The good news? I’ve found some unique and easy ways to use them in garden lunches that the whole family loves and keeps asking for. (I’ve also asked my husband the secret to his success growing zucchinis. More on that below.)

 

Easy and Versatile Zucchini: Garden lunches, dinners, snacks, and appetizers

The zucchini hot dog and the turkey sandwich with zucchini slices for “bread” are delicious lunches, but they can also double as other meals. The zucchini dog first came to be at our house as a dinner. I had a few items in my fridge, including brioche hotdog buns, shiitake, and portobello mushrooms and really did not feel like going to the store. I put them together with sautéed zucchini, my secret jalapeño sauce (recipe below), added chopped red onion, some grated parmesan, and a squeeze of lemon. The family was begging for more.

 

Making these zucchini dogs was so easy (15-20 min) that I re-made them the same night, so the family could have seconds. The zucchini dog is best for a lunch at home in the garden but can also be a quick weeknight dinner. The zucchini dog would also be a welcome surprise at a bbq, served alongside my Staycation Burger. See my portobello burger recipe in the post, The Best Portobello Burgers of the Season.

The zucchini sandwich, on the other hand, is also a great garden lunch, can be a snack, main meal if served over pasta or rice, or could be served (if made smaller sized) as an appetizer.

 

Zucchini Instead of Sliced Bread? Unique, Easy, and Surprisingly Delicious!

I’ve been trying to come up with a variety of easy lunches for my daughter to take to school. She only wants Pb&J every single day! When she tried the garden zucchini turkey “sandwich” with garlic, onion, thyme, pepper jack cheese, lemon, and jalapeño sauce, she loved it. Probably because of the mildly spicy but very flavorful jalapeño sauce. To get the recipe for the sauce, go to my Staycation Burger recipe in the post The Best Portobello Burgers of the Season.

That sauce makes almost anything taste delicious. (I found a Trader Jose’s toasted sesame dressing that I like just as much for this sandwich.) I was really hoping that I could pack this zucchini sandwich in her lunch. Unfortunately, I realized that it’s a no-go for lunches on the go.

 

This is one garden lunch you’ll have to have on the weekend in your actual garden. It tastes great if you eat it right away, but I realized because of the zucchini, it was going to be too watery in a lunchbox. Also, you need a bit of finesse to eat this sandwich without dropping the turkey, garlic, cheese, and toasted sesame filling, which if not careful can slide off of the delicate zucchini slices. She definitely does not have that skill just yet. I recommend using a fork and knife and serving this garden lunch when someone extra special stops by. And if you’re going to add zucchini to a school lunchbox, I’d stick to zucchini bread.

Use Those Zucchinis For a Delightful Garden Lunch

If you want to make something unexpected and delicious for lunch, make the Garden Zucchini with Turkey, Thyme, and Lemon recipe below. It’s super simple to make (about 15 minutes), but it looks elevated. Even better, it tastes great! This is the variation on the zucchini sandwich that I prefer. The first version has the same turkey onion filling but a zucchini slice on top and bottom. In the second variation, I only use the bottom slice of the zucchini, and then I load it with the turkey, garlic, onion sauté and all of the other goodies.

It has an unctuous taste because of the toasted sesame oil sauce, turkey, and cheese, but then it’s balanced by the bright, tangy lemon and healthy zucchini. (You can also use my homemade jalapeño siracha mildly spicy sauce in place of the sesame sauce.)

After eating it, I felt satisfied but not overly full, like I would have if I’d eaten a carb-loaded sandwich. I’m sure my mom or mother-in-law would enjoy this garden lunch the next time either one of them visits.

 

 

Zucchini Is One of the Easiest Plants to Grow for Your Future Garden Lunches

The best tasting zucchini for that delicious garden lunch begins with planting your own zucchini. Luckily, zucchini is one of the easiest and most prolific plants to grow. According to my husband, Aaron, an avid gardener, “zucchini grown vertically produces a ton of fruit for its footprint.” (Yes, zucchini is a fruit because it has seeds.) Usually you see zucchini sprawled out in patches, but at our house, it grows up a metal fence post, and the stems, or vines, are attached with Velcro garden tape.

 

Aaron’s Top 5 Ways to Grow Amazing Zucchini

1. Good Soil: He buys organic soil with amendments from a local garden supply store. This year was one of our best zucchini harvests, and he used the “lasagna garden method.” This gardening technique uses layers of green and brown organic material to create rich soil without having to dig. Aaron, however, simplified it by just using cardboard for one layer, then soil, and then mulch. (He was careful not to include any cardboard with ink or other non-organic matter.) See this link from The Spruce in order to get more information on lasagna gardening: https://www.thespruce.com/how-to-make-a-lasagna-garden-2539877 He tops off the “lasagna” mound with any type of mulch but prefers straw because it has fewer seeds than hay.

2. Full Sun: Aaron’s garden moved from the back of the house, to the side, and is now fully extended in our front yard. He followed the full sun, and it made all the difference.

 

Grow Zucchini Vertically!

3. Grow it Vertically: His belief is that if he grows it up off the ground, it’ll help protect the plant from fungus. House Digest, an online magazine, agrees in the article, “Here’s Why You Should Be Growing Zucchini Vertically.” https://www.housedigest.com/stories/the-benefits-of-growing-zucchini-vertically/

 

The zucchinis can be heavy, but the vines can still be propped up on the post with the garden tape mentioned above. “Growing zucchini vertically is an ongoing process. You can’t look at it like it’s one and done. You have to continually train it as it grows,” Aaron says. When attaching the vines to the post, be careful not to smoosh the flower buds, but don’t worry if the leaves end up backwards because the zucchini leaves will right themselves and turn towards the sun in about one day.

You’ve Got a Fungus Fight Ahead of You (but it’s oddly therapeutic)

4. Take Anti-fungal Measures: “It’s a race between fungus and the plant. The fungus is going to win eventually,” says Aaron. He sprays it with Southern AG Organic Garden Friendly Fungicide about every other day. I have been tasked with mitigating fungus on our zucchini plants while he’s at work. I have never considered myself a gardener, but I’ve found it therapeutic to continually check on the plants and care for them.

 

The place to focus on spraying is the stem of the plant; often you will see the fungus there. Cut off the leaves that are full of fungus, and be careful to discard them away from compost and other plants. You don’t want to cut too many of the leaves off, however, because you need an ample amount of them to feed your fruit – good old photosynthesis. Then give all of the leaves a nice organic shower with the fungicide and hope your zucchini will live another day for a few more unique and easy lunches from the garden.

 

5.Ample Space: Even though growing it vertically can change in which direction that you need space, you still need space. Zucchini are runners and have huge leaves, so space is essential. If you grow it in a container garden, which he’s done before, it’ll take up even more space. He has been a lot more successful, however, growing it vertically. Also, growing it vertically gives the urban gardener a little more room to grow something else, like the watermelon and cantaloupe that share the same mound as our vertical zucchini garden.

Zucchini Magic

Aaron and I took the zucchini challenge both in the kitchen and the garden, and we learned that this amazing fruit just keeps teaching us new things. I cooked our zucchini stock pile in so many different ways and because zucchini is so versatile, there are still an infinite number of variations to explore. I’m looking forward to trying zucchini butter and zucchini banana bread with chocolate.

Aaron keeps changing how he grows zucchini. He insists that gardening is “not formulaic.” He says to “keep learning your space, what works and what doesn’t, through trial and error.” Next year, he’s going to treat the soil, roots, and stem with antifungal before he even plants it. He would also train it up earlier and would use a cattle panel in addition to the metal posts because he wants to give it even more space to continue to grow.

He reminded me, when I finally got the Garden Zucchini with Turkey, Thyme, and Lemon recipe just right, that like gardening, cooking is an art. It’s a process, and the surprises that zucchini unfolds makes the effort worthwhile and full of that garden magic.

 

 

Food Forward Family Activity: Treat Zucchini Seeds to Plant Later

 

1. 1. Let one of your garden zucchinis get really large on the vine. Wait until the zucchini is so old that the outside of the fruit is really hard. Harvest the zucchini.
   2. Cut open the zucchini & scoop out the seeds. Place them in a container. It’s ok if some of the fruit goop is coating the seeds. Compost everything else.
   3. Add a little bit of water to cover the seeds. Let it sit for 1-2 days.
   4. Add more water to the container. The non-viable seeds will float, and the good ones will sink. Toss the seeds that float.
   5. Clean the good seeds with water, & get rid of all of the zuc goop.
   6. Put the seeds out to dry for a few days.
   7. Put your seeds in an envelope. Label, & store in a cool space.
   8. Plant the seeds according to your growing zone. Here in zone 9b, we’ll be planting our zuc seeds mid Jan through mid Feb.

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