oh Flora, what is a Garbanzo or Chick Pea called over there? My friend and I were on the phone and I was teasing him about taking him on an American Vegetable tour when he comes in September. Apparently some veggies are named differently over there. Chick Pea is Chick pea That's right, they have aubergines and courgettes.... egg plant and zuke I remember being in a supermarket in the UK with an American med student and ozzie Physical therapist, and a huge but good natured debate that went on for hours, well into pub time! alcohol help but basically our dispute was courgette in UK, Zuke in USA (can't even spell it) and baby marrow in OZ! American miss out on the greatest of UK fav veg Runner beans which I assumed moving here last year, was a Europian veg, looked it up and found it was native of New England where I am living! the scarlet runner is old fashioned, furry and get tough and stringy quickly, I like polestar smooth not stringy or tough until very old, prolific, and I shudder to tell you where you can get them, incase I can't buy any next year! also people in the know in the UK call broccoli calabrese, but broccoli that is so amazing it ranks with asparagus is purple sprouting broccoli ! I will share but trust me I will be upset if I can't get any, Thompson and Morgan, sold out at the mo on PSB.

Actually, the best way to deal wit this would be to either use a Ball prepackaged Bread & Butter pickle mix, or one of the same mixes offered by Mrs. Wages. Zucchini isn't going to end up as crisp as cucumbers though, as they are less dense compared to a much more watery cucumber. These mixes have the necessary seasonings and salt, and you add your own sugar. Essentually the bread & butter pickles are usually slices, and are seasoned with mustard seeds, celery seeds, tumeric (for the yellow color), salt, sugar (or your own sweetener preference), vinegar, and water. Very basic... I like to add a few pieces of dried sweet red pepper flakes to the jars prior to filling with the cuke slices (or in your case the zuke slices). In mine, they are sliced with a crinkle cutter which gives them a nice ripple texture. In the last hour, I just made 8 quarts of the same thing, but instead of the B&B mix, I used a Kosher dill mix, and added a few whole peppercorns to each quart, as well as a couple of cloves of garlic cut up, and a few pieces of dried sweet red pepper pieces (for color), along with a few green and brown dill seed head pieces. In your case, a few mustard seeds and celery seeds added to each jar. The end result is a decent B&B you can enjoy. If you plan to make these using an alternative to regular sugar, the use of Splenda makes them very tasty and I find that I don't need the several pounds of sugar needed, as just a cup of Splenda will sweeten these just as much (has something to do with the vinegar reacting with the Splenda that makes it stronger sweetening power). Your taste goversn the sweetness, and if you do use Splenda, start out with about half a cup of the 'puffed up' type, and you will soon realize that it offers you quite a lot of sweetening power without getting cloyingly sweet. Enjoy.. With this method, there is no presalting, you just cold pack the jars and pour in the boiling brine, cap, and process, quarts for 10 minutes, pints for 5 minutes, this is, according to the "quick process" mentioned on the Mrs. Wages pickle packages.

I found this online. Does it look right? Zucchini Bread In a culinary context, zucchini are treated as vegetables, which means they are usually cooked and presented as a savory dish or accompaniment. Botanically, however, the zucchini is an immature fruit, being the swollen ovary of the female zucchini flower. Zucchini, like all summer squash, have their ancestry in the Americas. While most summer squash, including the closely related cocozelle, and marrow, were introduced to Europe during the time of European colonization of the Americas, the zucchini is European in origin, the result of spontaneously occurring mutations. In all probability, this occurred in the very late 19th century, probably near Milan; early varieties usually included the names of nearby cities in their name. The alternate name "courgette" comes from the French name of the fruit. The first records of zucchini in the United States date to the early 1920s. It was almost certainly brought over by Italian immigrants, and probably first emerged in the United States in California. One of the most popular ways to prepare zucchini is grated and incorporated into a bread, not unlike banana bread. In this version, draining and squeezing the zucchini makes it less moist than most, and it is less sweet. Eat it with or without butter. The green flecks call to mind its zucchini origins. 1 pound zucchini (approximately 2 cups) Salt (to help draw water from the zucchini) 2¾ cups flour 1½ teaspoons baking powder 1 teaspoon baking soda 1 teaspoon cinnamon ¼ teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg 3 eggs 1 cup sugar ½ cup vegetable or canola oil ¼ cup unsweetened applesauce (optional) Zest of one lemon 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans (optional) Wash, trim, and coarsely grate the zucchini. Lightly salt the zucchini and let it sit in a colander for 30 minutes to an hour. Squeeze the zucchini dry. You should have about 2 cups of zucchini. Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, and ½ teaspoon salt. Beat the eggs, sugar, oil and/or applesauce (optional). Mix in the lemon rind, lemon juice, and vanilla. Add the dry ingredients and beat until just combined. Over beating will toughen the bread. Stir in the zucchini. Add the nuts, if you wish. Pour the batter into a greased and floured 9x5-inch loaf pan, and bake in a preheated 350° oven for 50-60 minutes. To test for doneness insert a toothpick, knife or skewer into the center of the zucchini bread. If it pulls away clean, then the zucchini bread is done. Cool the zucchini bread in loaf pan for 15 minutes then remove to a wire rack to finish cooling or serve. The zucchini bread may be frozen for up to 3 months or double wrapped and stored at room temperature for several days. recipe by: The Victory Garden Cookbook yields: One 9x5-inch loaf. prep time: 25 min , active and 30 minutes, inactive total time: 0 About 1 hour 30 minutes plus cooling notes: To make a lower fat version of this recipe use 1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce and 1/4 cup vegetable or canola oil.

stir fry, I also really like zucchini, and like Peppi I do buy it year round, when I want it for a stir fry or vegetable dish when dehydrated or frozen just doesn't work. I did plant six zucchini plants, one of them was decimated by the resident groundhog, leaving me five. I do try to pick them small, and my mother eats them raw if they are less than 6 inches long. Get busy for two days, though, and you get baseball bats. I don't mind trying to use them up at all and the big ones get cut up for cow treats, they love them too. I have the same issue with cucumbers, I eat and pickle and turn into relish all I want, then I give buckets away. The years I plant less I have a bad year and then I don't have enough, so I just keep happily planting away and sharing. Annie