Zucchini Alert!

Yes, it's that time of year again. Roll up your windows, and lock your doors, because your colleagues, neighbors, and friends of friends may harbor a summer squash plant in their garden. If they do, and you aren't vigilant, sacks of the seasonal vegetable will suddenly appear on your car seat when you step back from that post office errand. The most commonly grown squash in this region is the little zucchini, or not so little if the gardener lets them get out of hand. A herd of voles hollowed out a two-footer in my mother's garden, and set up contented housekeeping inside it some years ago. As a college roommate of mine once quipped, a single properly irrigated plant produces enough zucchini to feed a family of twelve throughout summer. Californians have been trying to invent new ways to use up excess zucchini ever since they became fashionable to grow - grilled zucchini, stuffed zucchini, pureed zucchini soup, zucchini bread, zucchini quiche, zucchini hidden in meatloaf, and as I discovered being prepared at a recent farmer's market, zucchini fritters! To your health.