Our first squash & zucchini came in this week. Heaven! We're having some tonight!
I was so surprised when I first saw how zucchini and squash are born.
The plants have huge leaves and stems that serve to shield the tender vegetables from the sun. Very soon, great blossoms form. These are edible (and a delicacy, really) - but if you eat them, you miss out on the end product.
The picture above is a zucchini from our garden, halfway between being a pretty flower and a tasty veggie! In only a day or so, the flower will be usurped into the fruit of the plant and the zucchini will be much larger. It is simply amazing!
If you have several thriving squash or zucchini plants in your garden, it will stay very busy keeping them picked, shared, cooked, pickled or frozen. But it is so worth it! The garden variety is just so superior to anything you can buy at the store. I get a little desperate for them sometimes in winter and I will buy them, but am always disappointed.
From the garden, they do NOT disappoint.
A tender, flavorful miracle of nature...that's what they are.