Summer Garden’s Bounty! By Pat Kinsella Herdeg

This wet spring and then, very hot summer has given my husband’s garden terrific crops this year! Even after the small animals eat their fill, we still have zucchini, summer squash, cherry tomatoes and cucumbers galore!

Here is a picture of tonight’s pickings—every day brings more!

In this picture, you can just see a kitchen tea towel with a large list of menu items on it. When my daughter was recently in Brighton, England, she toured the Royal Pavilion there.

In January of 1817, at the Royal Pavilion in Brighton, the great French chef, Antonin Carême, devised one of the grandest banquets of all time. He was brought from France to serve as chef for ‘His Royal Highness, the Prince Regent’ George the Fourth. George would be King in three years, but for now, he had as his guest the Grand Duke Nicholas of Russia. Nicholas was the younger brother of the current Tsar of Russia, Alexander I, and he would become Tsar himself in 1825.

The Prince was aware that state dinners in Russia could be quite extravagant, so he called on his own French chef, Carême, to create a banquet for the Grand Duke that would rival or even surpass those in Russia. Carême was more than equal to the challenge.

Carême planned a lavish menu for this banquet, which included over 120 different dishes to be served over nine courses. The banquet menu included eight different soups, followed by eight different fish dishes, then five shellfish dishes, and that was just to start. This grand banquet also included forty different dishes in the entrée course and thirty-two desserts (Okay, this was your history lesson for the day…!).

With 32 desserts ( upside down lemon jelly, greek raisin waffles, apple and rum pudding and spun sugar diadems among them), we KNOW that the guests enjoyed this feast! But, what to do with OUR largesse? I turned to our family recipes, of course!

Grandma Taylor’s Beans (Ethel Baker Taylor)

1 # package of pea or navy beans (dry)

Sort over and rinse.

Ethel used to add a good size teaspoon of baking soda to water and let set over night. Harold did the same but also added 1 teaspoon brown sugar. Pour off water, add more to cover as well as chunk of salt pork scored to rind. Boil until beans are soft. Serve with vinegar.

Mom (Aunt CB) writes: “This is a glorious dish Mom used to fix for picnics; she would put it in a big covered pan and bring along china dishes (paper plates cost money!)

Doris and I used to share a plate, cover it with beans, pour on a teaspoon of vinegar, stir and draw a line down the middle--her side, my side!”

Zucchini in Dill Cream Sauce by Sylva Howland Emhof 

2 ¼ lbs. unpared zucchini, cut in strips (7 to 8 cups)

¼ C. finely chopped onion

½ C. water

1 tsp. chicken bouillon granules

½ tsp. dried dill weed

2 Tblsp. Butter or margarine

2 tsp. sugar

2 tsp. lemon juice

2 Tblsp. Flour

½ C. sour cream

In sauce pan, combine zucchini, onion, water, salt, bouillon granules and dill weed. Bring to boil. Reduce heat, simmer covered about 5 minutes or until just tender. Do not drain. Add butter, sugar and lemon juice. Remove from heat.

Blend flour into sour cream in small bowl. Stir about half of the hot cooking liquid into the sour cream and flour; return all to sauce pan, cook and stir until thickened and bubbly.                    6 servings

Sylva writes: “I was given this recipe by Louise Bice, Freddie’s sister, a few years ago (this was written in 1986). Last time I served this, all the women liked it very much. Don’t think any of the men were very impressed! Most of them weren’t too fond of vegetables any way.”

Squash Casserole from Barb Buck Taylor:

 

Judy Taylor Alberts writes: “my memory of mom's summer recipe”

Yellow squash

sweet onion

crushed bread crumbs

butter

Slice the squash and onion, layer in a baking pan with bits of butter through out. Pour bread crumbs over the top with more bits of butter.  Cook in 350 oven for 20-25 min.

Test it with a fork till tender.

(I have added zucchini for more color and used part butter/olive oil.)

Zucchini Quiche from Kathy Taylor Mills:

3 C. shredded zucchini

2 C. chopped onion

1-2 T. chopped garlic

2 T. parsley

4 well beaten eggs

½ C. oil

½ -1 C. shredded cheese

1 C. bisquick

½ t. salt

dash pepper

Mix all ingredients. Place in 9 x 9  or 8 x 8 pan or pie plate.

Bake 350 degrees for 40-50 minutes or until set.

Wonderful Recipes! Thanks, Family. Now, off to a lunch of cherry tomatoes and cucumbers, and for dinner, we’ll try Kathy’s Zucchini Quiche. Enjoy your August and keep cool!