End of Febuary, must be time to eat shredded zucchini

There is a really good supply of frozen rhubarb in my freezer; one nearly empty quart bag of blueberries; plenty of strawberries I plan to make some fruit leather with; and an abundance of shredded zucchini.

Each summer I find overly large zukes in the garden and at the farmstand for a steal.Sometimes they are abandoned like babies on my door step. Each summer I shred these zukes. It is a laborious task. Often while at this task I ponder why I preserve the zuke this way. Those large zukes would make good chicken feed. The growing piggie would enjoy them too. So why do I do this?

Once we are no longer eating from the garden we start eating the veggies we have preserved the summer before. The corn and tomatoes always seem to go first. One of these years I will figure out the proper amount of corn and tomatoes to put up. There is the broccoli, peas and beans a worthy replacement for the greens we crave. Inevitably, those frozen quarts of zucchini get tossed about until they sit lonely at the bottom of a nearly empty freezer; hidden under bread butts saved for making bread crumbs and containers of soup put aside for Mark's lunch for work.

When I was shredding those zukes I thought about the muffins, soups and sweet quick breads that they will be. Tonight, however, it is the only vegetable available until I can get some local greens at our healthfood store. Yes, the end of the veg is nigh! Oh, sure, there are plenty of pickles but out of all the free veg gleaned from my farm job last summer, all the veg I harvested from my garden, out of all the food preserved in my freezer and canned; all that remains is the lowly shredded zuke. Granted it was not nearly as much as what I have done in past years because of our move; but, oh boy, it SEEMED like a lot. What is a resourceful homesteader to do?

Zuke patties!

All measurements are approximate.

1 quart of shredded zucchini, defrosted and left in a strainer till it is dry-ish

3 tablespoons parmesan cheese

2 cloves garlic minced and sauteed in olive oil until soft

about 1/2 cup bread crumbs, I also threw in a little wheat germ

1 egg

salt and pepper to taste

Mix all ingredients in a bowl adjust amount of bread crumb until you have a firm texture. Form into small patties. I used a couple of teaspoon to shape. Heat olive oil in a skillet. Drop patties into pan and brown on both sides.

These would be good served with a chutney or mustard.

Enjoy!