If the zucchini in your garden is anything like ours, it goes from normal-sized zucchini to freak-of-nature sized in two days.  This is a great way to use an overabundance of zucchini.  This recipe is great for fooling the wee ones in your house into thinking they are “veggie burgers.”  Well, they’re shaped like burgers and are made from veggies so it’s not technically a “lie.”  Plus, if it gets your kids to eat their vegetables, is it *really* a lie?  Yeah, I didn’t think so. 

Ingredients:

• 4 cups grated zucchni, excess water removed (you can squeeze the zucchini in paper towels or drain in a mesh strainer for a half hour)
• 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 cup Italian bread crumbs
• 1 egg
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1-2 tablespoons olive oil

1. Combine all ingredients, except olive oil, in a bowl and mix thoroughly. Form the mixture into 8 patties.  Note; if your mixture seems watery, add up to 1/2 cup more bread crumbs.
2. Heat olive oil in a pan over medium heat. Once heated, add patties and cook until golden brown.  About 6 – 8 minutes per side.
3. Serve with favorite tomato sauce and parmesean cheese, or serve on an Italian roll with heated tomato sauce and sliced mozzerella cheese.

Here’s a an oddball tidbit about me:  I’m allergic to raw garlic.  Therefore, you will rarely see a recipe of mine that uses it.  But!  That little allergy forces me to create my own garlic-free versions of recipes.  In this case, this is a garlic-free tzatziki dip that is SUPER SIMPLE to make and very tasty if I do say so myself.

Twisted Tzatziki Dip

16 ounces of plain (non-fat works well) Greek yogurt

1/2 of an English cucumber, chopped

1/3 cup fresh dill, minced

1/3 cup fresh chives, minced

4 – 6 ounces of crumbled feta cheese

Lemon zes t from one normal sized lemon

Salt and pepper to taste

Very difficult directions:  mix all of the above ingredients in a bowl.  Chill for one hour and serve with pita chips or crackers of your choice.  Your guests will love you for serving this!

A Camphor sapling growing from trunk of a Canary Island Pine.

Parasitic Commensalism?

I want to suck your blood

Tree on a tree parasite?

What in the Wild wild World of Sports is going on here?

What you are looking at (in photos) are examples of  plant-parasitic relationships. The plant parasite receives water and/or nutrients from the host through a tapped physical connection via chemotrophic root.

In these pictures the small camphor sapling  attaches its vascular system to at least one of the tissues of its host. Considering the host plant’s (pine) is large and pulling much water, and the camphor parasite leafy, my guess is that the pine is providing water (xylem) and the parasite photosynthesis. But who really knows.  What an interesting thing to see. You would think the pine would reject the invader as an infection, like with a gall. But I suppose the small size of the invader can be relationally viewed as the impact of sucker fish on a big whale. Just getting a taste, tolerated, but not intending to kill.

Here’s another one

Plant parasites become established via seed germination. Seeds land on the host tissue, for stem parasites especially in bird droppings, and germinate after reading a chemical stimulus from the host. A modified lateral root becomes an haustorium; this root is chemotrophic, i.e., responding to a chemical gradient, and contacts the host epidermis. The root then attaches by pushing against the plant and forming a disc, called a hapteron, and secretes a polysaccharide adhesive. The root tip then mechanically penetrates the host, apparently without enzymatic digestion, and establishes a vascular connection by attaching vessels and positioning phloem next to leaky host phloem.

Awesome!

1. Parasitic relationship between Mexican Palm (host) and Privet (parasite). The privet is growing from base of palm.

This is the first of two posts of photographs I’ve taken around town. The below is an example of an hemiparasitic relationship between a Mexican palm tree and a ficus sapling (CA privet). As you may notice, the ficus is growing directly out of the palm’s  lower trunk. It is interesting to find these types of successful relationships as they are not common.  Sooner or later, the palm or the ficus will lose. My money is a ficus beheading by mow, blow and go representative. Learn more about parasitic plants

3. Firmly attached

2. Privet base connected to palm

Coming soon to your front lawn. A miraculous dance performed by nature.

Spring is in full swing and there is much to view in the garden. Below you can view a number of new additions and few veterans. I am most impressed with the progress of my Western Elderberry. Just last fall I sheared him down to three feet, now he’s over 8 feet. This year’s rain and careful attention to his needs has resulted in a burst of near-lime colored new foliage. In addition, I am happy to see my Snow Flurry’s making good showing. I have about 5. I used to rent this property and my previous tenant managed to kill 8. Now that I’m home I’m building out the garden more aggressively. It’s been great fun.

Spring is here and my first attempt at growing California native plants has been educational (to say the least). I’ve learned so much that it dizzies the mind. In any event, I will add more to this post when I get the time. For now, enjoy the fruits of hard-learned labor.

While puttering around the garden, I stopped to admire the almost sprayed-on royal blue blooms on my Ceanothus Frosty Blue. And while looking closer at one cluster I saw something else, a white spider who contrasted the color wonderfully. I found it too cool not share .

Frosty Blue in winter bloom

A white sentinel stands guard

Frosty Blue and his 8-legged snow-spider buddy

Mmmmmm...

This is a great meal for a cold wintry night and it freezes well for lunches in the future.

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 medium-large sweet potato, peeled and diced
• 1 large onion, diced
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tablespoons chili powder
• 4 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon ground chipotle chile (see Note)
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 1/2 cups water
• 2 15-ounce cans black beans, rinsed
• 1 14-ounce can diced tomatoes
• 4 teaspoons lime juice
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Directions:

1. Heat oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add sweet potato and onion and cook, stirring often, until the onion is beginning to soften, about 4 minutes. Add garlic, chili powder, cumin, chipotle and salt and cook, stirring constantly, for 30 seconds. Add water and bring to a simmer. Cover, reduce heat to maintain a gentle simmer and cook until the sweet potato is tender, 10 to 12 minutes.
2. Add beans, tomatoes and lime juice; increase heat to high and return to a simmer, stirring often. Reduce heat and simmer until slightly reduced, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in cilantro.

Notes:

1. This recipe is from EatingWell.com – a great place to find lighter/healthier versions of your favorite recipes.
2. I like to serve with shredded cheddar cheese and sour cream (non-vegan options).
3. I couldn’t find the crushed chipotle, so I omitted it and this recipe still came out perfectly!