Zucchini Bikini

What reminds me of summer (almost as much as a hot pink bikini) are fresh market stalls bulging with home grown vegetables: screen doors slamming, the whir of an attic fan, friends and family hauling armfuls of fresh, sweet zucchini, squash and tomatoes from their own or neighboring gardens.

Cheeks and foreheads are pink from the sun and sweat glistens on the brows of those jubilant enough to have produced such crops. I envision my mother bicycling to the farm where she has cultivated a little plot of her own, rich with plump heirloom tomatoes, petit, egg-shaped globe carrots and other such niceties. She tends this garden as she would small children, pedaling to and from the little plot each morning and evening, often with my father in tow. She worries over the size of her zucchini, whether they have grown too large to be perfectly sweet and tender; she fusses at the opossums and offending deer. She cradles fresh plucked watermelon and cantaloupe in her arms, with the promise of making little chins and fingers sticky with juice once at home again.

My mother’s tenderness for all things grown continues to imprint itself onto her children. As a child, I idolized brussel and alfalfa sprouts. Eating an artichoke was both fascinating and delicious. I loved snapping peas and shucking corn. My most favorite thing in the world was split-pea soup. But, as I have learned with age, this adoration for my beloved legumes is rare.

An art I have been subject to learn, as a teacher of young children, is that of vegetable disguise. I incorporate artichoke, broccoli and carrot in quiche, blueberries in brownies and avocado in grilled cheese. However, as far as summer is concerned, I hone in on the zucchini. I dice, slice, peel and grate this silky green and marvelously versatile veggie, its creamy flesh lending perfectly to corn, lemon and thyme.

Two dishes that are just as grown-up in flavor as they are kid-friendly are zucchini-ricotta fritters served with lemon slices (or ketchup should your child prefer) and a moist zucchini cornbread prepared in a loaf pan. Both burst with flavor and if they don’t remind you of summer from here on out, I’ll send you a hot pink bikini!

http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/zucchini-ricotta-fritters

http://www.bonappetit.com/recipes/2011/07/zucchini-cornbread