Cheryl Chan has been gardening for more than 25 years and has never seen a double zucchini like the one she found in her garden last week.
She says another friend who is 70 and has been gardening most of her life told her she had never seen one either.
“It kind of reminds me of a smiley face,” says Chan, who missed the deadline last week to show it at the Harvest Fair over the weekend but brought it to the Tribune/Advisor because she wanted people to see it.
Chan says zucchini has lots of uses. She sometimes shreds and freezes it for baking zucchini cakes, slices on an angle and brushes it with olive oil and garlic to grill on the barbecue, or bakes or roasts it in the oven or barbecue.
Since this zucchini is so special she plans to share it with friends who meet once a week to share dinner together.
“We have friends over for dinner once a week and I am always looking for something cool to cook,”Chan says.
For this special meal Chan plans to cut the zucchini open lengthwise to get two uniquely shaped pieces, then scoop out the seeds and pulp on each side and fill the zucchini with hamburger stuffing with garlic and feta with a little parmesan on top before baking them in the oven or barbecue.
She says her son needs a gluten free diet so instead of bread crumbs she will fill the hamburger with quinoa flakes.
Stuffed-Baked Zucchini
• 2 large zucchini, halved and cored (what a coincidence)
• 1 lb. ground meat (your choice)
• 1 or 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 3/4 cup Havarti cheese with jalapeño or tomato basil
• 3/4 cup Feta Cheese
• Bread crumbs or quinoa flakes as desired. Salt and pepper to taste
Preheat oven to 400. Place halved zucchini on parchment paper lined cookie sheet.
Combine remaining ingredients and use to stuff zucchini.
Bake 15 to 20 minutes or until meat is well-cooked and zucchini is fork tender.
Serve with rice.