Harvesting Ground Cherries at the Lowell Elementary School Garden

I feel incredibly lucky that our elementary school has a fantastic learning garden. During the school year, students help prep, plant and maintain the garden. During the summer, families volunteer to take care of the garden, making sure the beds get plenty of water, weeding as needed and harvesting ripe vegetables. Last week was our week to tend to the garden and when we arrived, the boys and I were delighted to see their literal fruits of their labor from earlier in the school year. The garden was overflowing with big, fat juicy tomatoes, deep purple eggplant, humungous zucchini and vibrant peppers. Ratatouille anyone?

Well, not for my kids who are pretty much against eggplant and zucchini. But I recently came across this Grilled Ratatouille with Pasta recipe from Martha Stewart and I knew I had a chance to convert them.

It doesn't get any easier than this:



Cook a 1lb of pasta (we used farfalle) according to package instructions. Reserve a cup of pasta water and return cooked pasta to the pot. Heat grill. Brush the following with olive oil: 1 large zucchini (cut lengthwise into thick slices), 2 bell peppers (halved, stemmed and seeded), 2 red onions (halved), 1 large eggplant (cut lengthwise into thick slices), 4-6 large tomatoes (cut crosswise into thick slices). Season with salt and pepper and grill all the vegetables until browned and tender. Roughly chop the grilled vegetables then add to pasta. Add a couple of tablespoons of olive oil and balsamic vinegar and season with salt and pepper. Garnish with fresh parsley and serve.

The boys ate it all up. And asked for seconds. Just one of many reasons all schools should have a school garden!

1.  Heat oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. Add zucchini and cook until softened and browned at edges, about 3 minutes.
2. Add corn and cook until deep yellow and softened, about 2 minutes
3. Add garlic and cook until fragrant (about 1 minute) and remove from heat
4. Stir in herbs, lemon juice, salt and pepper to taste and serve.

My oldest really despises zucchini. And more often than not he will scowl if there's a hint of zucchini in a dish. I think it's the texture of cooked zucchini - a little squishy, mild and soggy.  He will actually gag if he takes a bite. Please. It was if I was poisoning him! And my youngest won't eat anything unless it is the color white. It's hard not to use zucchini in the summer. They are so abundant around these parts. And pretty versatile too.

It recently dawned on me that my boys have never tried zucchini bread. Who doesn't like zucchini bread? Sugar, butter, cinnamon, vanilla? It really is a dessert than bread, right? I thought I'd try to make it a bit more healthy by testing out a recipe from the now defunct Gourmet Magazine for Zucchini Raisin Bran Muffins.

Zucchini Raisin Bran Muffins
Adapted from Gourmet, 1993
Makes 12 muffins

INGREDIENTS
2/3 cup all-purpose flour
2/3 cup whole-wheat flour
2/3 cup miller's bran
2 teaspoons double-acting baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, softened
2/3 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup milk
1 cup raisins
2 cups coarsely grated zucchini

DIRECTIONS: