The Conservational Gardener

By Nanny Fontanella

What am I gonna do
with all that food?

It’s been a wet year after three dry ones. Everything’s late; the vegetables and fruit are moldy but plentiful, so it’s time to put up or shut up (Nanny shut up?…Impossible!).

I cut fruit and berries into small pieces, skin and all, place them in a large stainless or enamel pot and stew with apple juice (not from concentrate), raisins and a little cinnamon till the fruit is soft and fragrant. This compote is canned, frozen, made into pies or whatever. I give the moldy pieces to the worms or make little piles outside the fence for those wretched deer.

The zucchini, pattypan squash, tomatillas, tomatoes and peppers are coming in by the bushel. The following recipe, “Zucchini ala Nanny,” is an easy way to get rid of a lot of vegetables.

	Drawing by Nanny Fontanella

Ingredients include three or four large squash, three carrots, three rough-cut onions, three or more cloves of garlic (I like threes), one whole red pepper, one half-pound of any kind of mushroom, as many tomatillas, green or red tomatoes as you can fit in the pan, a bunch of fresh oregano, parsley, and basil chopped or one quarter cup of each dried, one teaspoon of non-iodized sea salt, one half teaspoon or more of cayenne pepper, one tablespoon of olive oil, one cup of aged or green olives (depitted), two vegetable bouillon cubes, garlic and mushrooms. Set ingredients aside.

I have no patience for mincing, but the smaller the piece the better the taste. Pour oil into large stainless frying pan so the entire surface is coated; set pan on medium to high heat; add mushrooms, onions and garlic.

Stir to keep from burning while grating squash and carrots (it takes less time than you might think). When onions are wilted, add grated squash and carrots and stir to keep things moving. Dissolve two bouillon cubes in one half cup of boiling water and add rough-cut tomatoes and tomatillas, or squish them, with spices and sea salt. Cut up and add olives and red pepper.

Lower heat, stir and let simmer until mixture looks like sauce (about two hours). Serve with brown rice or pasta.

Reader Denise Connolly has invited us into her garden. After reading a previous column, she responded with a solution to the deer problem: “I have very lush perennial gardens in Smallwood, home to many deer, and they do not eat my flowers and shrubs, thanks to something that works...Hinder.

“In early spring, I start spraying. I simply mix a small amount of Hinder with water in a couple of quart spray bottles and walk around the gardens spraying. I do this every two weeks or so and after heavy rain.”

Connolly’s web address is web1.in4web.com/mtcdrc. If you have any other deer tips, questions, suggestions or comments, send them to asknanny@riverreporter.com.

Correction: Robert Fontanella took the photograph that accompanied last week’s column.