Vacation Veggies

Do you ever notice how the garden seems to kick into gear just when you're planning to go out of town?  What do you do about that?

A couple years ago, I decided the harvest needed to join me when I went to visit friends and family back east.  I got one of those soft-sided cooler bags, packed it full of ice in ziplocs, tossed in homemade baba ganoush (one of my favorite eggplant preparations), an assortment of tomatoes, a painted serpent cucumber and I don't even remember what else.  And then a very shocking thing happened... they let me through security!  I definitely thought they would confiscate the ice cubes at least, but they actually let me and my harvest onto the plane without a fuss.  A rare moment of sanity from the good people of the TSA.

This year I plan to leave most of the harvest behind either by stuffing it in my face before I leave, giving it to the pet-sitters, or finding a way to preserve it.  That means blanching and freezing green beans, shredding and freezing zucchini and hoping the eggplants can hang on the plant until I get back.  I am also planning to do a monster zucchini bread mission- it will make a great gift for the pet-sitters and it will travel well with me as I head back east once again.  And you know, it's always nice to have a loaf of zucchini bread kicking around your cabin in the woods.  You never when you'll want a little taste of home.  I was planning.  Now that I need to pack and clean the house and blah blah blah, that zucchini is all going to the pet-sitters.  Thanks, guys, and I hope you're hungry!