Zucchini 'Apple" Pie

It's getting to be that time, you know, when you can't even give zucchini away. This recipe, courtesy of my mother, is fun, 'cause all your friends will swear that it's apple pie. If you really want to fool them, peel and seed the zucchini first so there's no give-away on appearance. I've had people who swear they 'hate' zucchini, come back for seconds and more.

Ingredients

• 2 (9 inch) unbaked pie crusts
• 4 cups zucchini, thinly sliced
• 3/4 cup organic or brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons tapioca
• 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground allspice
• 2 teaspoons cornstarch
• 2 teaspoons butter (optional)
• 1 tablespoon milk (optional)

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Line a 9 inch pie pan with one pastry pie crust.
2. In a large bowl, stir together sugar, tapioca, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and cornstarch. Add zucchini and lemon juice and blend well. Put mixture into pie crust. Dot with butter. Place second crust over pie crimping the edges together. Then brush top crust with milk and sprinkle with a little sugar if desired. Vent the crust.
3. Bake in preheated oven for 15 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) and bake for an additional 50 minutes

Yield

1 Pie, 6-8 servings

Cucumbers & Sour Cream

At this time of the year we're seeing a lot of cucmbers and onions. This is one of my favorite refreshing recipes. I like to use balsamic vinegar because of it's inherent sweetness, though it does discolor the dish a little, the flavor's worth it. Use your choice of cucumbeers, I like the pickles, they're lighter and sweeter, some will prefer the 'burpless' variety. Whichever you choose, enjoy!


Ingredients

• 1 cup dairy sour cream
• 3 Tbl. finely sliced onion
• 2 Tbl. chopped fresh dill or 2 tsp dried dill weed
• 2 Tbl. balsamic vinegar
• 1 tsp. salt
• 4 medium cucumber, thinly sliced
• 1 green onion sliced about 1/8” on diagonal (garnish)

Directions

1. Slice onions and cucumbers
2. Add balsamic and salt, allow to marinate about 1 hour
3. While they are marinating, combine other ingredients
4. Drain vinegar into sour cream and whip together
5. Add mixture back over cucumbers and onions and stir together
6. Garnish with green onions

Yield

Makes about 5 cups or 6 servings

Pizza Goon

Here's a fun informative site run by John Gutekanst, of Avalanche Pizza;
http://pizzagoon.com/ .

Check it out. John has great insight on food, and a fun manner of presentation. He also honors the sources of his food, Like Matt and Angie Starline, of Starline Organics, and Chris Chmeil of Integration Acres, and PawPaw Fest.