My garden overflows with zucchini. I like zucchini in sauces and stir-fries and I love a good zucchini bread as much as the next person but my creativity is running low. This morning I picked two monster zucchini that were lurking in the garden.

I recently cleared the windowsill in my kitchen and arranged a candle, some stones, a Buddha, and a stained glass angel into an altar. I lit the candle and thanked the Goddess for her blessings. My attitude towards my zucchini immediately got better.

One zucchini was shredded and immediately turned into two loaves of bread. There was enough shredded zucchini left over for probably another two loaves but I froze that and will be taking it to my garden-less mother this weekend. The second zucchini was sliced. Half of the slices were the size of burgers. I lightly breaded those with a mix of whole wheat flour, ground flax, and wheat germ and froze them. The rest of it was chopped smaller and blanched. It will be also be frozen and ready to throw into any dish I cook the rest of the year.

I also picked two cucumbers and a banana pepper that will be given starring roles in a cucumber, mango, and black bean salad.

My two little zucchini plants don’t seem ready to stop producing any time soon. I’ll be loading my freezer and passing them out to any unsuspecting person I can find. But in remembering to give thanks this turns from a burden to a blessing.