Good Eats at the TEOTWAWKI Café—Zucchini and Eggplant

Over 40 years ago, my mother’s cookbook collection included Zucchini Cookery.  As far as I can recall, she never made much from it.  Sometime after I married, she gave the book to me. 

And I promptly donated it to Goodwill, our local thrift store. 

After I’d been gardening for several years and after contemplating how easily zucchini grows and how beneficial a few zucchini plants will be in the future, I decided I wanted that book back. 

It’s out of print now, but copies can still be obtained through Amazon.  I don’t know why I bought it instead of getting a newer book.  Maybe because it was cheaper than the others?

Zucchini and crookneck squash are threatening to take over the house, so I wanted to use some up for dinner tonight.  I also had some eggplant to be used so the Zucchini and Eggplant recipe provided a natural choice. 

Zucchini and Eggplant

4 slices bacon

1 tablespoon oil

1 pound eggplant, diced

1 pound zucchini, diced

1 large onion, diced

2 tablespoons flour

1 can (15 oz) diced tomatoes

1 teaspoon minced garlic

1 ½ teaspoons salt

¼ teaspoon black pepper

1 teaspoon basil

8 ounces Swiss cheese, shredded

In a large cast iron skillet, cook the bacon until it is lightly browned.  Set it aside, and when cool, crumble it.  Add oil to the skillet and sauté the vegetables for 5 minutes.  Stir in the flour and add the tomatoes and seasonings.  Heat to bubbling and then top with Swiss cheese and crumbled bacon.  Bake at 375°F for 30 minutes or until the vegetables are tender.  Serves: 4.

Family reviews:  Well, only Aaron and I were home for dinner tonight.  Which was quite fortunate since the recipe indicated that it serves six.  And that might hold true if four of the six are young children.  Or if the taste testers aren’t piggies.  Aaron took one bite and immediately declared the recipe a keeper.  I know he at least had seconds.  I had thirds.  And yes, I’m feeling a little uncomfortable now.  But it was just so good.  Now I’m going to have to plant more eggplant next year.  The recipe comes together fairly quickly and needs only bacon and Swiss cheese to be included with the long-term food storage items.

Links to related posts:

The Incredible, Edible Zucchini