Aug 7

Tomorrow it's "Sneak some zucchini onto your neighbour's porch night"

"This is not just about leaving zucchini on porches; it’s about how it’s done." Days of the Year

Yes I know - only in America, but I couldn't resist.

Yesterday when I was looking for inspiration on the net, I decided to look at national food days. It can sometimes be quite an interesting thing to do. Anyway I came across this one, for August 8th tomorrow. It's not relevant for here because August 8th in America is late summer, early Autumn so, not being a gardener, I'm guessing that this is not the time in Australia for a zucchini glut.

Gluts of any kind in the garden are not things that happen to me. Such is my gardening skill. I have tried growing zucchini and in times gone by have indeed managed to grow enough to meet my needs, but hardly a glut. In recent years I have had none, so I have given up. Although, inspired by Nigel's Tender book I might have one last try.

Mind you, at the moment zucchini are ever so slightly cheaper in the shops and on one of my walks I saw this outside the house of a lady who often leaves things like this for anyone to have. I scooped up some rhubarb the other day - a whole bunch.

It actually doesn't really look like a zucchini and not just because of its size. For me when a zucchini gets to this size it becomes a marrow. I suspect it's really some kind of pumpkin. Anyway it shows that it's a good thing to do if you have extra produce - put it outside your house - especially if people walk past your house on a regular basis. Or put it in the street library - another venue for unexpected gifts. Or as some of the sites I visited for this post suggest, donate it to your nearest food charity. Even biggies like this one would be welcome.

But back to that foodie day - actually night. These days most people seem to call it a Day but the originator called it a Night - the idea being that under the cover of darkness you could sneak the zucchini on to the porch without being seen. Because you mustn't get caught. The recipient is supposed to wake up the next day to a lovely surprise on their doorstep. The picture on the left is from a short, cute video of the little boy taking his neighbour's toddler son to deliver a surprise rather giant zucchini. He tries to lift him up to ring the door bell but fails. The very American commentators commented that it should be night time.

Nobody really knows when this National Day was first invented although I saw one site suggesting around 1944 - but they all agree it was invented by an actor called Thomas Roy and his wife Ruth. If it was 1944 then it was bad times - the middle of WW2 for the Americans - so I guess he wanted to spread a bit of joy becaus it's:

"a day that combines the joy of gardening with a dash of mischief." ... The goal is never to be seen, only whispered about in hushed, awe-struck tones. Days of the Year

I don't know how big a thing it is - maybe it's just in certain areas, although if American TV is promoting it - as in that video then maybe it will grow in popularity. After all it fits into the zeitgeist of the times in term of sustainability and anti-waste, not to mention help for the poor. And there are a lot of them in America. The program that little video was aired on looked like one of those breakfast, pseudo news programs. The programs that always seem to be showing on the TV screen in your doctor's waiting room.

I found lots of suggestions of how you can make it even more fun - some of it in a very American way:

Host a zucchini party where every dish features zucchini - all provided by the host or else with all the guests bringing something
Decorate the zucchini you leave on the step - carve them into shapes, dress them up ... Good fun for kids I guess.
Make a video
Plan a community garden - a bit tricky because you need a plot of land
A carving contest - great for all the outsized zucchini you didn't notice
Have a bake-off challenge - a competition for the best zucchini dish I suppose
A garden tour - I assume of vegetable gardens in the neighbourhood
A kid's art project at school - or at home
A recipe book compilation from all those things the neighbours made
Leave a recipe with your zucchini
Add a zucchini loaf to the zucchini you leave.

Competitions - the most deliveries; the farthest delivery; the most zucchini in one delivery - I found this example which might win that one, but I actually think that this is a somewhat cruel one - I mean who wants to be lumbered with this? It's an unfriendly joke. Not funny. Although maybe the people who did it, then came and took them away. Or maybe it's the glut they started with. They are all big ones too. Other competitions - funniest, best getaway.

I thought the jokers of Reddit might get into this one, but they didn't really, which in itself might be an indication that it's a purely local thing somewhere. However, one of them offered a picture of two zucchini with a ruler to show their size - maybe to demonstrate how big they should be. And I also found another couple of examples:

There's not much more to say on the subject but I did find a list of other 'national days' on August 8 - not all foodie. It was for 2023 but I assume it still applies. Apologies for the capitals - couldn't be bothered converting them:

Which is quite a collection just for one day. I was rather taken by Global Sleep Under the Stars Night, which was apparently concocted in 2020 to celebrate 100 years of Eddie Bauer - an outside clothing brand. It's also a supreme example of how America really doesn't understand the rest of the world and it's different times and seasons. This, note, is a Global Day and yet they say it's :

"a night to spend outdoors enjoying the sensational night sky. With summer coming to an end, take advantage of all the night has to offer by gazing upwards and see the wonder of stars across the sky."

Summer is not coming to an end here. And I wonder how the good people of southern Australia and southern South America, not to mention Antarctica, would feel about sleeping under the stars on August 8th. A nice idea however. And what are Mochi, or Pickleballs or even Whataburger all in one word. So as I began so I will end - only in America.

However, the idea of leaving your surplus garden harvest for others to enjoy is a good one, and actually demonstrates another American personality trait - generosity. I like the leaving a recipe with the zucchini idea and if I was ever in the position to give away zucchini I would offer Rachel Roddy's recipe for Linguine with courgettes, eggs, Parmesan my all-time top zucchini recipe. It's so delicious. The zucchini here are cut to matchstick thinness, but I also remember discovering grated zucchini at a friend's house, where she said the discovery was like finding a new vegetable.

When I first came across zucchini - well actually courgettes, I was not that impressed and found them somewhat bland. But nowadays I love them. So versatile and if you gently fry them with some butter and garlic they are just lovely - if they are not giant sized that is. And you really can do everything with them from soup to cake.

I couldn't resist this picture - apparently taken in one of Rome's markets.

POSTSCRIPTS - 2

As promised a report on my last night's food experiment. I did more or less as I said I would and I would say the result, even if not Wow! was indeed very eatable. Below some photographs - the yoghurty layer on the bottom, the roasted vegetables and the crumbly stuff on top mixed with cheese. Followed by the end result. I didn't make quite enough vegetables. I always forget how much they shrink when roasted, and I cooked it a tiny bit too long, but with a glass of Pinot Grigio it hit the spot. And there are leftovers for another day.