Three things happened this week.

I had a fight with someone I love very much, made worse because I reverted to old behavior patterns which I am trying to change.

I came home to some whopping big zucchini.

I found a recipe for “Cooked-to-Death” vegetables.

Let’s start with the zucchini. Zucchini can grow to be 2-3 feet in length and weigh as much as 5 lbs or more. (The biggest zucchini on record weighed more than 64 lbs.) But just because zucchini can grow to be that large, it doesn’t mean they should. As zucchini get larger and heavier, they get tough and bitter with large seeds. You can use them for zucchini bread (done that) but not for salads or sautés. They need to be cooked for a long time.

These zucchini are too big!

Which brings me to the cooked-to-death vegetables. Once I decided I had enough zucchini bread in my freezer, I needed something else to do with them. That’s how I found the recipe for “Cooked-to-Death” vegetables. And then I lost the recipe because all I could remember about the website was that the pictures of the finished dishes were universally ugly. I kept searching for ugly vegetables and coming up with nothing!

But eventually I found it and adapted it to the produce I had. I added some beef and some cheese and it made an amazing dish. It’s an ugly dish but it tastes great and I would not be ashamed to bring it to the table at any time.

And I realized that the process of changing something which has grown too big and bitter takes a long time. But with patience you will get there. You have to work with the ugly. Cook it for a long time, let it soften and caramelize. Think about what it needs to bring out the good inside. The end product may not be the most beautiful thing in the world but it can still bring joy to others and flavor to your life. Just keep on cooking.

My ugly vegetables

Here’s how I did it:

Chop equal amounts of large zucchini, carrots and onions into bite size chunks. Try to keep them as similar in size as possible. I used about 2 lbs of zucchini, two large onions and a bunch of small carrots.

Try to get the vegetables about the same size

Put them in a Dutch oven with some garlic. Pour some olive oil over everything, sprinkle it all with salt and a little red pepper and toss it together. Then take a bunch of fresh herbs, tie them together and add them to the pot. (I used thyme and oregano.)

Cover the pot and put it into a low oven. Now go away and do something else, returning every half hour or so to stir it. The vegetables will start to cook down and release their juices and the house will smell wonderful.

After about 2-3 hours, when you feel like the vegetables are about as cooked as they are going to get, take the Dutch oven out and put it over high heat on your stove top.

As the liquids boil down, stir the vegetables so they don’t burn.

You can stop here and put everything in the refrigerator until you are ready to continue if you like.

To finish the dish, brown some beef in a skillet then add it to the vegetables, stir well and season with salt and pepper.

Spread the ugly vegetable and beef mixture in a dish, sprinkle with cheese and bake it until the cheese has melted and it is bubbling.

Not so ugly after all.

vegetable casserole next to a plate of caprese salad

UGLY VEGETABLE CASSEROLE

Ingredients

1 ½ -2 pounds each zucchini onions and carrots
½ cup olive oil
2-3 garlic cloves crushed
Handful of fresh herbs tied with string
¼ tsp red pepper
¼ cup white wine
Salt
½ lb ground beef
1 cup grated cheese

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 250 degrees.
Chopped the vegetable into bite size pieces of approximately the same size. Place them in a Dutch oven. Add the garlic, herbs, red pepper and wine. Pour the olive oil over everything and give it a good toss.
Cover the pot and place it in the oven for 2-3 hours until the vegetables are soft and well cooked. Give it a stir every half hour or so.
When the vegetables are done, remove from the oven and place on a medium-high to high burner. Remove the herbs and bring the vegetables to a boil. Cook until the juices are well reduced, about 5 minutes. You will need to keep an eye on this and stir it so the vegetables don’t burn. Taste and add salt and pepper as needed.
In another skillet brown the bee. salt and pepper to taste. Add the browned beef to the vegetables and stir the whole thing together. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed.
Spread the vegetable-beef mixture in a casserole dish and top with grated cheese.
Cook in a 350 degree oven until the cheese is melted and the mixture is bubbling, about 20-30 minutes