Food, gardening, History, Nature, Uncategorized

National Zucchini Day

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Today’s post comes from Barbara in Rivertown

Last week after our t’ai chi class, one intrepid soul brought out her garden bag, to see if anyone would like some… what else?… ZUCCHINI. She was able to shed a couple of them, and proceeded to tell us that August 8 is “sneak some zucchini onto your neighbor’s porch” day.  I thought perhaps she’d made that up, but a little research shows that, indeed, Tuesday August 8 is National Zucchini Day, known in some circles as Sneak Some Zucchini Onto Your Neighbor’s Porch Day.  This site states that “Desperate times call for desperate measures. It’s time to sneak over, under the cover of darkness, to your neighbor’s porch, and unload some zucchini…”

Those of you with veggie gardens know what I’m talking about. This year I have given zukes to half a dozen people so far; I think I’m caught up with our four plants at the moment, but more are on the way. I thought I was doing well when I discovered, on the ground back by the fence, a real “baseball bat”. I decided to leave it on the neighbor’s back stoop, with a note saying “Just kidding, I’ll come back for it”, because they have their own plants, and I want to keep them as friends.

Here are some fun facts about zucchini for the curious, found at

  • Zucchinis are 95 percent water, with just 33 calories in a medium-size squash.
  • One zucchini has more potassium than a banana, supplying more than 10 percent of your daily need.
  • Summer squash is rich in carotenoids, powerful cancer-fighting antioxidants that are mostly found in its skin. So be sure not to peel your squash. And buy organic to avoid pesticide residues.

I just checked the garden, and found a good sized green torpedo hiding on the ground… next year I’m campaigning for yellow squash – tastes the same in my book, and you can actually see them!

When have you sneaked around after dark, for any reason?

56 thoughts on “National Zucchini Day”

  2. Four zucchini plants? Isn’t that kind of overdoing it? Even if you pick them small, that’s a lot of zucchini on the menu for the two of you.

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    1. I’m actually a person who relies on people like Barb to overplant. That way I get the benefit of their zucchini patches every summer. Time to get my chocolate zucchini recipe out!!

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  3. Good morning all. I don’t grow zucchini and this is the reason. As it is I think I’m going to have to sneak grape tomatoes onto neighbors porches this week although they’ll certainly know where the tomatoes came from. My dark sneaking around usually has to do with May Day. I am usually to be found sneaking around before sunrise to leave May Day baskets on neighboring doors. I’ve even driven in the dark up to a friend’s house in Kenwood to leave a May Day basket at her house.

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  4. Do you ever worry just a little that nutritionists might announce we all gotta cut back on carotenoids or potassium? Overdoing zucchini seems risky to me, like most things involving skulking in the dark. Most of my skulking around in the dark was about brown trout, or was meant to be, although usually very few trout were ultimately involved.

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    2. If you make chocolate zucchini cake or zucchini bread with it, then you don’t have to worry about all those nutrients.

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  5. i can help with vegetable overages. i have a garden envy thing going on. moving in june is a problem for veggies. the vikings coach whio lived here before us was not a veggie guy.

    i used to love the adventure of sneaking around as a kid. one time i had two friends sleep over and we went out and wandered around the neighborhood in a 2 mile radius doing things that were mildly devious. i found out the next day when the other two guys got into trouble that each of them said he was sleeping at the other guys house when my house was the last point of departure. it was a tangled web. i think we got caught when we came home form the merry manor after our eggs and hash browns and a stop at richards bakery for the day olds. ahh the raspberry bismarks. we simply said we went for breakfast.

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    1. i saw dales all night festicval of the arts was it northern lights ? has survived and is doing well. i would like to do that one year but this year i was toast at 10 pm when the festivities started. i didnt have time to mess with my schedule and i cant simply skip the sleep paert of the equation any more.

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  6. by the way is there something good to be said about zucchini i am missing out on? it seems to be a vehicle to add stuff to to give it taste because it has none. tofu i am learning sort of, eggplant is a stretch but zucchini? it has more vitamins than cardboard but the taste and texture are about the same. i have a warehouse full of cardboard if anyone wants to try that with chocolate.

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  7. Most of the things I’ve done in the dark were possible without sneaking. But I’ve been on the receiving end of post-sunset sneaking. When we moved into our pink bungalow we were warned about Alice, the neighbor known as “the hollyhocks lady.” She roamed alleys in the dark, slipping in to plant hollyhocks in gardens she deemed hollyhocks-deficient.

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  8. I was tempted to sneak in the middle of the night to remove the Trump sign from the yard of the domestic abuser across the street, but was worried he might try to shoot me or, even worse, have a surveillance camara and I would end up arrested. The sign csme down about a month ago. I wonder what it means?

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  9. I agree that zucchini by itself is fairy tasteless. I like cutting them into rounds and sautéing both sides in butter. My sister improved on this by adding some parmesan (or any) cheese once the rounds were flipped. These are so good.

    Other recipe tips are welcome here…

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      3. Stovetop variation: sliced zucchini, tomatoes (any size, chopped if not cherry-sized), garlic, onions, whatever other veggies you have around, fresh herbs if you have ’em, kosher salt – saute in olive oil until desired tenderness. sprinkle with a little parmesan if desired. Slice of crusty bread on the side.

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        2. That’s funny. We have a concoction very similar and arrived at independently. Saute onions, garlic, zucchini and tomatoes, mushrooms and peppers if you like in a skillet, adding the herbs of your choice. When the vegetables arebeginning to soften, add shredded mozzarella cheese and cover to melt the cheese. Serve over rice. (I like hot sauce with mine).

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  10. I remember running around the neighborhood at all hours when I was a child. I guess it is one benefit of growing up in a small town.

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  12. I have been known to take daylilies that have been dumped at the compost site and find places to plant them clandestinely. I don’t think I’ve ever done it after dark, though. Usually just late on a Sunday evening when no one’s around. I don’t think anyone would particularly object, but would rather not be questioned about it. I guess daylilies are sort of like the zucchinis of the flower world. At least if they’re the plain orange kind.

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  15. Rise and Shine Baboons,

    I had an early morning meeting today, so I am just getting to this. Generally I go to bed early, so I am rarely put after dark, except in the winter. In AZ in the winter, it is dark early. When we take the dogs out for the evening pee, we hang out with the local coyotes. Scary.

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  16. One should probably not try to use the cover of darkness to get away with anything tonight. Beautiful moon casting light on everything, including the misty clouds around it. Or that’s how it is in my corner of the world, anyway.

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