Is that a zucchini in your pocket?

One zucchini plant: $2.99

5 bags of Miracle-Gro organic soil: $30

Going away for a 5-day weekend and forgetting to check if any zucchinis were ready for pickin': Scary big zucchini!



FOR THE RECORD: This zucchini from our garden measured in at 18 inches long and, at its most rotund point, 17 inches around.

So what to do with a zucchini this big?

Make Zucchini "steaks," of course.

I cut about 8 6-inch long, 2-inch wide, and one-inch thick slices of the above pictured gigunda zucchini, tossed it with about 2 tbs of olive oil, 1 tsp of chopped thyme, 1-2 tablespoons of chopped flat-leaf parsley, pepper, and a few good pinches of this ridiculously expensive chardonnay-barrel smoked salt that I got at Williams Sonoma last year (too embarassed to put it back after the cashier had rung it up and I saw the price on the register's display).

These were thick, so I grilled them over moderate heat for about 15 minutes, flipping about half-way through. They were great. Next time, though, I'll just do thick pucks. Much easier to cut them that way.