Too much nature

I view myself as a semi-outdoorsy girl.

I enjoy swimming in a lake...as long as there's not too many weeds.

I like hiking...as long as it's not too buggy.

I love camping...as long as there are bathrooms. I am too old to be popping a squat against a tree.

Lately it's become all too obvious exactly how much nature we're stuck with, even in the suburbs. There's the jungle of landscaping. 

This bush, affectionately named Stick Bush, is my fave.  He's so chill and low maintenance.

There's the bat, affectionately named Batley, whom I've only spotted once but leaves me his calling cards to assure me he's been getting plenty to digest. 

And then there are the deer, affectionately collectively named STAY THE @$*#(%* AWAY from my GARDEN!

A few weeks ago I noticed they had chomped down almost all my bean plants, green peppers, and cucumbers. Gaaaaah, it's like the suburban deer need food or something. How rude.  

A trip to Home Depot and $20 later, I had a net to tie on top of everything.  Ya know, 'cause the chicken wire look was just too classy and I have to keep it real so the neighbors quit being intimidated. 

Success- though today I found this li'l guy, affectionately named...oh forget it. I guess he can stay.

Yesterday I harvested a hulking zucchini that was way past its prime. When they get so big like this, they're not good for eating because the inside seeds are so big. I decided to try making a stuffed zucchini instead.

You know what they say about chicks with long forearms.

Wait a second.

Stuffed Zucchini
-2 beastly zucchinis, cut in half lengthwise, with insides scooped out (just scraping a spoon works fine)
-1 1/2 cups arborio rice
-4 cups low sodium chicken broth, warmed up on low heat
-2 tablespoons butter
-2 tablespoons olive oil
-1 package sweet Italian turkey sausage, casings removed
-2 teaspoons chopped parsley
-1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
-1/2 cup shredded Parmesan, asiago, or Romano cheese. 
-4 Roma tomatoes, thinly sliced

1. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.
2. In a large skillet over medium-high heat, cook sausage until done. Try to break up any large crumbles into smaller pieces. Soak up any grease with a paper towel. Set sausage aside. 
3. Return the skillet to medium-high heat, melt butter and add olive oil. Stir in rice for 2 minutes. Add 1 cup of warm broth. Stir until all the liquid is absorbed. Add another cup. Stir until all liquid is absorbed. Repeat until all the liquid is used up and rice is creamy and cooked through. Stir in minced garlic, parsley, sausage, and cheese.
4. Spoon rice mixture into each zucchini shell. Top with tomatoes. Bake for 45-50 minutes, or until zucchini is softened. *To make this a speedier process, you could par-bake the zucchini shells for 20 minutes while you're cooking the sausage and risotto.

Each stuffed zucchini shell makes for two servings.

Though the yard and garden often give me a headache, it's pretty cool to enjoy home grown produce.

 I'm not the only one excited by this meal.