Jackson Free Press

Thanks to the squirrels' repeated conquests of my birdfeeder, my backyard is currently filled with humongous bright yellow sunflowers. When the plants first started appearing, we had no idea what they were, but because my husband and I are "natural" (or lazy) gardeners, we just let them grow. And as our first mystery plants were such a success, we have let other things grow, too. Now we seem to be growing corn.

This is all fine with me. I am enjoying the surprises provided by my local rodents. It has also reminded me of my momma's "mystery" gardens.

When I was growing up, our yard was always filled with figs, plums and pecans. My momma even cooked the baby shoots from our backyard's bamboo, which I assure you were not the same type found in a Chinese restaurant.

We also always had a garden. Each year, Momma would till up a small section of somewhat sandy dirt, and we would plant seeds. We planted the usual—tomatoes, lettuce, peppers and carrots. Thanks to Momma's attempts at composting, our gardens gradually began to produce unexpected crops.

I remember the first year Momma spotted strange plants. They didn't look like typical weeds, and she was curious, so she just let them grow. That year we ended up with a small batch of eggplant. It seems to me that, after that, we had something new appear each year. One year it was watermelon, and then came the zucchini. Lots of zucchini.

We ate zucchini bread, stuffed zucchini, and we had zucchini on our pizza. I think this had to be when I was introduced to one of my favorite dishes—zucchini and corn. Momma would spread out a tablecloth on the living room floor and pull out the electric wok. I would watch while Momma stir-fried our dinner. We seemed to eat dinner on the floor in front of the wok a lot. (Now that I think about it, we ate on the floor at my dad's house, too. Maybe it was just a '70s thing. At my dad's house, however, the wok was replaced with a fondue pot.) We had a large dining-room table, but somehow eating on the floor made it seem more, well, special.

As I turned into an ornery adolescent, I grew embarrassed of our living-room-floor dinners and the food we prepared. The wok was sold at a garage sale, and Momma stuck to cooking on the old gas stove. Zucchini and corn was no longer a part of the menu.

Eventually I grew out of my embarrassment and actually valued our odd dinner arrangements. I realized that my mother knew how to make a lot with a little, and I'm not just talking about with food.

As an adult, I began making the zucchini dish for myself. For some unknown reason, however, I was somewhat embarrassed by it, too—even past sour adolescence. I never cooked it for anyone until I met my husband, Jim. I don't know; I guess that I thought it was too basic or really just plain weird. But Jim, proving yet again that he is the right man for me, loves zucchini and corn.

I bought several good-looking zucchini squashes at the Farmers' Market this week. Now I just have to wait for my squirrel-planted corn crop to mature.

Here's the recipe for this incredibly quick and inexpensive dish. Serve with a baked sweet potato and a hunk of cornbread, and you're all set.

Zucchini and Corn
Thinly slice several small to medium zucchini. Sauté in oil in a large pan (I use a wok to keep with family tradition). When the zucchini slices start getting somewhat transparent, add a drained can of whole kernel corn, or more if you like. (You can, of course, also use fresh corn or frozen corn that has been defrosted.) Cook a little bit more, then add a bunch of dill weed (I use several tablespoons, but I really like dill). Toss in a little bit of salt and pepper and enjoy.