Zuchinni Pie

When I was growing up my grandfather raised zuchinni....ACRES of zuchinni. Now if you know anything about zuchinni you know that it grows fast. In a backyard garden you pick zuchinni about every other day. In a FIELD of zuchinni it has to be picked EVERY DAY..sometimes twice a day! What better work force at my grandfather's disposal but his grandchildren. I remember two or three summers where we picked zuchinni everyday and then packed them in boxes to get hauled off to who knows where. The final destination of the zuchinni wasn't on the mind of a eleven year old.

What did all the grandkids think about the mountains of zuchinni we picked and washed and packed everyday? WE HATED IT!!! There was always zuchinni around and of course Mom and Grandma thought we should eat zuchinni too. How DARE they entertain such a thought? By the end of the hot summer day picking zuchinni there was only two things we even thought about doing with one of those vegetables of death.

We carved boats. I wished I had a picture to share with you of our zuchinni boats. When a zuchinni was really large it lost a lot of its flavor (zuchinni has flavor?) and couldn't be sold. So the grandkids would carve them up and float them in the cattle's water tank. It was quite gratifying to carve those big green veggies up!!

The only other thing we enjoyed about zuchinni was Grandma's zuchinni pie! Wonderful! As much as we hated zuchinni, my sisters and I would actually fight over this pie. Normally you would throw away the peel but we always talked Mom and Grandma into leaving it on. If it's left on the pie turns out green and relatives at family reunions aren't too keen on trying a green pie...which meant more for us!! This pie tastes just like a sugar cream pie with a bit of texture. Try it out! It will be a bigger hit than you can imagine!

ZUCHINNI PIE

1 cup Grated Zucchini (about 2 small zuchinni)
1 cup Sugar
1 cup Evaporated Milk
1 whole Egg
2 Tablespoons Flour
1-½ Tablespoon Butter
1 teaspoon Vanilla
1 whole Pie Crust
Preparation Instructions
Blend all ingredients together and pour into unbaked pie shell. Sprinkle nutmeg on top. Bake at 425 degrees for 25 minutes, then reduce heat to 350 degrees for 35 minutes. Pie is done when a knife inserted comes out clean. Time may need to be adjusted if you are using a deep dish pie crust. How easy is that?