Guilt in the Garden

There is something else I'd like to blog about tonight but am not at liberty to do so at this time. Instead I will tell you I have a guilty conscience. I'm a plant killer. Not a plant killer like some people I know (Fawzi) but a selective plant killer and I always feel guilty about it. All the planting guides tell you to plant several seeds in the ground then "thin them out". Well, that is a plant's death sentence. How can I possibly decide which one should stay and which should go? Which one will be productive and which one will peter out on me? It's like the Sophie's Choice of gardening. Last year I kept every carrot because I couldn't stand to "thin them out". Every carrot deserves a chance, right? Now the blossoming gardener in me knows that thinning them out lets the others grow to their potential instead of having teeny tiny midget carrots. I'm working on it.

AND THEN there is the issue of plants I don't want anymore. Do I chuck them (or compost them) or keep them forever even though they are taking over the entire planet Earth (have I mentioned I'm a drama queen?)? My dilemma right now is that I, as you know, have limited space so anything that is not being used on a regular basis or causing me to fawn over it with delight and wonder has to go. Like... my catnip. Now I love some catnip. You can't kill it and it comes back every year even after you have seemingly eradicated it from its barrel.
I used to dry it out and crumble it up and give it to the cats for the high of their lives. Unfortunately, we are down one cat and our neighbors have enough to keep their furry friends perpetually stoned for the next 3 years. So I don't want it anymore, I want to try some container yellow squash, maybe even some zucchini. Yet those little catnips keep coming back and are surely screaming at me every time I give them the death glance. "Save us! Save us! We know you can't use us for anything else but we are so loyal." I wonder if anyone else has this problem or if I should be seeking therapy for feeling like a death row guard.

Why squash and zucchini? Well, I just had this fantastic salad (see below) at a teacher's appreciation luncheon. Yum-tastic. It has completely converted me and made me consider dismembering the poor catnip.



Zucchini Crudo

Serves 4-6

Ingredients
• 1 zucchini and 1 squash
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• ¼ cups extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tablespoons toasted pine nuts

Directions

1. Trim ends of zucchini and squash. Slice into paper think ribbons using a mandolin or vegetable peeler.
2. Place in serving bowl and toss with salt, lemon juice, olive oil and pine nuts.