By June 2028. Summer settled in and the garden was running its sixth season on the land. I didn't need to think about what to plant where anymore—the season had its own memory now, encoded in the soil and in my habits. I planted by feel more than plan and the results were better for it. That's what six years of practice with a piece of ground will do.
River came out most Saturdays through June. He was still seven, would turn eight in December, and he'd reached the age where he was strong enough to be genuine help rather than supervised participation. He worked in the garden with focus, pulled weeds without being asked, and had developed strong opinions about which weeds were worth keeping—he'd noticed that the henbit that grew between the bean rows was eating insects he didn't like, and had made an executive decision not to pull it. He was correct. I told him he was correct. He said he knew.
The Elohi Foods work was growing fast. Hannah had four producer relationships by June and had been in preliminary conversations with two buyers in Tulsa who were interested in sourcing traditional ingredients for a restaurant. She was working harder than I'd seen her work in years and she was doing it with the particular energy of someone who has found the thing they were supposed to be doing. Thomas was managing Wren's schedule largely on his own when Hannah needed full days for meetings. He'd arranged his practice hours around it. They were making it work.
Cooked at the barn most weekends. The summer food: fresh tomatoes, corn, beans, squash, whatever the garden said. The simplest version of good.
That phrase — “whatever the garden said” — is the truest description of summer cooking I know, and this zucchini pasta is exactly the kind of dish those barn weekends produced. Zucchini always comes in faster than you expect, River had already declared it his least favorite vegetable, and I took that as a personal challenge. Tossed with good olive oil, garlic, and whatever fresh herbs were running that week, this one changed his position slightly — at least enough that he ate it without commentary, which I counted as a win.
Summer Zucchini Pasta
Prep Time: 10 minutes | Cook Time: 20 minutes | Total Time: 30 minutes | Servings: 4
Ingredients
- 12 oz linguine or spaghetti
- 3 medium zucchini, thinly sliced into half-moons
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
- 1/4 cup fresh basil, torn
- Zest and juice of 1 lemon
- Salt and black pepper to taste
- 1/2 cup reserved pasta water
Instructions
- Cook the pasta. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook pasta according to package directions until al dente. Reserve 1/2 cup of pasta water before draining.
- Saute the zucchini. While pasta cooks, heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add zucchini in a single layer and cook without stirring for 3–4 minutes until golden on one side, then toss and cook another 2 minutes.
- Add garlic and seasoning. Reduce heat to medium. Add garlic and red pepper flakes to the skillet and cook 1 minute, stirring constantly, until fragrant.
- Combine. Add the drained pasta to the skillet. Pour in 1/4 cup of the reserved pasta water and toss to coat, adding more pasta water as needed to loosen the sauce.
- Finish and serve. Remove from heat. Stir in lemon zest, lemon juice, and Parmesan. Season with salt and black pepper. Top with torn fresh basil and serve immediately.
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories: 420 | Protein: 15g | Fat: 13g | Carbs: 62g | Fiber: 4g | Sodium: 280mg