I really wanted this to be amazing.  I wanted to give you a fantastic recipe to use up all that zucchini.  This recipe, however, sounded better than it was.  I would make some changes... but we'll come to that.
As I've settled back into the last week of summer vacation and come down from my five days in a place where the air is clear and the water tastes amazing, I've found myself ever so slightly depressed.  What's funny is that I'm not feeling depressed about going back to work... that's cool and I'm looking forward to being in the swing of things again.  I'm not really feeling depressed about summer going either (well, maybe just a little bit if I'm honest).  What I'm feeling depressed about it our way of life.  How we live, how limited our choices are and how damaged everything is because of it.
I found myself feeling depressed driving back into Ontario - the highway was so bright.  Lights are everywhere.  It's like Peter Jackson's film rendition of Shelob's Liar (Lord of the Rings - Tolkein), even the dark is light.  Additionally, all the reading I've done this summer has brought my to a new place and to some new decisions.  I don't think that I've done a very good job of communicating what I've been learning and how it has affected me.  I feel like I need to take some time here on this blog to express how deeply I feel about this issues we face as a society around our food.


Last year  - give or take 6 months - was about committing to local and seasonal vegetables.  I did that both through the food box (which tells me where my food is coming from) and through local farmer's markets. This year has been about going deeper than just my vegetables.
I really do feel sick when I read about the way factory farms treat animals... any animal.  It makes me sick because it represents to me that even the human animal has no real value anymore outside of the profits that we can provide.  I've been slowly moving us away from factory farmed meats.  However, it's not enough for me and I've pledged to myself to make further changes.  So...
I need to buy a small chest freezer.
I need to finally contact the beef farm that my friend C recommended (she's friends with the farmers... doesn't get any better than that)
Additionally, I'm not feeling bad about eating butter, cream, lard and bacon anymore.  I'm beginning to comprehend more deeply how important these foods are to us humans.  We need fat.  Whether we like it or not we're eating it and I'm going to choose to eat it in the forms that help my body (Yeah - I said 'help' as in 'are good for me') in the form form of butter, cream, lard and bacon rather than the forms that  are hidden from me and hurt my body in the form of corn oil, soybean oil, hydrogenated vegetable oil and the like. That means goodbye to processed foods.


In this recipe I've added sausage and cream (I wish to goodness that I could get raw milk) and if you wish to adapt then please do.  As I stated at the beginning of this post, this recipe sounded better than it tasted.  I like the idea though and I want to tinker with it some more.  I found it too much bread so you might want to play around with putting into the bottom of a larger roaster or something.  Better yet, save half the dough and freeze it and use the other half in a pie plate.  I would also tinker with some stronger flavours... smoked paprika, chipotle or even more pizza'ish'... something a little bolder.  Last but not least - do not scrimp on the zucchini.  I had two very large zucchini's and only used 1 1/2 because I thought that it would be too much.  It wouldn't have been.



Yeasted Zucchini and Sausage Pie adapted from 'Simply in Season'
makes 1 9x13 pie (serves about 6)

Crust:
1/2 cup warm water
pinch of sugar or tsp of honey
1 tbsp dry yeast
1/4 cup + 1tbsp milk
1 tbsp oil or melted butter
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/4 cup whole wheat or red fife flour
1/4 cup parmesan cheese, shredded
1 tsp salt
2 cups all purpose or bread flour

Filling:
8 cups zucchini, thickly sliced
3/4 pound sausage of choice
oil or melted butter to brush
3 clove garlic, crushed
1/4 cup fresh basil and oregano, finely chopped
1 tsp salt
pinch of pepper
5 lg eggs, beaten
1/4 cup cream
2 tsp dijon mustard
2 tsp Worcestershire Sauce
pinch of cayenne or pepper sauce
2 cups (or so) cheddar cheese, grated
1 cup parmesan cheese, grated

Crust:
Combine the warm water, sugar and dry yeast.  Set aside for about 5 minutes until the yeast dissolved and begins to get foamy.
Combine the milk, oil and lightly beaten egg.  Mix well and add to the yeast mixture.
Combine the whole wheat/red fife flour, shredded parmesan, salt and all purpose flour.  Mix and form a well in the middle.  Pour the milk milk mixture into the well.  Stir to combine and until it forms a smooth but very sticky dough.
Place in a lightly greased bowl and turn so that all sides of the dough ball are greased.  Cover with a clean cloth and set aside in a warm, dry spot.
Line a 9x13 baking dish with foil and lightly butter.  Set aside.
Filling:
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
Place the sliced zucchini strips and the sausage on a baking sheet.  Lightly brush the zucchini with oil or melted butter.  Sprinkle lightly with salt.  Roast for about 20 minutes or until the zucchini is soft and just beginning to brown.
In the meantime, combine the eggs, garlic, herbs, salt, pepper, dijon, Worcestershire and cayenne.  Mix well.

Pie:
Place the lightly risen dough (mine rose for about 35 - 40 minutes at the most) in the greased baking pan.  Spread out evenly making sure that the dough goes well up the sides.  Sprinkle a little bit of the cheddar on the bottom of the crush.
Place a layer of zucchini strips on top of the cheese.  Sprinkle with some sausage. A little more cheese and so on until the zucchini is all used up.
Pour the egg mixture over everything and sprinkle the remaining parmesan cheese over the top.  Bake for about 25 minutes or so until the pie is golden on the edges and the centre of the pie is firm to the touch.
Cool for a good 15 - 20 minutes before serving.