If you’ve been in San Diego for the past few weeks, you would be wondering where is that glorious San Diego sunshine that we are known for. It’s been nothing but rain and overcast skies and nary a day above 70 degrees. Of course, for our mid-West and East coast friends, you are now reading this with great disdain for our inability to tolerate any temperature below 70. We can’t help it – we are spoiled. In my case though I don’t mind the colder weather as much as I mind what it means for the backyard garden. It is in the decline of production that I see the first signs of the end of summer, and am reminded that I need to get the jackets cleaned before the winter really hits us. The tomatoes have yielded the last of their crop; the cucumbers have given up their valiant fight; the basil plants are beginning to go to seed and the zucchini – that prodigious producer – has finally kicked the bucket. Time to pull up the old plants and start with the winter garden. In the meantime, here’s a sandwich that serves as an ode to summers past: grilled zucchini with parsley-jalapeno paste and roasted tomatoes. We made this in the good old days of summer.

Recipe

• Focaccia
• Medium sized zucchini
• Gorgonzola cheese
• Salt
• Pepper
• Olive oil
• Parsley-jalapeno paste (see below)

Rinse and dry the zucchini and slice length-wise into strips about ¼ inch thick. Lightly brush on some olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste.  Grill at high temperature for about 2 minutes per side. This can be done either on an outdoor or stove-top grill. Actual grilling time depends on your grill. You are looking for the zucchini to get grill marks and be heated through but still have a bit to it.

Lightly toast the bread and spread with gorgonzola cheese. (Use whatever bread you have on hand. We used some leftover focaccia.) Add two slices of zucchini per slice of toast. Add about 2 tablespoons of parsley-jalapeno paste and top with a tablespoon of the roasted tomatoes.

Parsley-Jalapeno Paste

• 1 large bunch of parsley (should yield about 4 cups of parsley leaves)
• 2 medium sized jalapenos (each should be about 2 inches long)
• ½ cup olive oil
• 6 cloves garlic
• Juice of ½ lemon.
• Salt
• Pepper

Rinse and dry the parsley and remove the leaves. No need to do this individually. Just use a knife to chop off the leafy portion of the bunch. You can discard the stems but I like to freeze them and use for vegetable stock. Add the parsley to a food processor.

Rinse the jalapeno and remove stem. If you like really spicy food, add the whole jalapeno to the food processor. Otherwise, remove the seeds before adding. Add the garlic cloves, lemon juice and olive oil and pulse until the vegetables are well combined.

Add salt and pepper to taste. Pulse again and remove from the food processor and store in a sealed container in the refrigerator.

This will keep in the refrigerator for about a month. Use as a dressing over eggs, on grilled meats and vegetables or just as a spread on bread.