Garden production can vary greatly from year to year. Just ask any gardener.

One year, a person might have tremendous crop of a certain vegetable and a dismal one of another. And the next season, the tables can turn and abundance can become a smattering and a pittance a carload.

Fortunately in our 2018 garden, we don’t have any vegetables that were good producers last summer and poor ones this year. We had great winter squash, onions and carrots last year, and it looks like we are in for a repeat with them.

There are, however, two veggies — tomatoes and zucchini — that have stood out this summer after mediocre production in 2017. (The tomatoes have been especially abundant, so much so that I’ve been able to can almost as much as last year with a good month of the season to go.)

And with a bumper crop of those two vegetables, I’ve been able to make some tasty skillet dishes, including the following, which took center a stage at our dining room table last night.

That’s the kind of production that deserves an encore.

Vegetable and Sausage Skillet
2 tablespoons extra olive oil
2 small zucchini, sliced, or 1 zucchini and 1 small koosa squash, cubed
2 cups fresh tomatoes, skins removed
1 small onion, diced
1 medium bell pepper, chopped
1 stalk celery, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 teaspoon Cajun seasoning
1 teaspoon filet gumbo
1 teaspoon sugar
Grated cheese (optional)
1 6-inch sausage,sliced
Salt and pepper to taste
Saute onion, celery, garlic and green pepper until soft. Add sausage and cook for 2 minutes. Add squash, tomatoes and remaining ingredients. Cook over medium heat for about 10 minutes. Serve over rice.