Wednesday, August 4, 2010

Zucchini, Zucchini, Zucchini

Anyone who thinks they kill every plant they own should grow zucchini or summer squash. They are the lowest maintenance plants in my garden! They just keep producing rain or shine, cool or hot! This is the time of year when my husband tries to convince me not plant zucchini next year. Everyday I pick zucchini and/or summer squash and (as usual) now that it is August, they are kind of played out. Not giving up the fight, I have been researching what to do with them. Here is what I am trying:

1) I bought a food dehydrator and made zucchini chips (garlic salt flavored and onion salt flavored).

2) All of my canning books have relish recipes which use zucchini instead of cucumbers. I tried the zucchini relish recipe on p.50 of the Ball Blue Book Guide to Home Canning, Freezing, and Dehydration. Since I am growing onions and peppers in my garden as well, all of the veggies in this recipe were homegrown.

3) I have blanched sliced summer squash and zucchini and froze them for use in soups and casseroles this winter.

4) The freezer is stocked with zucchini bread. I make a sweet zucchini bread (similar to a banana bread) and my breadmaker has a zucchini herb bread recipe (perfect for grilled cheese with tomato sandwiches).

5) Tonight for dinner we are having zucchini and summer squash Parmesan. I sliced them lengthwise, plunged them into boiling water for a few minutes, then layered them in a baking dish with sauce; mozzarella cheese; some sauteed onion, garlic, and kale (all from the garden); and tomato slices (also from the garden).

6) Ina Garten has a recipe on the Food Network website for zucchini pancakes (similar to potato pancakes). This will probably be tomorrow night's dinner.

7) Out of desperation, I am thinking of trying zucchini pickles.

8) Sauteed with other veggies, I have added zucchini and summer squash to pizza, omelets, egg wraps, veggie wraps, and pasta dishes.



As you can see, I am running out of creative things to do with zucchini and summer squash other than give it away. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

1 comment:

  1. I ran across this blog in a really random way (searching google for rooster photos trying to figure out what one of my guys are). And when I read this I just had to share... I used to grate raw zucchini up and freeze it in 1 cup portions to toss in "saucy" recipes like spaghetti sauce or chili. It was my way of upping the veggie content when my oldest kid was going through her picky eater stage. :)
    Thanks for posting this - I'm now going to go google a recipe for Zucchini Herb Bread cause it sounds so freakin good! :)
    Have a great day!

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