Tuesday, July 19, 2011

Zucchini Time!

Why am I singing this title like it's an MC Hammer song? Here's comes the zucchini.. woo oh oh oh.. No oh oh? oh well. 
This is a shout out to all you novice and avid gardeners out there... are you over run with zucchinis yet? I am and I'm not even growing them! Thanks to my wonderful father-in-law, I have found myself with HUGE (and I mean huge) amount of zucchinis each week, and there is just no letting up. Not that I am complaining but there is only so many recipes one can create with all this zucchini.
See for yourself.
a picture of last week's fresh produce delivery

Oh and I did I mention he also supplies us with summer and yellow squash too?  Yum! Now what to do with all this zucchini you may ask? Well here are a few things that I have tried or am going to attempt to try since I literally have way too much for a family of 4.
I am open to suggestions on recipe ideas.  

1. Make zucchini bread. Ok so this one is a no brainer. Next!
2. Pickle it. I am a pickled food fan and plan to do try this.
3. Play hide the zucchini. Ok that just made me giggle, what can I say - I have the mind of a 12 year old boy. Remember those Jessica Seinfeld cookbooks that show you how to hide veggies in your kid's foods? It only makes sense if you have picky eaters. From the age of 2 til 4, my youngest daughter would only eat mac n cheese, chicken nuggets and steamed broccoli. Oh and how could I forget her "dippy" eggs with mustard on the side. Ugh I wish I knew back then how to sneak zucchini into mac and cheese, lasagna or substitute zucchini for eggplant and make Zucchini Parmesan. Yum!
Zucchini Lasagna
4. Fry it up! Sure, you knew this one too, but frying doesn't just mean throwing it into some hot oil. Try making zucchini fritters, pan fried zucchini fries with marinara sauce. How about getting a lil crazy and use Panko or cornmeal instead of regular ole bread crumbs or flour. They are all equally delish. Trust me.
5. Everything taste better with Chocolate so why not try Zucchini brownies, chocolate chip zucchini breadzucchini chocolate chip cookies, or how about chocolate zucchini cake?  Yes please to all of the above!
6. Drink it? PASS! Next!
7. Eat it raw. Shred it into coleslaw's or pasta salad. Or how about you serve it Greek-style? Yum
8. Stuff it. Provencal-style, Italian-style,  chock-filled with meats or if you're a vegetarian. Stuff yourself with all that deliciousness.
9. Grill it. I know! Another totally obvious one, but there are just so many ways you can grill zucchini. You can make Grilled Zucchini Roll-ups, Grilled Zucchini PizzaZucchini kebabs, Grilled zucchini friesGrilled zucchini, tomato and mozzarella sandwich . . . are you drooling yet?

Ok so let's have it. How do you prepare your zucchini? We still have 8 weeks of summer left. I need ideas people!

7 comments:

Unknown said...

I to have more zucs. and yellow squash then we could ever eat. I need to try this. Thanks for the recipe. I hope your family had a great vacation.

Anonymous said...

Zucchini Parmigiana is delicious too! I like it better than eggplant parm. I will be down at Ed's Saturday night into Sunday if you want to leave a zucchini for me. The ones you gave us last year were excellent!

Nancy

the cape on the corner said...

i am super jealous of your zucchini stash! i have one little lone plant that has yielded me 2 nice size zucs, but i'd love your never ending supply! i pretty much just saute them or bake them or fry them. adding them to past sauce would be good, too.

Beth said...

three words: Zucchini infused vodka. There's your drink:)!
Beth

Desiree said...

i dtoo have lots and I make lots and lots of zucchini bread and wrap them up and give them to co workers...neighbors....hubbys co workers..friends &family..it brightens someones day and they love it...also there is a great casserole recipe on the bisquick website

elizabeth@themustardceiling said...

Great recipe tips for zucchini. Zucchini is one of my favorite vegetables, it seems to go well with EVERYTHING!

Shelby said...

These are such great ideas! Thanks! Here's how I've been doing it: http://honeysucklehigh.blogspot.com/2011/07/easiest-side-of-your-life.html