I like to broil them. Slice them in half then into 1/4 inch thick slices longways, sprinkle both sides with a little olive oil, top with fresh herbs, some salt and pepper, and a little parmesan if you like, then broil them in the oven.

For some reason, we don't have any yet. Have plants. Have flowers. No zucchinis. We have cucumbers and squashes, though.

Last year, I ended up using a lot of them in baking for bread and cookies to entertain the neighborhood kids. Like R. Neal, we don't have any yet for some reason. Our plant has only produced one zuke so far, but otherwise lots of flowers and greenery. I've been picking squash and cucumbers regularly, though.

I ran across this post last year and tried the Zucchini Basil Muffins. They want Dijon mustard, not butter, but once you figure that out, they're great.

I'm not prone to hysterics but I have found myself letting out a tiny scream when I encountered some of the behemoths that emerged when I turned my back for a second or 2 (OK make that acouple of days). My theory is it's nitrogen fixation from the high power lines but it could be the horse poop I dug into the soil that causes the excess. Since I garden organically, I'll let the plants die a merciful death from worms in a couple of weeks to relieve me of the burden.

I've been freezing the small/med ones for future spaghetti sauce, giving the big ones away or making Zucchini boats which is a hollowed out Zuke with tomato sauce and sauteed eggplant, all covered with cheese.

I'm also selling some of the surplus at reasonable prices through a sort of reverse CSA. PM me if you live/work downtown or near south and want a source for extremely local produce.

___________________________________
There MUST be a pony in here somewhere!

Thanks for the link mjw. I'm not much of a baker but I'll make up some pinezapple. I have a pressure canner left over from a very brief freegan fling in college that ended when I discovered canned broccoli is one of the vilest substances on earth.

___________________________________
There MUST be a pony in here somewhere!

Sorry, it's a tomato based sauce. Basically tomatoes from the garden, tomato paste to thicken it up, plus vegetables and herbs.

P.s. I looked up Zucchini pineapple on the web and found a canning time of 15 minutes in a boiling water bath. I thought 45 minutes at 15 lbs (from the link) was a bit extreme. Maybe they did't boil the stuff first?? I think I'll go 15 minutes at 5 lbs. The recipes call for sugar and lemon juice, that makes sense.

I also found recipes for Zucchini pineapple jam. I recently realized that if I want to avoid HFCS, homeade jam is the way to go.

__________________________________
There MUST be a pony in here somewhere!

We had a massive invasion of squash bugs last year. Planted nothing of the squash family this year.

I visited with my neighbor yesterday and tried a delicious sample from this recipe:

Zucchini Relish

12 cups zucchini, ground
4 cups onions, ground
5 Tbs. salt

Grind zucchini and onion. Mix well with salt and let stand overnight. Rinse with cold water and drain well.

2 1/2 cups vinegar
6 cups sugar
1 Tbs. dry mustard
3/4 tsp nutmeg
3/4 Tbs. cornstarch
3/4 tsp turmeric
1 1/2 tsp celery seed
1 red pepper, ground
1 green pepper, ground

In large kettle, mix vinegar, sugar, spices and starch. Cook until it starts to thicken. Add ground vegetables, mix well and cook 30 minutes on low heat. Seal while hot in hot sterilized jars.

Visit us at:

The Home