things to do with a zucchini...or 2...

[CTAnton]

well, I've enjoyed looking at people's pets, getting informed on bagel making, donut making, have participated in word association games, had deja vu over people leaving bad jobs...and have loved it all!The soap pictures leave me inspired, the shared recipes leave me hopeful.
But it's almost August and here in the Northeast US this is the time when the zucchinis are becoming passé. Sure, the Efficacious Gentlemen posts a new recipe for courgettes(add 2 dollars a pound when you call them that!)but for us gardeners out there the blush has come off the rose so to speak...the first several weeks of harvest are past us, we've got grated zucchini in the freezer for zucchini bread and those daily trips to monitor the progress of these fast growers has become, well,it doesn't have the magic it did a month ago...
With that said,(whew!),I'm curious what thoughts people would have to utilize those cute little courgettes that are now 3 weeks hiding under the leaves....those now lethal weapons of the plant world...
If it were me, I'd strap 2 together with cordage and change my name to Thor Heyerdahl..

 

[Saponista]

I ended up composting mine last year! I made a lovely summer soup though.

http://www.deliaonline.com/recipes/...-soup-with-watercress-and-pecorino-pesto.html

They are also good cut in half stuffed with bobotie and roasted in the oven.

 

[navigator9]

You could always sneak over to your neighbor's house after dark and leave a few on the porch. I found one on my porch the other day. None of my neighbors has fessed up.

 

[green soap]

1. Zucchini bread

2. Cream of zucchini soup (can be served cold or hot)

3. Chow chow relish

4. Zucchini cheese pie in a potato crust

5. Add some to minestrone soup

6. As an ingredient in ratatouille

7. Summer squash hummus (yellow summer squash works well)

8. Pick them as babies and slice them thin, use raw in salads

9. Beer batter fry them

10. Tempura them

11. Pick the flowers, use them in squash flower quesadillas

12. Grate them with carrots and add to my beloved chihuahuas food (yes, my dogs love carrots and zucchinis and yes I cook for them - they say garden carrots are much better than commercial carrots....)

13. Cut them in 1/4 inch slices and dehydrate them or sun dry them. Use them in backpacking food recipes.

14. As an ingredient in vegetarian paella.

15. As an ingredient in gumbo.

16. Grate and freeze enough for one zucchini bread recipe in ziplock bags

17. Substitute for eggplant and make zucchini parmesan.

18. Grill them.

19. Juice them and use the juice in soups (freeze the juice?)

20. Grate them and add them to cole slaw, or make cole slaw come up with recipe

21. Cook (one can sautee in olive oil or butter and onions), puree, and freeze. Use later for soups

22. Partial dehydration and freezing (would take care of the mushiness upon thawing problem?)

23. Substitute for eggplant in Moussaka

24. zuch or yellow squash casserole

25. Obviously you can give it away, or try to give it away, to whoever might want some.friends that do not garden, coworkers, neighbors, food kitchens, on and on...

26. Squash pie (sweet, as in a desert pie)

27. Zucchini brownies

28. Zucchini chocolate cake

29. Sauteed with garlic, onion and butter.

Make zucchini chutney.
31. Baked zucchini breaded (in slices?)

32. Marinate raw for a salad or as part of a salad (use young tender ones)

33. Sauteed zucchini and corn with oven roasted tomatoes

34. Cut thinly lengthwise and substitute for lasagna noodle.

35. Zucchini boats or stuffed zucchini (recipe sounds yummy...)

36. Zucchini oatmeal muffins (adding oatmeal sounds good!)

37. Use as a pizza topping. Either slice very thinly and use raw, or pre-sautée with olive oil, a little salt and optional herbs/garlic.

38. Zucchini frittata.

39.zucchini fritters

40.zucchini slaw

41.savory french toast with zucchini baked in

42.zucchini hash with meat of your choice cooked in

43. I freeze shredded zukes and mid-winter toss them into tomato sauce and on top of pasta.

44. Last summer I posted a recipe for mock apple pie & crisp...that really does taste like apple.

45. Pickle them like you would cucumbers. Especially Bread & Butter pickles yum

46. Grate zucchini or summer squash, sautee in olive oil adding some onions and garlic, add a little salt and add an equal volume of grated cheese. Use to make a lighter and better textured filling for cheese enchiladas. Fill tortillas, roll and cover with enchilada sauce of choice (green and red both work). Bake at 350F for 20 minutes.

47. Dice them up small (1/4 inch) and toss them into Spanish rice just as it's done cooking. Let it sit for 5 minutes-- the ambient heat cooks them perfectly crisp-tender.

48. Use instead of broccoli in Green Rice.

49. Grate them, steam them, and sprinkle with a little bit of sugar, cinnamon and a dash of lemon juice (opt.). Eat it like apple sauce.

50. GRATIN OF ZUCCHINI AND TOMATOES (Annie's)

51. SOLS ZUCCHINI PANCAKES (Savory, like potato pancakes)

 

[Seawolfe]

Green that is an awesome list!!

If I had a bunch going spare, Id can some in veggie soup, and make zucchini chips in the dehydrator like this: http://www.freshbitesdaily.com/zucchini-chips/

 

[not_ally]

You UK'ers, with your courgettes, rocket, etc! Learn to speak English, would ya? (NA runs away with a trash, um rubbish, can lid on her head for protection from flying courgettes )

Seriously, you forced me to google bobotie, that sounds absolutely delicious.

Nav, I wish my neighbors would bedevil me with anonymous garden veggies

 

[green soap]

That's right, they eat courgettes, aubergines, and capsicums. Now if you just add tomatoes, onions and garlic, there you have.....ratatouille!

 

[lenarenee]

Greensoap, you must be the zucchini master! Where could I find your mock apple pie recipe?

Do the zucchini chips actually get crispy - enough to use in a dip? (Please say yes!)

I eat low carb, and use zucchini noodles in place of spaghetti pasta for alfredo and marinara sauce. It's good to have so many more ideas to try now.

 

[green soap]

I started a thread in gardenweb one year I had zuchs coming out of my ears...nice site to ask questions about gardening and food preservation. Most of the recipes listed are somewhere in the thread, some by me, many by other contributors. I am cabrita in that forum.

http://forums.gardenweb.com/discussions/1973302/101-things-to-make-with-zucchini-or-summer-squash

 

[green soap]

I found that making chow chow and canning the chow chow helped us preserve LOTS of zucchini, and also make some people happy for Christmas.

I have not made the mock apple pie, but I would just goggle 'zucchini mock apple pie '. My guess would be brown sugar, cinnamon, lemon zest, vanilla, shredded zuchs, stew for a while, put in crust and bake.

 

[boyago]

You could always sneak over to your neighbor's house after dark and leave a few on the porch. I found one on my porch the other day. None of my neighbors has fessed up.

In Ashland, OR you remind your loved ones to lock the doors when leaving the house in summer cause "if you don't you'll come home to a sink full of zucchini."

 

[not_ally]

Boyago, that makes me want to live there. I always thought Oregonians were nice, I visited several times (Portland) when my sister was in school there. They were just so friendly, we went to Powell's one day, went back a couple of days later, and the sales clerk said "hey, I remember you guys, you seemed to be having so much fun together, I remember the sound of you laughing." How sweet is that?

 

[green soap]

I would love it if someone left a summer squash on my porch! this year I have none. Something to do with trying to move to Europe and then not moving just yet?. Here are a few more suggestions (from the original garden web thread)


52. Zucchini candy
53. Coarsely grate or thinly slice. Cover with pineapple juice. Freeze or can and use for "zucchini" upside down cake.
54. Zucchini butter. Use pureed zucchini in your apple butter recipes. Really good.
55. They make good additions to spaghetti sauce.
56. Zucchini fries
Cut zucchini into sticks, then bread them with:
Bread crumbs (I like Italian bread crumbs for this)
parmesan cheese
minced garlic
salt/pepper to taste
(I just combine to look good, sorry no measurements)
Do a three stage breading, 1st a flour dip, then an egg dip, then bread in the bread crumb mixture, place on a baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes at 350 degrees
57. Yellow Squash Casserole
Simmer sliced yellow crooknecks and diced onion until barely tender.
Drain and place in a baking dish.
Blend eggs and milk add black pepper and salt to taste.
Pour the milk mixture over the veggies and bake until the custard is set.
I seem to remember that Grandma topped the casserole with buttered bread crumbs before she placed it in the oven. I bake it without, but pass the Parmesan when it is served.
58. Zucchini Latkes - shredded zucchini mixed with beaten egg, s&p. Fry in skillet. (We serve them on rolls with ketchup.)
59. Zucchini Noodles - shred zucchini, saute in olive oil and garlic, add s&p. Boil spaghetti noodles, reserve some liquid, add noodles to zucchini, add liquid as needed. Serve with shaky cheese.
60. Zucchini Bake - large chunks of zucchini, an onion - then maybe some other over abundant veggies in the garden or some previously sauteed ground beef - put all in a casserole dish, dump a jar of spaghetti sauce over it. Bake at 350 for about 45 minutes. Serve over pasta or rice.
61. I make a yummy savory zucchini bread - it's a quick bread but with olive oil, salt and pepper, parm cheese. Recipe, please?
62. Zucchini chips
63. Sweet and sour zucchini.
64. Cut into thin strips. Stir fried with onions, garlic, sesame oil, soy sauce and pepper.
65. Stir fried: chopped cabbage, onions, zucchini, garlic and add some tomatoes
(any other fresh picked veggie). Stir fry and top with sweet chili sauce
66. Zucchini Bake (great appetizer or breakfast bake) (with bisquick).
67. Zucchini "Crab" Cakes
68. Dry, pulverize, and add to brownies or other baked goods to reduce calories and/or glycemic index.
69. Roast it with the tomatoes and onions when making Katies roasted tomato sauce and can in with the rest.
70. Steamed and put over sloppy joe meat or on top of hamburger helper kind of meat.
71. Serve raw with ranch dip.
72. Stir fried it with summer squash, onions, red peppers, garlic and soy sauce and then freeze in containers that make it easy to add some leftover meat to for stir fry.
73. Canned with okra, tomatoes, peppers, onions for a quick mix to throw over a pork loin for a great winter stew in the crock pot.
74. Zucchini crisps? Take the large size squash and zukes (you know the ones that hide for three days under the leaves before you find them). Slice them 1/8 inch thick, blanch them for 30 seconds, dry them and sprinkle salt (I use Kosher) and onion powder on them. Dry them in the dehydrator until crispy like potato chips. Yum!

 

[CTAnton]

geez Green Soap...WHO KNEW!!!

 

[Susie]

I agree with all but #15!

You can also "spiralize" them (thin, not ribbon), then dehydrate. Use anywhere you use long noodles like spaghetti or fettuccini.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00NEAO4S2/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

 

[green soap]

I agree with all but #15!

You can also "spiralize" them (thin, not ribbon), then dehydrate. Use anywhere you use long noodles like spaghetti or fettuccini.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00NEAO4S2/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

# 15 use in gumbo

I meant Gumbo Z'herbes

why not? I do admit to herbivorous tendencies though. We all like different things.

 

[Yooper]

Best use of zucchini ever:

Zucchini "crab" cakes

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/connies-zucchini-crab-cakes/

I am sugar free, and usually wheat free, so I don't eat or make baked goods as a rule. These "crab cakes" are really great! (I use rice flour instead of wheat flour, and crushed rice crackers instead of bread crumbs).