Friday, August 13, 2010

Summer's Endless Squash

Have you heard the joke yet? Why do people start locking their car/house doors in late summer? .... So they don't end up with another bag of zucchini!

It's amazing, really. You put a few simple seeds in the ground, you enjoy watching the plants grow, and then... you have more zucchini and summer squash than you want. More than your neighbors want, too. If this is your problem, you may be interested in reading Handling an Overwhelming Harvest without Waste, by The Simple Dollar.



Breads, Muffins, and Cake

Salads
  • Zucchini Garden Salad, brought to you by Tasty Kitchen, reminds me of fresh corn salads. It's simple, fresh, and soooo good.
  • Summer Squash Salad brings in some mint for a cool summer treat, by Simply Recipes.

Side Dish
  • The texture makes all the difference in this Quick Zucchini Saute from Smitten Kitchen. If you don't have a mandoline slicer, trust me that it's worth the time to chop the squash into little matchstick slices. Be careful, though - the almonds will brown more quickly than you think!
  • Classic Side Dish: Sauteed Zucchini with Mushrooms, from Cooking for Engineers. If you like clear step-by-step instructions, spend some time on this site. My favorite is the timing chart shown at the bottom of each article. (Is that called a Gantt chart?)
  • Squash Fritters, by Simply Recipes, are one of my favorites. Be sure you have your oil hot enough so they get crispy on the outside! 
  • These are good for you, but won't taste like it! Check out this post from SpoonEats - Zucchini Fries!
  • Vegetable Kabobs, laid out by The Simple Dollar - and they don't have to be just a side - they can be the main course!

Breakfast
  • Here's an original (and tasty!) idea, from Simply Recipes: Zucchini Breakfast Casserole.
  • Ratatouille Tart will make a great breakfast (or brunch for those of us who get up late). Smitten Kitchen, as always, has beautiful photos of it as well! 

So, there's a few ideas to get you started... please share your favorite summer squash uses, too!

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Here's a great zucchini patties recipe:

http://tinyurl.com/6yrhv5

or

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Zucchini-Patties-with-Feta-238266