The zucchini and yellow summer crops are still producing in abundance! If you garden, you may be overwhelmed with them. If you shop farmers markets, you'll find these seasonal delights to be very reasonably priced. Either way, now is the time to pack as much of that seasonal goodness into our tummies and freezers as we can!
The first thing that comes to my mind with zucchini is baking bread. Now, there's nothing as delicious or tempting as a fresh loaf of zucchini quick bread. But, you can do so much more with this amazing summer vegetable! So, today, I'm going to give you SEVEN ways to use it and avoid wasting a single morsel.
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1. Middle Eastern Stuffed squash
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| The sauce thickens as it cooks. |
Generally made with koosa squash, this traditional Middle Eastern dish can also be prepared by stuffing small green or yellow summer squash. I made it with a mixture of yellow squash and koosa squash.
The recipe calls for raw rice. I used some leftover cooked rice and packed it really well in the squash shells. I had no problem at all with the rice mixture leaking into the tomato sauce mixture as it cooked. I also added some garam masala to the rice mixture. This traditional Middle Eastern spice mixture is one of my favorite. You'll find it cheapest at your favorite locally owned Middle Eastern store. Amazon also sells an inexpensive version. The spicy, flavorful tomato sauce paired well with the firmer texture of the rice filling.
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| Cooking in the pan, almost submerged in the tangy sauce. |
You can see that the squash is lying down in the pan, while the recipe calls for cooking them more upright in the pan. Because I used leftover cooked rice, the mixture was very firmly in the cavities and I had no problem at all with the rice mixture falling out of the squash. This recipe got two thumbs up from my family!
2. Creamy Yellow Squash Soup
Remember, my goal to to not waste a morsel of the produce. So, I used the interior of the zucchini that I had scraped out for the stuffed squash, and made this creamy yellow squash soup. I did add about a half of a large yellow squash that I had in the fridge, since the texture of the interior of the squash is quite different than that of the fleshier outer inch of the vegetable. The finished soup was creamy smooth and quite delicious. I'm guessing that it would be good served cold, but I liked it hot. I added a few drops of hot sauce before serving. Franks is my favorite because it contains no food coloring and it's very reasonably priced.
Remember, we eat with our eyes. I love the way the red looks on top of the pale yellow soup. Leave the pretty red drops of hot sauce on the top, garnish with fresh dill or another herb before serving.
3. Zucchini chips
I generally make these with gluten free almond flour for the coating. If you are watching your fat intake, then you can substitute Bob's Red Mill 1-to-1 GF flour for an alternative gluten free choice. If you dip the veggies slices first in aquafaba, then it creates a thicker batter coating. You can either slice the zucchini for chips or create pickle spear shaped wedges. My boys prefer the pickle shaped wedges to the thinner chips. I like them both.
4. Zucchini "mac and cheese"
I created this recipe to showcase my friend, Faith's amazing homemade hummus. Her recipe is hands-down the best hummus I have ever tasted. I simply thinned it, added a few more ingredients and created a cheesy, yellow, vegan sauce to be served atop a bed of cooked spiralized or grated fresh zucchini. My boys beg me to make large batches of this recipe.
5. Oven Roasted Vegetables
To keep it interesting, I flavored each vegetable with different spices.
- THE SQUASH: I chose a basic no-salt seasoning for the squash. I like Kirkland brand no-salt seasoning. You can purchase it at COSTCO. If you don't have a membership, no worries. I order it from Amazon for a very reasonable price and free shipping. This seasoning mix contains a nice amount of fresh cracked black pepper, while you also taste notes of the citrus peel. If you use it, I would add it first, then taste test your dish to see if you even need to add any other spices. Often I find that this spice alone is sufficient.
- THE CAULIFLOWER: I used a liberal sprinkling of smoked paprika and a touch of cayenne pepper on the cauliflower. I thought it would mimic the flavors of buffalo wings. It did!
- THE BRUSSELS SPROUTS: Garlic powder, onion flakes, and a liberal drizzle of California Balsamic's Sweet Heat blend anointed the top of the sprouts. I began roasting Brussels sprouts a few years ago with a couple of tablespoons of balsamic vinegar mixed with them. Try it! You'll never go back to plain Brussels sprouts again! My sister recently brought me a bottle of Napa Valley Naturals Grand Reserve balsamic. It is aged in oak barrels and is so thick that it pours like a syrup. Amazingly sweet and flavorful, you could even use it to top strawberries!
On a side note, I found the cauliflower marked down to just $1.00 at my favorite ethnic market. To read all about why I recommend shopping at ethnic markets when you are trying to lower your food bills, read, "6 Reasons You Should Be Shopping at Ethnic Stores."
6. Zucchini Casserole
Credit where credit is due. My 15 year old sous chef son designed and wrote this recipe last year when we had a glut of zucchini on the counter. It's very tasty and easy to make. Lasagna-like layers are sandwiched between a rich tomato sauce and topped with a sprinkling of nutritional yeast.
7. Freeze it!
Flash freezing works best for zucchini slices. If they are unusually large circles, I cut them in half before freezing. I give you step-by-step instructions for flash freezing in "Putting Food By For Winter: Freezing". You can also spiralize or shred it and freeze it in smaller freezer bags for later use.
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Do all to the glory of God,
Hope
Do all to the glory of God,
Hope
I enjoy it just sautéed in a little butter with fresh ground salt and pepper. To kick it up a notch, I sometimes add diced onion, garlic, diced bell peppers a few bacon crumbles (obviously can skip this) and grated Parmesan on top. I grew up eating it fried, but genuinely like my healthier versions bettter.
ReplyDeleteSheila, I totally agree. Yes! I've had it that way, too. People often forget that sometimes simple is best, don't they? Thanks for reading and commenting!
ReplyDelete