Here Come the Zucchini! Easy Recipes

They come in bunches, and seem to double in size overnight. Their leaves and vines are Jurassic in scale, and they grow with the vigor of a species bent on world dominance. It's zucchini! Early summer (through early fall) is zucchini time around my house, and once these marvelous veggies start coming, you have to keep up with them.

If you have a healthy plant and good pollinators around, you probably will end up with more zucchini than you need. You can leave some of them on your neighbor's doorstep or in the front seat of your cousin's car, but you will probably still face times when you just need something new to do with them. Here are TEN ideas for using them up deliciously, and some links to longer recipes I have posted for this versatile vegetable.

1. Sauté them. Cut a zuke into bite-sized chunks and sauté them until tender in a little olive oil and garlic. Season with salt and pepper. Simple and delicious.
2. Slice them up as crudites. Even picky kids will eat them if you serve them alongside the other things that they seem to love dipping into ranch dressing.
3. Marinate them. Cut into strips, say, 1/2 inch by 2 inches, and pour a vinaigrette over them. (In a rush? Use good bottled dressing.) Serve as an appetizer. Add some nice salami and a medium-hard cheese to the tray, and voila! The first course is done.
4. Cut into smaller chunks (say, 1/2 inch cubes) and marinate, then dump the whole batch over a big bunch of fresh greens and toss for an easy salad.
5. Steam them, hollow them out, and stuff with yummy filling, then bake. Hm...I'll have to post another hub with my favorite stuffed zuke recipe. Stay tuned.
6. Grill them. Slice them into rounds (1/4 inch thick is nice), brush with olive oil, season a bit (salt and pepper, granulated garlic, and oregano are all nice options, and all of these together is a quite tasty option, too), and grill until just tender. Scrumptious. If you're alert enough to catch them while they're small, just slice them lengthwise, oil, season, and grill.
7. Juice them. Not kidding. I tried this when I was truly desperate to make full use of my garden bounty. Zuke juice is subtle, so you might want to add a little apple for body (for a sweet treatment) or a little onion and tomato for a savory veggie drink.
8. Grate them, and add to a slaw, or make quick bread or cake with it.
9. Grind them with other vegetables, get out your canning gear, and make Zucchini Relish.
10. Cook till tender with some onions and make a Zucchini Bisque.