If you've seen the movie "The Witches of Eastwick," maybe you remember the scene in which Michelle Pfeiffer's kids are complaining about having peanut butter and zucchini jelly sandwiches again. I fear that's where I'm headed!

My friend has given me not one but two homegrown zucchinis of a size that watermelon would be proud to achieve. Baking a batch of zucchini muffins (from KD's second book) has barely made a dent, so I plan to chop some up with tomato, onion and rice for lunch. Any other creative ideas?

And does anyone know how long a zucchini will keep once it's been cut? Is there any way to freeze it?

Thanks!

The July 2005 issue of Gourmet has a yummy looking recipe for a chilled zuchinni soup that uses a pound and a half of zuchinni.

I like raw zucchini chopped up in tossed salads. I also make a very simple side dish by stir frying slices of yellow squash, zucs and onion.

My friend always gives me such zucchini also. I like to make stuffed zucchini and bake or grill it. The stuffing is a meatlaof type mixture. Sometimes I use tomato sauce and a little low fat cheese. I mostly use ground chicken or turkey. I do freeze this wropped well in foil and then placed in a plastic bag with most of the air removed. Let it thaw on it;s own. Don't rush the process. Have left over to use up? I make it into a stew. I also chop zucchine and other vegetables into a stewing pot and add tomato sauce and Italian seasoning. There are a lot of good low fat recipes around and they are fairly simple and fast to prepare. Hope this will help.

The "fresh foods" story by KD has a great summer squash frittata -- a good use for future big honkin' zucchini that might come your way....

All I could think of was dipping it in flour & egg and frying it in oil like my Italian grandmother did -- not super healthy but delicious. You have to slice it very thinly, salt it and let it drain in a colander for about half an hour before doing this.

I don't make it often because it is a big chore, so I only have it maybe once or twice a year.

Thanks for all your great ideas. What didn't get shredded and frozen for future zucchini muffins and breads is now part of a very healthy soup that is delicious served cold -- an important consideration as the temperature climbs!

I love how I can ask you guys for ideas about anything, and you always rise to the challenge.

Susan I made a zuch. and white bean soup with some thyme and rosemary. You can use chicken or veggie stock and freeze it to have when you wish.

I toss zucchini into spaghetti. Yummy!

1. Stuffed Zucchini - stuffed with ground meat and rice and topped with tomato sauce

2. Use in a quiche or egg dish

3. Mix with tomatoes and tomato sauce (my favorite)

I LOVE all three of these dishes!

usually the stuffed zucchini should be smaller vegetables, but just use your huge honkin one in sections. Would work for me.

Good luck, Susan!

This won't use up much, but it is good. You can make zucchini-roni as a pizza topping. Just cut small, thin slices and saute it in a little evoo with some chopped garlic and crushed red pepper flakes. It makes a good meat substitute on pizza.

PS..........you could top it off with a little marinara too if you like.

those would be great for stuffing. You scoop out most of the inside, leaving a small layer inside for support. Saute it in some olive oil with garlic, salt and pepper and some grated pecorino romano. You could even chop up some sundried tomato or mushrooms and add to the saute. Add some breadcrumb toward the end of the saute and stuff. Bake in a 350 oven for about 20 minutes. You could top it with some mozzarella before you bake too if you like.

My Grandma used to make an amazing Zucchini soup, as she grew the zucchini HUGE...so I understand where you're coming from.

She would bake one, and then take another big one and make a creamy type soup (she used the blender a lot, so I assume she pureed it). I bet you can find a recipe online for it somewhere!

Terri

Antother idea is to make a side dish, cube the zucchini and saute it in a hot pan with a tsp of oil and a bunch of garlic, till the zucchini is soft and the garlic is a tad bit golden. I love garlic and zucchini and this is one of all time favorate dishes in the world.

Another idea is cut it up and make veggie sticks from it and make a dip to dip them in. I happen to also be a fan of zucchini raw. A good dip that I like, and it is high in protin is 32 oz Low Fat cottage cheese mixed with a packet of ranch dressing mix. I find the combo really good.

Jennifer

Here's some ideas:

Zuch muffins or bread can be frozen

grated zuch sautteed with olive oil and garlic, tossed with pasta, romano or parm cheese, and a few breadcrumbs. Can be served as a main dish, or skip the pasta and serve as a side

zuch slices grill well...and you can use any leftovers to make a pretty good sandwich

I remember once upon a time (when I grew my own torpedo zuchs) a recipe for zuch relish

hope that helps a little.

I've made crab cakes... but subbed zuck for crab...

Take out the big, honking seeds tho...

And you can always compost it...

Susan,

You can grate it and freeze it. But it will keep in the fridge once cut for a few days (3-4 at the most). I have a friend that called this morning and she is giving me half of her 10# zucchini that another friend had given her

About a week ago Sara Moulton did a farmer's market show and made delicious zucchini/feta Greek flovored "cakes." She fried them in a bit of oil. I have made them and baked them. They are really, really good. I don't have time to get the link now, but you can do a search on food tv.

How's about chicken, artichoke and zucc ratatouille?

I made something like this recently. Went kinda like this:

Brown chicken parts in a lil evoo, onions, and garlic. Take chicken out, and put into a casserole dish.

To the pan, add chopped up artichokes (save the brine!), zucc, shrooms if you like em, eggplant if you like it, squished whole peeled tomatoes (save the juice).

When they get a bit softened up, add the juice from the artichokes and tomatoes, season with basil and oregano. Let it simmer for a bit, then dump it over the chicken.

Bake at 400 til the chicken is done. You may need to turn it over once or twice in the process. Top with a lil finely grated romano or parm.

edit: I guess, actually, you might call this a cacciatore / ratatouille hybrid

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