Zucchini galore

Yep, LOTS of zucchini around here. I planted three kinds in our yard, which are just starting to produce, and we're getting a few per week from the CSA farm too. Time to get creative!

Here are a few ideas from our house...

Thinly sliced raw zucchini is a nice addition to green salads and pasta salads. Last week I made an impromptu couscous salad that consisted of whole-wheat couscous, chickpeas, quartered and thinly sliced cucumber, quartered and thinly sliced zucchini, halved grape tomatoes and feta cheese, with a dressing of white wine vinegar, olive oil, lemon zest and plenty of fresh dill. Turned out to be very summery and tasty!

The June '08 issue of Cooking Light had a recipe for Zucchini-Pineapple Quick Bread that looked quite good. It makes 2 loaves and uses 2 zucchini. I made the recipe last night, and despite a cook's error in measuring the baking soda, the bread came out very nicely. It is sweet but not overly so, and the pineapple makes it nice and moist. When I called it "zucchini bread" my son wouldn't taste it. A few minutes later I offered him some "pineapple bread" and he happily accepted and ate a slice, then asked for more. Sucker.

Tonight we're trying Cooking Light's Layered Zucchini (subbing soy crumbles for the ground beef). It's essentially a lasagna in which zucchini layers replace the noodles. And that will take care of all the zucchini at our house... for today anyway!