I did a post last summer with recipes for different varieties of zucchini bread – scroll down the page for that one (it might be on page 2 of the posts). To me, zucchini itself doesn’t really have much flavor – it just picks up the flavor of other ingredients in the recipe.

Zucchini has been the one crop that has done really well this year. Tomatoes, cucumbers, melons have been pretty poor – my watermelons set lovely fruit and I was so excited to see that – then the vines all died. I don’t know about the winter squash because, well the weeds are over my head…

There are some pumpkins and winter squash in the mess, though…

There are about the size of volleyballs.

So, what to do with all the zucchini? You can fry it with onions for a nice side dish or make one of the ones below. Zucchini can also be sliced or shredded and frozen for use later this winter. Just thaw and use like normal (if it’s shredded, I usually drain it and use the juice in the recipe to replace water if I can).

Zucchini Pizza

4 cups shredded unpeeled zucchini

1/2 tsp. salt

2 eggs

1/2 cup grated parmesan chee

2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1 lb. ground beef

1/2 cup chopped onion

15 oz tomato sauce

green peppers, onions, mushrooms, other pizza toppings

Place zucchini in colander; sprinkle with salt. let stand for 10 minutes;, then squeeze out moisture.

Combine the zucchini with eggs, parmesan, and half the mozzarella and cheddar. Press into a greased 13×9 in pan and bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a large pan, brown beef and onion until meat is no longer pink, breaking up well. Add tomato sauce and spoon over the zucchini mixture. Add the rest of the toppings and cheese. Bake until heated through, about 20 minutes longer. This freezes really well if you have leftovers,

Zucchini ‘Crab Cakes’

2 1/2 cups grated zucchini

1 egg

2 tblsp melted butter

1 cup seasoned breadcrumbs

1/4 cup minced onion

1 tsp Old Bay seasoning (this is not optional!)

1/4 cup flour

1/2 cup oil for frying

Mix all except flour and oil together until well blended. form into patties and dredge in flour. Fry in hot oil over medium high heat until nicely browned. Serve with cocktail sauce or tartar sauce.

I hope all your gardens are doing better than mine. The mornings are starting to get a little cooler, so you know fall is on the way. Not quite time for pumpkin spice, but it’s getting close.