Zucchini Days

We have A LOT of recipes on this site, all geared to help with enjoying the harvest. Many of the recipes include multiple veggies that are available at the same time. Even though there are already tons of them, I am always seeking out new ways to prepare the veggies. This past week I did 2 new things:

Cucumbers, snap beans, zucchini, carrots - I pickled a pile of veggies Italian style or Giardiniera. It called for making a flavored vinegar and then boiling each veggie separately until bright colored and barely soft. You can eat them at that point or conserve them; i.e. place in mason jars, covered with olive oil and then process the jars. I chose to eat them fresh - when I tasted them, they were a bit too vinegary for my taste, so I drizzled good quality olive oil on them - that did the trick. I still have some experimenting to do, but it was a fun and tasty try!

Zucchini, garlic, basil - I found a recipe for turning zucchini into an actual pasta sauce. It incorporates anchovies and onions that you saute up with the zucchini until all are soft but not brown. Blend or use immersion blender and finish with lemon juice. Toss with pasta and add chopped basil, toasted hazelnuts and parm cheese. We ended up not being home for dinner for a few nights, so I ended up freezing it for enjoyment later - if as good as I think it will be, I will post the recipe.

Snap Beans, cherry tomatoes, mixed herbs, scallions - I make salads with a lot of the veggies we receive - they are great for summer and using a vinaigrette preserves the veggie, and in this case the beans are even better the second day. I often incorporate chick peas and/or feta cheese to make it more of a meal.

Eggplant, garlic, herbs - I was using the grill anyway, so grilled eggplants up until really soft and almost black on the outside. When cool enough to handle I removed the skins, and chopped the flesh up really well - it was soft so it came out like a chunky dip. Added a bit of grated garlic, lots of chopped herbs and a good squeeze of lemon juice. Served it on grilled bread - yum!

How did you enjoy your harvest? Please email me at lindadansbury@comcast.net and I will share with the rest of membership.