Aahhh, zucchini season has truly started. We got giant zucchini of doom from the CSA yesterday. Last year I heard a comment while I was picking up my share that went something like, “I hate it when they give us these big zucchini. All they’re good for is pickling.” I should have clued this person in to all the wonderful things you can do with a giant squash, but I was so dumbfounded that I didn’t.  I’ll make up for that now. There are a TON of things that can be done with a giant squash.

1 – Grate it! Grated zucchini has many uses. Tops on the list would be those lovely zucchini cakes that geckomom posted a recipe for. If you have any potatoes left, you could grate those up and add them into the recipe to have potato/zucchini cakes (make sure you keep the grated veg to other ingredients ratio the same, though). Second would be zucchini bread (one of my personal faves). Third most frequent use for me would be as a sauce bulker-upper. Throw grated squash into your pasta sauce and simmer, and it will thicken the sauce. Fourth, throw it in soup. This makes a great addition to lentil soup…or pretty much any soup. Unless you want everything to be watery, however, make sure you drain your zucchini after grating. There is a serious amount of liquid that comes out of those suckers.

2 – Slice in 1-inch rounds. Remove the middle. Now stuff with meatballs, and simmer in a pan (or electric skillet) with diced tomatoes (or tomato sauce) and spices of your liking until thoroughly cooked. I usually cook this a long time to make sure the flavors meld well. I guarantee that the squash will be soft and tasty.

3 – Cube it. Add to soups. Again, with long cooking times, the squash will be soft and delicious, regardless of how big and tough it looks.

4- Thinly slice it. Saute until liquid is gone. Alternately, slice a smidge thicker, salt, weight and drain it in a colander for about 30 min. Wipethe salt off and saute until just cooked. Now you have the perfect frittata addition. For a basic frittata recipe/tutorial: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/15/dining/15mini.html?_r=1

These are just a couple ideas off the top of my head to get you started. Fear not the giant zucchini of doom! Experiment and enjoy!

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