Did I mention we have nine zucchini plants? And that they are all thriving? We’re trying to stay on top of them and pick them when they’re small, but every once in a while we miss one and find it when it’s the size of a small dog (I think they go from small to small dog in about two days).
We usually add one to a green smoothie each day, and we’ve been adding them to salads and stir fries and soups. Zucchini can be used for all sorts of dishes, and it adds a great moist texture. It can even be made into “noodles” and used like pasta with whatever sauce you like. There are fancy gadgets designed just for the purpose of making noodles from zucchini. They’re called spiralizers, and they do make a neat looking plate of zucchini pasta. But they are pretty much uni-purpose implements, and I try to avoid products like that in my kitchen. I only have so much space, and I want it to be taken up with appliances and tools that I use everyday, for multiple things.
I had been using a knife to cut thin strips of zucchini, but last week I thought about using my food processor. I use my food processor several times a week, for lots of different tasks. It definitely deserves its spot in the kitchen. And it has a shredder blade that works amazingly well at making short noodles out of a zucchini.
So for the last few days, our lunch has been a huge salad made on a base of shredded zucchini. Looks a little odd if you haven’t tried it, but it makes an awesome salad. Just shred a zucchini or two, and then top with whatever you like on salads. We’ve been harvesting cherry tomatoes every day, so those get added, plus some olives, hemp-esan, fresh green beans and sugar snap peas (both from our garden). Add some seeds and whatever homemade dressing you like, and you end up with a great lunch that only takes a few minutes to put together.
Zucchini has a reputation for being quite prolific, and for ending up on neighbors’ doorsteps because gardeners just can’t use as much of it as they grow. So if you’ve got zucchini coming out your ears, hopefully my shredded zucchini salad idea will help you use up today’s harvest.
Eating from our garden has made a huge dent in our grocery bill. Last week I bought only fruit at the grocery store, and not a single veggie (we have fruit trees, but it will be next year at the earliest before they produce anything). My shopping cart used to be half filled with fruit and half with veggies, but these days I go out in the backyard a couple times a day with a huge bowl and fill it with greens, beets, carrots, peas, beans, onions, basil, tomatoes… definitely worth all the hours we spent digging garden beds in the spring!
Frugal Vegan Mom says
We’ve been getting a lot of zucchini too – unfortunately my stomach is rejecting most veggies due to being 10 weeks pregnant. Very strange for someone who used to eat the greenest raw veggies by the bowlful!
So, I’ve started experimenting with baking. Made these chocolate zucchini muffins from Happy Herbivore last weekend and got great reviews from my whole non-vegan extended family!
Recipe: http://happyherbivore.com/2010/07/healthy-options-chocolate-zucchini-muffins/
Kelly says
We decided to forgo the zucchini this year because we were so zucchinied out last year! I would love to see some pictures of your thriving gardens, if you were so inclined :)!
Bet says
Did you know that August 8 is Sneak Some Zucchini on to Your Neighbor’s Front Porch Night!!
Thanks for the recipes. I have a link to a delicious zucchini cobbler on my blog.
Jaime says
LOL … Zucchini, the overabundance of summer!
I was just reading on Get Rich Slowly yesterday about how JD’s wife Kris uses a dehydrator. She specifically mentioned making Zucchini chips – a little salt, pepper and/or spices and it was a healthy, crunchy snack and a good way to use up a harvest. :)
FrugalBabe says
Jamie,
I had just been thinking of doing that… after about two years of wanting one, I finally got a dehydrator last week. I’ve made some awesome kale chips using kale from our garden, and I think zucchini chips will be my next project. I’m just about to go put some beans in the solar oven, and some zucchini in the dehydrator. I’ll be getting lots of cooking done while I work on the computer today :)
Meg says
We have 3 zucchini plants and we are getting TONS of flowers but no vegetables! I tried to cross-pollinate them this morning, and they are all males! UGH!
How many greenbeans did you plant?
Are they bush or vine? Will you have enough to freeze?
I planted about 75 bush beans this year, and it seems we are eating them as they are ready, but this is not enough for us to freeze. :-(
Next year, I’m trying the vine AND bush beans so we get an abundance.
I would also love to see your garden.
~M
Benjamin Bankruptcy says
Sadly my zuchini wasn’t as proliffic as yours:( I have made chocolate brownies with zuchini but never thought about smoothies.
Can you post the smoothie recipe?
Daizy says
I am envious of your prolific zucchini. I got one, my first ever, and I am overjoyed. I don’t have much luck with my desert gardening.
FrugalBabe says
Benjamin – my smoothies don’t have recipes, and I’ll admit that they aren’t always the tastiest concoctions ;) They aren’t supposed to be though… we drink them as a way of getting lots more veggies into our diet. They are just a mix of whatever veggies I have on hand, lots of dark green leafy things (dandelion, kale, chard, spinach, parsley, mint, lemon balm, beet greens, carrot tops, etc.), and a few pieces of fruit or some frozen fruit. I toss it all in my VitaMix, add some water, and blend for a minute or two. If you’re looking for good smoothie recipes that taste good too, there are tons of them online, just google whatever ingredients you have plus “smoothie” and see what you find. Good luck!
Charlotte K says
the summer after I graduated from college (many years ago) I had a very poorly paying job but it offered free housing in a lovely country spot. But I had almost no cash at all. I had a garden with a friend, thanks to another friend who gave us seedlings, and we were inundated with zucchini. There finally came a day at lunch when we both looked at each other and said, if I eat any more zucchini I will throw up. I think we both went hungry that day. Next day, back to zucchini.
I love it, but oh my god. Sometimes enough is enough.
Alexandra says
Perfect timing for this great post. I planted twelve zucchini plants this year which was a bit of overkill. And yes, they do look like small dogs…some of mine have been looking like sleeping dachshunds now that I think of it! :-) I really wanted lots of zucchini flowers this year, hence so many plants, because I wanted to recreate the fried zucchini flowers I grew up eating in my Italian family. They have been so good! In the meanwhile, we have now had marinated and grilled zucchini, roasted zucchini, baked stuffed zucchini, baked zucchini and roasted red pepper casserole, zucchini bread, zucchini and cheese squares, zucchini muffins…etc. etc. Our neighbors have also gotten zucchini deliveries. I will be sure to try a green smoothie…love that idea and will be sure to try some shredded raw zucchini in a salad. Another thing to remember is that some food pantries do take donations of fresh vegetables and fruits which make for a nice addition to the boxed and canned items the clients normally get.
Molly On Money says
FB- How do you make chips in the dehydrator with the Kale? I’m drowning in zucchini AND kale right now!
My favorite shredded zucchini recipe is zucchini cakes (bread crumbs, eggs, parmasean cheese, seasoning and shredded zucchini & squash mixed together and fry in a bit of olive oil- YUM!)
FrugalBabe says
Molly,
Kale chips are really easy if you have a dehydrator. There are tons of recipes for the coating online, but I made up my own: blend a couple tomatoes, a big scoop of hemp seeds, a big scoop of nutritional yeast (nearly 1/2 a cup), a little big of hot pepper, some lemon juice, and a bit of water. Then wash your kale and break it up into chunks (I use curly kale), and then use your hands to mix the kale and the sauce in a big bowl. You have to really scrunch it around so that all the surfaces of the kale are coated. Then put it in the dehydrator at 105 overnight. My husband and I can devour a large bowl of these in no time. And they are amazingly good for you, with the kale, nutritional yeast, and hemp seeds. Do a google search for “raw kale chips” to find other seasoning ideas if you want to give these a try.
Cindy Smeltzer says
I have never heard of a zuchini smoothie! Can you share the recipe?
Frugal Babe says
Cindy,
No recipe, just whatever I have on hand. See my comment above, in reply to Benjamin.
liz says
I shred all my extra zuchini, then freeze it in two cup portions. I can add it to speghetti all year, I make zuchini bread for my daughters school, I can sautee it for quick green side dish in the winter (add some canned tomatoes and some onion – yum! – or add cheese and make it the main dish!) I find I have never had too much zuchini!
Kaytee says
Sadly, I don’t have ANY zucchini this year :( The fence we put up to keep the rabbits out, also keeps the neighborhood cats out, so the birds swooped down and ate all the seeds we planted. Only a few survived the avian rampage.
I do have a TON of pickling cucumbers though. We usually give our jars of our ‘famous’ B&B pickles during the holidays and as hostess gifts for the rest of the year. Our family was very disappointed last year when we didn’t dispense the pickles around because of a poor crop. Because of all the rain last year, we only pickled one batch of cucumbers (about 7 lbs). This year I have already pickled 22 lbs, and I have another 10 lbs that I am pickling tonight. And the plants are still going strong. So strong in fact,that they are growing into the neighbor’s garden.
Anna says
If you don’t have a food processor, for a couple of bucks you can get a ‘julienne peeler’ to make zucchini shreds. A little more elbow grease, but they’re tasty! It works great on carrots and other veggies too.