It’s that time of year when the neighbors lock their doors and pull down the shades when they spot me approaching with an armload of zucchini.  I thought we had three or four to use, but no…we had 27 (yes, TWENTY-SEVEN!) assorted zucchini/summer squashes.

So, how to use them up? They don’t freeze well, and we don’t eat zucchini relish.  Maybe some sweets?  BarBBQ Bill said that was OK by him (neither of us is a big dessert eater).

His favorite is fruit crisp, but this one is made from zucchini instead of apples.

Start by peeling a zucchini.  If you want people to think these are apples, remove all the bits of green peel.

Slice in half lengthwise and scoop out the seeds and pulpy center with a spoon.

Lay the zucchini cut side down and slice. Starting to look like apples?

I used two large zucchinis (about 6 cups? – I don’t know.  I never measure anything.)  Place in a large saucepan and add:

1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon cinnamon (or to your taste, but I love cinnamon)
3/4 cup water
1/4 cup lemon juice

Simmer until the slices are tender and the liquid has become syrupy.

Take out the slices and put into a baking dish. This one is 2 quarts. They look like apples. Trust me, they’ll even taste like apples.

I keep simmering the syrup until thick.  Add 1 tablespoon tapioca if you like. Dump the syrup over the slices in the baking dish.

Sprinkle on your favorite crumb topping.  Mine is:

6 tablespoons butter or margarine
1 cup flour
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt

Mix until crumbly and sprinkle over the slices. My kitchen was really hot, so the butter kept melting and the topping wasn’t as crumbly as it should have been.

Bake at 350° for about 45 minutes. Oops, I let this one go just a tad bit long, so it’s a little browner than normal. I was attempting to multi-task.  I should know better.

I still had 25 squashes left, so I made five loaves of zucchini bread.  Since the crisp was in the countertop oven (and the stove oven is a piece of garbage), I cooked these out on the grill on pizza stones.

Zucchini Bread

3 eggs
1-3/4 to 2 cups sugar (use the full amount if you have a sweeter tooth than we do) I used 1-1/2 cups white sugar and 1/4 cup brown sugar.
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup applesauce, unsweetened (if you have the sweet kind, just use less sugar)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract (or more to taste) I used one of my new favorite ingredients – vanilla bean paste.  About a tablespoon.  I love vanilla.
3 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
3 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 cups raw zucchini, grated and drained
1 cup walnuts, chopped (optional-BarBBQ Bill will not eat walnuts)

1. Combine eggs, sugar, oil, applesauce and vanilla in large bowl. Mix well – I use an electric mixer to get the batter nice and fluffy. Add baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and half the flour. Continue to mix with electric mixer (on low speed) until well blended. By hand, stir in drained zucchini, remaining flour and walnuts.
2. Spoon batter into two well greased and floured loaf pans.
3. Bake at 350° for 1 hour or until a wooden pick or cake tester inserted in center comes out with very little crumb clinging to it.
4. About 20 minutes before they were done, I sprinkled the tops with coarse demerara sugar.  I really needed more sugar in this, right?

You can also add acidic fruits like 1 small can of crushed pineapple (add it in with the zucchini), coconut, dried cranberries, orange zest, lemon zest…well, you get the idea.

These freeze beautifully. Wrap in plastic wrap, and put in a freezer bag or wrap again in aluminum foil.

I eat it plain. BarBBQ Bill slathers his with cream cheese and jam. Whatever floats your boat.

So, we have dessert and midnight snacks covered. What’s for dinner?

Oh, just take a wild guess…

I made the grilled flatbread wraps from this recipe on the King Arthur Flour blog. KAF is one of my favorite online shopping places.

BarBBQ Bill grilled a boneless chicken breast for me and a piece of lamb for his wrap.  Some grilled vegetables (zucchini, onions, peppers, garlic) and a pint jar of home canned tomatoes completed the filling. He spiced his up with some Thai peanut sauce for an Asian slant, and I drizzled mine with some olive oil, balsamic vinegar and pesto for a Mediterranean flavor.

You can make the wraps ahead of time.  They stay nice and soft, thanks to the potato flour. Try ‘em.  You’ll like them a lot for a super easy, healthy summer meal.

9 down.
18 zucchini to go.
Sigh.

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