Acorn Squash Rings

1 acorn sqush
1 T butter, melted
 A couple of Tablespoons honey
A bit of lemon rind
A dash of allspice

Heat oven to 350 degrees.  Slice squash crosswise into 1-inch slices.  Remove seeds, pulp, and discard end pieces.  Lay rings in a single layer in a 9 x 13 shallow baking dish.  Bake covered for 45 minutes.  While rings are baking, combine butter, honey, lemon rind and allspice for glaze.  Blend well.  Brush glaze over partially baked rings.  Return to oven for 20 – 30 minutes or until rings are fork tender.  Baste occasionally.

Linda’s Favorite Zucchini Chocolate Cake

½ cup butter
½ cup vegetable oil
1 ¾ cup sugar
2 eggs
1 t vanilla
½ cup sour milk (add a splash of vinegar to milk and let sit a couple minutes)
2 cups finely chopped zucchini
2 ½ cups flour
4 T cocoa
½ t baking powder
1 t baking soda
½ t cinnamon
½ t cloves
 6-oz package of chocolate chips

Grate zucchini and add to milk.
Mix dry ingredients together.  Cream butter, oil and sugar.  Add eggs and vanilla.  Add dry ingredients alternately with sour milk and zucchini.  Pour into greased 9 x 13 pan.  Sprinkle with chocolate chips.  Bake 40 – 50 minutes at 325 degrees F.

Roasted Squash Seeds

Pull off pulpy squash innards from the seeds.  Optional: Let the seeds dry on a cutting board or paper towel for a day.  Preheat oven to 250 degrees.  Moisten seeds with olive oil and place them on a sheet in the oven with a sprinkle of sea salt.  Watch carefully after 10-15 minutes until browned.

Menage-a-Trois Squash

4 small yellow squash, unpared and thinly sliced
1 medium onion, thinly sliced
Salt and pepper to taste, of course
4 small zucchini, unpared and thinly sliced
1 – 2 heirloom Italian squash
½ cup butter
1 cup Parmesan, grated
1 cup sour cream
2 T chopped chives or green onions

Heat oven to 375 degrees. In a 9 x 13 baking dish, layer yellow squash; add a thin layer of onion and a sprinkling of salt and pepper.  Next, layer zucchini, onion, salt and pepper; finally add the last variety of squash with more onion, salt and pepper.  Pour melted butter evenly over top.   Cover tightly with foil and bake for 20 minutes.  Remove foil; spread a mixture for Parmesan cheese, sour cream and chives over top.  Heat oven to broil.  Place under broiler about 5 inches from heat.  Broil, watching carefully, until topping is lightly browned and heated through.  About 5 – 8 minutes.

Winter Squash, mom-style

Halve your squash and scoop out seeds.  Place face-down in a shallow 9 x 13 baking dish.  Pour water in the dish (an inch deep) and bake at 400 degrees for about 30 minutes or until fork tender and the apartment smells like squash.
Carefully remove from the oven and turn the cooked acorn halves over to cool slightly.  Then transfer to a bowl with a generous pat of butter and a spoonful of brown sugar.

Linguine with Zucchini

From Realsimple.com

12 oz linguine (3/4 box)
2 T olive oil
3 small zucchini, cut into thin half-moons
Salt
1 15-oz can chickpeas, rinsed
2 cloves garlic, sliced
¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper
½ cup grated Parmesan (2 oz)

Cook the pasta according to the package directions.  Reserve ½ cup of the pasta water, drain, and return the pasta to the pot.

Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat.  Add the zucchini and ½ teaspoon salt.  Cook, tossing often, until just tender, 4 -5 minutes.  Add the chickpeas, garlic, and red pepper and cook until heated through, 2 -3 minutes.

Toss the pasta with the reserved pasta water and ¼ cup of the Parmesan.  Divide the pasta among bolw and top with the zucchini mixture and the remaining ¼ cup of Parmesan.

Caramelized Vegetable and Meatball Soup

From sunset.com/chicken broth
1 small, peeled and seeded butternut squash
3 medium white potatoes
4 large carrots, peeled
10 - 15 garlic cloves!!!
¼ cup olive oil, divided
1 ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, divided
2 ½ teaspoon sea salt, divided
1 lb ground turkey
1 T fennel seeds
1 egg, lightly beaten
2 bunching onions, cut into slices and rinsed
1 large head fennel, cut into ¼-inch slices (reserve feathery fronds for garnish)
8 cups chicken broth

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  Arrange racks in upper and lower thirds of oven.  Cut squash, potatoes and carrots into 1-inch pieces and put in a large oiled roasting pan; add garlic.  Toss with 2 ½ T olive oil, 1 ½ teaspoon salt and 1 teaspoon pepper and spread out in a single lager, leaving as much room as possible around the pieces.  Roast on lower rack about 40 minutes or until browned and tender.  (Stir after they’ve browned underneath, about 25 minutes.)
Meanwhile, make meatballs:  With wet hands, mix turkey, fennel seeds, egg, 1 teaspoon salt and ½ tsp pepper together in a small bowl.  Oil you r hands with some of remaining oil.  Shape turkey mixture into 1-in meatballs and set them on an oiled rimmed baking sheet as you go.  Roast on upper rack 15 – 20 minutes, turning a couple of times to brown well on all sides.
Heat 1 T olive oil in a large pot over medium-high heat.  Add onions and fennel, season with salt and pepper to taste, and cook until softened, about 5 minutes.
Pour in broth and bring to a boil over high heat, covered.  Lower heat and simmer vegetables until meltingly soft, about 25 minutes.
When vegetables in oven have caramelized and meatballs are browned, remove both from oven.  Transfer meatballs to roasting pan.  Pour a ladle of hot broth into baking sheet and scrape up browned bits.  Pour bits into roasting pan along with all contents of pot and gently scrape up vegetables’ browned bits.  Return to oven and bake 5 minutes to let flavors mingle.  Serve with hunks of warm bread.

Farro Salad

You can certainly substitute whole farro, wheat berries, barley, or other plump grains. I say to serve this at room temperature, but actually, I like this salad warm, room temperature, and chilled. It's good the day after, and for a couple days after that. Just revive with a splash of the leftover dressing.

2 medium cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
1 cup / 240 ml buttermilk
1/2 cup / 120 ml good-quality white wine vinegar
1/2 cup / 120 ml extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup chopped dill
1/2 cup chopped chives
1 tablespoon chopped thyme

7 small radishes, sliced paper thin
3 small zucchini, sliced paper thin
1 medium head of fennel, trimmed and sliced paper thin

4 cups cooked farro, cooled to room temp
chopped chives for garnish

Combine the garlic and salt on a cutting board. Mash into a paste using the flat side of your knife. Place in a medium bowl or jar, then add the buttermilk and vinegar. Whisk together and let sit for 5 minutes or so. Gradually whisk in the olive oil, then the herbs.

In a large bowl gently toss the radishes, zucchini, and fennel with the farro grains. Add 1 cup / 240 ml of the dressing and toss again. Let sit for ten minutes, taste, and adjust with more dressing, if needed, and salt to taste. Serve sprinkled with chives.

Squash Salsa

Olive oil
1 medium zucchini, diced
1 medium “summer squash,” aka yellow squash, diced
1 bell pepper, diced
½ small red onion, chopped
salt and pepper
3 T red wine vinegar
1 T chopped parsley and/or basil

Heat 1 T oil in a skillet over medium-high.  Add the veggies and salt and pepper and cook, tossing occasionally, until just tender, 2 to 3 minutes.  Transfer to a plate and refrigerate until cool.

In a medium bowl, toss the cooled veggies with the vinegar, herbs and 2 T oil.

Suggestion…..Serve with pan-fried fish:
Heat oil in a skillet over medium-high.  Season catfish (example) with salt and pepper and cook until opaque throughout, 2 to 3 minutes per side.  Serve with the salsa.

Zucchini-Bisquick Appetizers

3 cups thinly sliced zucchini
1 cup Bisquick baking mix OR use your own biscuit flour mix (including leavening agent, of course)
½ cup grated Parmesan
½ cup finely chopped onion
2 T snipped fresh herb of choice
dash salt
½ t dried marjoram
dash pepper
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
½ cup vegetable oil
4 eggs, slightly beaten

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Grease pan, 13 x 9 x 2 inches.  Mix all ingredients; spread in pan.  Bake until golden brown, about 25 minutes.  Cut into rectangles, about 2 x 1 inch.  Makes 4 dozen.  Also good with yellow squash!

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: Julia’s mom’s cookbook 171 Zucchini Recipes is available  every season…. 4 bucks to CSA members….