I've been making this soup several times every Summer for at least the past 10 years. My favorite way to serve it is on warm Summer evenings, along side my chicken salad sandwiches on croissants. Chilled Summer Zucchini Soup Ingredients: 6 cups chicken broth 4 medium zucchini, peeled and chopped 1 large green pepper, seeds discarded and then roughly chopped 1/2 cup chopped white or yellow onion 2 TBS fresh parsley 1 cup sour cream (or plain Greek yogurt) salt and pepper to taste 1/2 TBS fresh dill, chopped More sour cream to dollop on top of soup before serving, if desired. Directions: In a large pot, add broth, zucchini, green bell pepper, onion and parsley. Bring to a boil over a medium-high heat. Reduce heat and simmer, covered for 20 minutes. Cool to room temp. In a blender or food processor, puree one quarter of the soup mixture at a time. Do NOT attempt to do this while soup is still hot! Whisk in sour cream until smooth and well-blended. Adjust seasonings. Chill in refrigerator for at least 2 hours, or overnight. For best results, I like to serve this soup in chilled, individual soup bowls, topping each with a dollop of sour cream or plain Greek yogurt and a sprinkling of chopped fresh dill.

"Recipe" 1. Cut squash into bite size pieces, put into a sauce pan. Dice an onion, add to squash. (Amount of onion determined by your personal taste.) Add about an inch or so of water or broth*, a pat or 2 of butter, salt and pepper to taste. Cover pan, simmer until tender. *Canned tomatoes can be used in place of other liquid. "Recipe" 2. Fry some bacon until crisp, remove from pan & set aside. Drain grease from pan, but leave just a little. Quarter squash lengthwise, then cut quarters into 1/2 inch pieces. Cut an onion in half lengthwise, then slice halves into 1/4 inch slices. Add squash and onion to bacon grease in pan, sauté until onion is transparent and squash is tender. A little browning is fine. Add a can of diced tomatoes, cook until all is heated through. Stir in the crispy bacon and serve immediately. This makes a really attractive dish if you use a variety of summer squash. I like to use yellow squash, zucchini and patty pan (scalloped?) squash. Sorry, I can't say how much of any one ingredient is used, I always just start with the amount of squash I have, or need for the number of people I'll be serving. The rest of the ingredients are "by guess and by golly' according to the amount of squash used. Rusty

I used to participate in the work cookie exchange. I slaved over making my family spritz recipe. Only to find that I didn’t like anyone else’s cookies but my own. Half the people brought chocolate chip cookies, which are NOT Christmas cookies in my mind. I no longer work there. Now spritz is just for family. Then I found out my son was bring the cookies to the hospital where the staff could help themselves. He said the cookies were inhaled in seconds, “They’ll eat anything!” he laughed. Sorry, if people eat my cookies just because they are hungry, that’s not my audience. I started giving him a lot less so he would have just enough for himself and his wife. Maybe I am selfish but so be it. I work too hard on them for that. My DIL agreed that she would no longer make cookies for the hospital. Unless they were a recipe that turned out not to suit her taste. She reported that even the cookies that did not turn out in her new oven were inhaled. My niece came to my house for lessons in how to make them. She reported that she couldn’t get the hang of it. Now, THAT is someone who I will gladly give spritz to: she knows what goes into it.

Well I was going to post my lasagna recipe but then I see that's not what you are looking for. My most common use for it after that is to roast it and then use it in a soup. My version is usually with curry powder for the main spice, and some spinach and red onions for color interest. If I want something heartier I add yellow or red split peas for protein. I throw it in with minestrone and roasted vegetables all the time. Also occasionally in chili. I tried caramelizing it and putting it on pizza, but it always seems to "wet" and mushy when I do it. Delicata seems to retain a drier texture for that application. I've made a butternut squash agrodolce but I have to say it's not a favorite. The traditional seasoning for that is mint and I am not a big mint fan. One can use other spices I guess, haven't tried any yet. It's a delicious dish but just not my cup of tea as a "favorite." I have a gratin recipe from Williams and Sonoma layered with tomatoes and parm, that is good. I couldn't find the recipe online, but googling brought up this page which has some recipes I may try this winter. I also use it in a cheese sauce for pasta to lower the fat. I think that is an old Ellie Krieger recipe from the Food Network. https://www.williams-sonoma.com/search/results.html?words=butternut%20squash&activeTab=recipes https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ellie-krieger/macaroni-and-4-cheeses-recipe-1945972