So far I have a running supply of 12 to 15 cucumbers to find homes for. Making a drop off run to get rid of 6, more going to the landscapers tomorrow.

Yellow squash is piling up in my fridge, so I need t slice and freeze today. I planted the zuchinni late, so got my first one yesterday.

Chard needs to be picked and either canned or frozen, have given plenty away so far. Collards need to be dealt with also.

And there are 3 large bakers trays in the dining room now ready for canning. I have to pick them "young" and let them ripen indoors or the squirrels get them before me.

Yes, we are eating cukes and toms every day (tomato sandwiches!). I have frozen 3 squash casseroles and eaten more.

But the red cabbages are down to 3 heads from 6. The bugs had a feast and left me a slimy mess! And the Brussel sprouts have stopped growing, it is just too hot for them.

And if anyone needs chives, let me know! So far I have 2 pounds of chive butter logs in the freezer.

Annie, I love squash patties/fritters. I like zoodles and tempura too. But this year, I haven't enjoyed zukes or other squashes that much in other preparations. Although, your pie looks good. It's something about the texture of cooked squash. It seems to go from firm to mush too quickly. Yet, I really don't care for the ubiquitous "crisp-tender" either. I guess I'm just getting fussier and pickier in my dotage.

Do you mind sharing your pie recipe? And, PK, would you mind sharing your zucchini squash casserole recipe? I normally really love squash. Maybe I just need to do something different. Thanks.

Annie, I started making a point of picking my zucchini when they're smaller... lots less to deal with. lol! and remember: just one plant of zucchini is enough. :)

If y'all haven't tried 'zucchini pizza', you're missing out. I think I've already made zucc pizzas 4 times in the roaster oven (outdoors). It's an especially good use for the larger zucchinis.... split lengthwise, scoop out soft core & seeds (if desired), partially cook/bake, then top with sauce (or fresh tomato slices) and all your favorite pizza toppings and bake until done. It's how I use up some of my bounty of hot peppers and basil!

I have tomato overload at the moment. :)

Also will you share the zucchini candy recipes? My boys might like that!

I love zucchini grilled, steamed or sauteed. But Blue Apron or Hello Fresh offered a new idea. Take a raw zuke, cut them into long ribbons and add them to a salad. That was delicious too. Even DH (who professes to hate the mushy texture of zukes) loved them!

Party-music, that sounds good, Elery would love it if it has cheese! I've tried picking smaller, but yesterday we were putting up fence and it was 90F so by the time we spent 10 hours doing that I just didn't feel like picking zucchini. I picked a bucket full of pink half runner beans this morning at 8 am, before it got hot, it's in the canner now. And so zucchini has taken a back seat, LOL.

Peppi, I have the cousin to your squirrels, they nibble the tomatoes, the pumpkins. A fat groundhog ate the collards down to stems and decimated one of my two tomatillos. He also ate just the center out of every single red cabbage and about half of the green ones. I don't mind sharing, but they don't need to eat it ALL, sheesh.

shambo, I don't care at all for crisp-tender. I want it raw or I want it cooked, I don't want it half cooked, LOL. This doesn't make it mushy, but it's done. I didn't have biscuit mix so I used a cup of flour and 1 1/2 tsp of baking powder. No additional oil, it didn't need it, but it was a bit thick, so I added extra milk, maybe 1/4 cup more. I also added the sliced tomatoes on top, just because it looked prettier! It also used 3 eggs, so double bonus, I have a bunch of those too.

Zucchini and Onion Pie

• 3 eggs
• 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/2 cup canola oil
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh parsley
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon pepper
• 3 cups sliced zucchini
• 1 cup biscuit/baking mix
• 1 small onion, chopped

Directions

• 1. In a large bowl, whisk the first seven ingredients. Stir in the zucchini, baking mix and onion. Pour into a greased 9-in. deep-dish pie plate. Bake at 350° for 25-35 minutes or until lightly browned. Yield: 6 servings

• Annie

Annie, thanks for the recipe. I think I could easily adapt it to low sodium. I make my own salt-free phony Bisquick mix, so that's a start. And maybe use Swiss instead of Parm.

Thanks, Annie. I want to try it too. Is milk an ingredient too? I just want to be sure as I am so used to seeing milk with eggs in a dish like this.

Annie, I've got another question too. I'm assuming you didn't use the 1 cup of oil at all. Is that what you meant about not using additional oil? So without the oil, you needed to add a bit of liquid (in the form of milk) to loosen the mixture. Do I have it right?

Also, I think the tomato slices were a good addition. They added some color and probably some flavor too.

Shambo, here you go. I made double recipe, one to eat right away and one in a zip bag for January.

http://www.food.com/recipe/helens-zucchini-casserole-27193

You might also like this one, it uses up a few eggs. Crescent zucchini pie

http://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/crescent-zucchini-pie

Annie, we saw a field mouse in the tomato patch this evening, so Emma (dog) went on the hunt. No luck but she tried. Temps went to 95 this afternoon, so I am watering like made, particularity the potted plants.

PK, thanks for the recipes. The first one sounds like something my husband would like. I could make it sound even more appetizing by calling it "pizza" zucchini casserole. The second one looks good too. I'd probably use a homemade crust in order to control the salt content. But my husband loves anything in a pastry crust, so it'd be a big hit. Funny, I was just thinking about some sort of zucchini pie with a crust. OK, so now I've got 3 new recipes to try. And all three would be good as leftovers.

Yeah, Zuc everywhere!

Made zucchini lasagna rolls last week. No pictures of the dish.

dcarch

It is a stiflingly hot day to be suggesting this, but I adore minestrone soup chock full of zucchini.

I make cream of zucchini soup; it's very simple but delicious, and I can use up a huge zucchini. My children aren't fans of recipes that hide zucchini, i.e. in chocolate cake. I also make a baked zucchini pie dish but only my husband and I will eat it.

Thanks Annie! I'm not sure if I'll invest in a dehydrator though they would be a hit!

Annie, thanks for clarifying. By the way, have you tasted the zuke meatballs yet? They sound really good to me. I know a couple of people on the Harvest forum thought they tasted good, but I'd appreciate your opinion too. Thanks!

What IS it with zucchini? A problem vegetable. I'm weary of it. I wish people would toss heirloom tomatoes through my car window lol. Our vines have stopped producing except for the cherry tomatoes. But those zuchs keep marching through the back door...I need better perimeter defense.

I can't tell you how many times I've planted zucchini and gotten maybe 1 or 2, but mostly none. I think I've given up. In fact, last night we made a side dish that was written as zucchini, cherry tomatoes and orzo (could be brown rice) with chimichurri and I subbed yellow squash from our farm share.

LOL, Seagrass. There is a young couple who lives across the street from the farm, they have five children. I asked if they'd like some zucchini and the wife happily accepted. I told her that the local tradition was to leave the zucs on the porch and run, and if desperate, don a dark trenchcoat and dark glasses and sneak the things into unlocked vehicles....

Shambo, I actually liked the zucchini meatballs. I think they would be good stuffed in a pita and drizzled with tzatziki, they seem less like meatballs and more like veggie burgers or something.

Annie

Does anybody even like zucchini that much? Seems like people grow it and then try desperately to give it away or use it up. Otherwise, they probably would never buy or eat it....

Here is the recipe for zucchini pesto I posted a few weeks back. I make this often and use it for other things besides pasta. I love zucchini and I do not have any problem giving away extras...friends and neighbors seem glad to get some. http://ths.gardenweb.com/discussions/4012876/zucchini-pesto

Stir-fry, I really like zucchini, but the darn plants give off so much that even after you eat your fill, freeze more for the rest of the year you still have more left to share. And yes, I have bought it when I was out and the plants weren't producing yet.

I started five (!) plants this year and my husband "accidentally" hoed one while he was hilling potatoes...when I complained, he mentioned that the zucchini plant had no business being near the potato bed. I'm guilty of plunking vegetables where ever. ;)

My favourite ways to prepare zucchini is in the soup I mentioned earlier, and also grilled on the bbq.

stir fry, I also really like zucchini, and like Peppi I do buy it year round, when I want it for a stir fry or vegetable dish when dehydrated or frozen just doesn't work. I did plant six zucchini plants, one of them was decimated by the resident groundhog, leaving me five. I do try to pick them small, and my mother eats them raw if they are less than 6 inches long. Get busy for two days, though, and you get baseball bats. I don't mind trying to use them up at all and the big ones get cut up for cow treats, they love them too.

I have the same issue with cucumbers, I eat and pickle and turn into relish all I want, then I give buckets away. The years I plant less I have a bad year and then I don't have enough, so I just keep happily planting away and sharing.

Annie