Thursday, August 12, 2010

Abundance of Zucchini

I only planted 1 plant of zucchini this year. I read that one plant can produce enough to feed a family. I had no idea how much zucchini I would be getting! My family is not a huge fan of zucchini but my hubby and I really like it. My favorite way to cook it is to saute it on the stove with a little extra virgin olive oil and soy sauce. Mmmmm, so yummy.

But really I don't want to eat it every night. So I have been freezing my leftovers. It is very easy. One way is to just wash your zucchini, chop off both ends and grate into a bowl. You can grate the entire thing, skin and seeds. So far I have frozen 6 cups of shredded zucchini. I froze them in 1 cup increments because that is what my zucchini bread recipe calls for. So, when I am ready to make another loaf of bread I can just pull out 1 package and it is all ready for me to use.

I just picked 3 more today. With these I will cut into cubes, blanch and freeze for later use in stir fry or soup. This is a great way to stock up for winter, and make use of your harvest so that nothing goes to waste.

This post is linked to Simple Lives Thursday at A Little Bit of Spain in Iowa.
Posted by Frugal Sara at 8:58 AM
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8 comments:

  1. Sense of Home KitchenAugust 12, 2010 at 10:23 AM

    Zucchini is an amazing plant. I love to shred it and make bread in the middle of winter.

    -Brenda

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  2. UnknownAugust 12, 2010 at 10:38 AM

    i ALSO shred & freeze for winter bread baking! yumm BUT I thought we had to peel & deseed it?? wow I am making way more work than necessary :)

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  3. UnknownAugust 12, 2010 at 10:58 AM

    evidently its been a good year for zucs!! here's another blog post w/recipe :) I just stumbled on & thought u'd appreciate the share. http://iamonly1woman.blogspot.com/2010/08/zucchini-patties.html

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  4. Frugal SaraAugust 13, 2010 at 4:12 AM

    Thanks for the link Kim. I checked it out, those do look good!

    For the shredded zucchini I don't do anything but shred it and toss it into the freezer. Should last about 3-6 months this way I believe.

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  5. CamAugust 13, 2010 at 7:51 AM

    If the zucchini is particularly old and has large seeds and a thick skin, I might consider skinning and deseeding, but it you would cook it as is for the bread, I would freeze.

    Also, somewhere I have recipes for zucchini brownies and zuchini chocolate cake, if anyone is interested.

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  6. JulieAugust 13, 2010 at 9:33 AM

    I shred most of my zucchini and bag it as you do, to accommodate future zucchini muffin needs. I've also found that having a bag or two of shredded zucchini handy in the crisper is a great, sneaky addition to practically any meal; the hubby likes stirring them in with his scrambled eggs at lunch.

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  7. Frugal SaraAugust 13, 2010 at 1:58 PM

    Cam, zucchini brownies and cake sound great. I actually was going to look for a recipe for brownies.

    I agree, older zucchini would be better without all the large seeds and tough skin.

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  8. Diana BaumanAugust 17, 2010 at 5:35 AM

    Great tips Sara! I also shred my zucchini. I've been a bit bummed this year though. My plants at the community garden have not been doing so well with all this rain. I'll check on them today and see how they're doing :D Thanks for linking up to Simple Lives Thursday!

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