What would summer be without zucchini?

To my Dearest Friends and Family:

I have a most wonderful and generous gift for you. Zucchini. Joking. Really, I am.

Seriously, something would be wrong with summer if we didn't end up with pounds and pounds of squash of every variety. The first week we were promised two pounds of squash, but ended up getting four pounds. The next week two more pounds, and this last week three more pounds. Uhhh, I haven't even finished the squash from the first week. Oh, and yes I did give some to my mom and dad. Squash is the gift that keeps on giving and giving and giving.

That being said...what to do with this vegetable? A friend suggested grating it and then freezing it to use later and add to red pasta sauce, etc. (nothing that requires it to be crispy/fresh tasting). A brilliant idea, I must say.

My other uses are more run of the mill but have given us delicious results. One, we've quartered medallion squash, tossed it in fresh ground pepper, kosher salt and olive oil and grilled it. The second is something that no summer cook's kitchen should be without - Zucchini Bread.

This recipe is from Martha Stewart and is one of our favorite things (yes, I have made it two weeks in a row). I dressed mine up with a half cup of coconut and a bunch of Belgian chocolate chips. The full cooking time seems to be a little long, so if you're at low altitude, I suggest shaving off 5 - 10 minutes.

INGREDIENTS

2 cups finely grated zucchini (about 2 zucchini)

1 cup granulated sugar

1 cup packed dark-brown sugar

1 cup vegetable oil

3 large eggs

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

1 tablespoon cinnamon

1 cup chopped walnuts

1/4 teaspoon almond extract

DIRECTIONS Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat two 4 1/2-by-8 1/2-inch loaf pans with nonstick spray, line with parchment paper, and spray paper. Combine zucchini, sugars, oil, and eggs in a large bowl and mix until combined. Add dry ingredients and mix well. Fold in nuts and extract. Divide batter between loaf pans. Bake until a tester inserted in the middle of each loaf comes out clean, about 1 hour 10 minutes. Cool 10 minutes on wire rack. Invert, and remove parchment paper. Cool completely on rack. www.marthastewart.com

Here are the finished results (not sure why my large loaf "fell." This didn't happen the first time we made this).

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