It’s hard to talk about the home garden summer harvest without talking about zucchini. Zucchini is so plentiful, did you know August 8th is National Sneak Some Zucchini Onto Your Neighbor’s Porch Day? Isn’t that amazing! Zucchini has its own holiday.

At this point, you probably have a few extra large squashes that snuck away from your gaze for a few too many days. What can be done with these mounds of zucchini piling up on the kitchen counter, besides giving them away?

How Do I Use All My Zucchini?

In baking, zucchini adds moistness, texture, and flavor. These qualities make it a popular ingredient for many muffins, bread, cake, and brownie recipes. Zucchini is used in cooking soups, stews, salad, zucchini chips, or used as a healthy substitute for pasta. Zucchini can also be eaten plain, grilled, boiled, sauteed, or breaded and fried. Try preserving your harvest for a future day through freeze-drying, freezing, or other dehydration methods.

Zucchini is an excellent choice to add nutrition to any meal. Hide it in meatloaf, pizza sauce, or even birthday cake (chocolate birthday cake that is). Once your eyes are open to the benefits and versatility of zucchini, maybe you’ll be sneaking the zucchini from your neighbor’s porch instead!

For a great soup that can be eaten fresh, or frozen for later; try our Minestrone Soup Recipe.