Kids in the Kitchen

Lately, I have had zucchini coming out of my ears.  Back in May when I built and planted a raised vegetable garden, I had no idea that two little plants could yield so much.  So after weeks of slicing and sauteing squash (which is amazing all by itself), I decided I needed to find some other uses for these green goddesses.  Over the weekend, the kids and I experimented and enjoyed these simple variations of the zucchini:

Saturday's zucchini harvest.  We were ready to get started.

First idea, a simple zucchini bread.  This recipe makes a ton and we ate it with dinner Saturday night and for breakfast Sunday morning.  Putting the remaining loaves in the freezer today.

Spread with cream cheese, mascarpone cheese, or butter for a sweet treat.

I have always found the squash blossoms on the zucchini to be really beautiful.  Here, I added one to the herbs from my garden for some color.

I had also heard that these flowers were edible in salads, but when I found this recipe, I knew I'd have to give beer-battered fried squash blossoms a try.

Success! 

Telling your six year-old daughter that you just fried a flower makes her likely to eat it!  As we watered the garden this morning, she asked if we could whip up another batch.   

Now, I still have many more recipes to try this summer, but I don't think having enough squash will be a problem.  Do you have a favorite summer vegetable recipe?