Are you finding zucchini on your doorstep? Or are you perhaps the one sneaking around at night leaving zucchini on doorsteps? Tripping over them in your garden? Ah, the abundance of zucchini!

Zucchini is part of the larger group known as summer squash. These are soft, edible skinned vegetables as opposed to winter squash with tough shells. There are many types of summer squash. If we were to start a garden now I don’t think we would even plant zucchini; there are members of the group that we just prefer such as Moroccan or Patty Pans. Nonetheless, a great value for the price of a pack of seeds.

When I first heard about zucchini chocolate cake I thought it was brilliant! I’m a chocoholic and to get delicious, moist cake with a serving of vegetables is almost too good to be true. Check out this recipe from ‘Two Peas in Their Pod’. While you’re there check out the zucchini snack cake, too. I made these fritters with a green and a gold zucchini and it was tasty and pretty on the plate. I can see the possibilities with changes in the herbs and spices to keep it interesting.

This pasta from Stanley Tucci was easy and delicious. It would best be made with young, small squash so there is less seeds. How about a crustless Greek Quiche? These stuffed zucchini planks from Thomas Keller were delicious and not mushy. Hummus lover? Try this zucchini humus, use it as a dip with all your fresh raw garden veggies.

Can you preserve summer squash? You bet! Here’s Getty Stewart’s take on freezing zucchini. I freeze it in the portion size for making chocolate zucchini cake. How about canning a tasty zucchini relish? It’s a sweet relish perfect for hotdogs and hamburgers all winter long.

Need more? Take a look at Closet Cooking, a great Canadian food blog where he is cooking great things out of a teeny tiny apartment kitchen. He’s got zucchini recipes from breakfast to dinner, desserts and snacks, too. Zucchini pancakes, oh yeah!

Don’t forget: your local food bank or soup kitchen would be delighted to take some zucchini off your hands. Bon appetit!