Preserving Garden Goodness: Freezing Zucchini and Squash

If your garden is like mine, you are not keeping up with the yield of zucchini and squash and your friends and neighbors are starting to lock their doors. Here is a simple way to extend the goodness of fresh veggies past the season for use in winter recipes.





Clean and dry the squash and cut it up into pieces that will easily chop in your food processor. Pulse just until large pieces are all chopped.

Press chopped zucchini into round tray (1 cup) wells and freeze.  The muffin trays work for 1/2 cup portions.



Then just pop the "hockey pucks" out and put them into a freezer bag.

Wallah... you've got premeasured chopped zucchini for winter soups and breads. So simple and nutritious!

Summer Salad Sensations

Summertime brings an abundance of produce whether you visit your neighborhood market, frequent your local farmer's market, or step outside to your own garden. An amazingly simple way to make an elegant salad is to make individual Parmesan crisp salad bowls.

The size of the bowl is determined by the size tray you use to form them.  The illustration is of one made over the Flexipan® round tray (8 oz). You can also use any Flexipan® muffin tray (4 oz or larger). 

Place tray of choice upside down on counter.

Preheat oven to 350°.

Place Silpat® on PBS.

Use 1/3 C to shape 4 oz bowls, 1/2 C for 8 oz, 

Make mounds of Parmesan shredded cheese and spread them out in a circle on the Silpat®.  You can use the pastry cutters as a guide to insure a perfect circle.

Bake at 350° for about 10-15 min. (13 minutes in my oven) until they just begin to brown.

Remove from oven.

Immediately take rounds off the Silpat® with the polyamide spatula and shape them over the back of the muffin tray wells to form bowls.

When you are ready to serve salad, place bowls on salad plates and fill with salad greens and grape tomatoes or other fresh garden veggies. I added fresh cucumbers from my garden.

Drizzle with your favorite salad dressing and serve. Here's a fresh vinaigrette made from our DAH products:

Vinaigrette

3 T DAH Balsamic Vinegar

1 T DAH Hot and Sweet Mustard

1 garlic clove crushed in mortar and pestle

1/2 C olive oil

DAH Sea Salt to taste

You can also use this method to make Parmesan crisps, a tasty alternative to crackers. Just use 1/2 T portions and cook for the same length of time. Add chopped walnuts to these for added flavor.