How To Freeze Zucchini& My One Claim To Fame

Summer Squash Blossom In My Kitchen Garden

It's a big world out there, and distinguishing yourself from the crowd in even some small way is nearly impossible. Most of us must accept early on that we'll never be an Olympic athlete or an astronaut or a princess, but these days even the tiniest of titles are snatched from our grasp the second we strike up a conversation.

Just finish touring 14 European countries in nine days? Your seatmate on the plane home did it in five. Was your child reading books at age two? One of the kids at his preschool recited Shakespeare from the womb. Tell someone you bake your own bread, and they'll inform you that they keep five different authentic European sourdough starters in their fridge and grind all of their own wheat.

Even the dubious honors are hard to come by. Each year I'm nominated for World's Worst Housekeeper, but I never win. The second time my mother came to visit us in The Shack, the first thing she did was hang a little sign on our tacky-but-practical black plastic pole lamp that said Martha Stewart Doesn't Live Here. Out of respect to both Martha and my mother we refuse to dust the lamp.

I have, however, realized that I do have one bonafide claim to fame:

I'm the only person on the planet who tends an enormous kitchen garden and yet bought 30 zucchini this summer.

So far this year I've harvested two zucchini from three plants. There's a third one out on the vine, but it's turned a sickly yellow. I planted four other types of heirloom summer squash that are doing almost as well. This totally embarrassing situation mostly has to do with killer squash bugs and my refusal to use toxic poisons in my organic garden, but I also seem to be having a pollination problem. Despite the fact that every time I peer into a squash blossom a bumble bee crawls out of it, for each summer squash I do manage to harvest, there are at least two dozen blossoms that simply shrivel up and die. Anybody know what's going on?

The good news is that I paid just twenty cents per zucchini, because there's only so much you can charge for something that everybody else is desperately trying to offload for free.

Clever and tasty ways to use up zucchini are everywhere this time of year, but many people are sick to death of eating it no matter how nicely it's served. What you should really be doing with all your late summer zucchini is freezing it for later. Six months from now, when you're not only craving zucchini but seriously considering plunking down $2.99 a pound for some bruised and battered, rubbery specimens at the supermarket, you'll be thrilled that you did.

Fortunately freezing zucchini and other summer squash is a snap. All you do is cut it into half-inch slices, blanch it in a pot of boiling water for three minutes, transfer it to a bowl of ice water to cool, drain it, and bag it.

Back in 2002, I decided to freeze my first pile of zucchini and yellow straightneck squash, figuring the frozen slices would turn to mush but that I could blend them up into warm winter soups. To my pleasant surprise they emerged from the freezer in perfect shape,* so I ended up turning each package into a Quick Winter Pantry Saute (olive oil, onion, garlic, summer squash or zucchini slices, a quart jar of canned San Marzano tomatoes from the garden, a can of organic garbanzo beans, & a sprinkle of freshly grated pecorino romano, served over rice or pasta if desired).

You can also freeze grated zucchini for baking, though I've never tried it. Some people put it straight into bags, but others recommend steam blanching it first (see links below for more information on how to do this). Update: Many thanks to all of you who left comments letting me know that unblanched grated zucchini freezes beautifully--and can be used for more than baking. I now have several bags of it in the freezer. And thanks for all the other zucchini tips, too!

You can pack your zucchini into zipper freezer bags or inexpensive freezer containers, but it'll freeze better and last longer if you vacuum seal it with a FoodSaver. I've had my FoodSaver for years and use it to seal everything from green beans to wild venison to chainsaw chains (it keeps them from rusting). I've excavated three-year-old packages of summer squash and other goodies from the depths of the freezer that looked and tasted fine.

A FoodSaver is an investment that pays for itself in no time, and once you start sealing up everything in sight you'll wonder how you ever lived without one. I've found it's more economical to make my own custom bags using two different sized rolls of the FoodSaver bag material.

For the third year in a row the Eat Local Challenge website, in association with the Locavores, is hosting a month-long Eat Local Challenge, and everyone is invited to join in. This year the challenge is in September, with an emphasis on canning and preserving the bounty of September for the winter months. Why not start by preserving some zucchini?

Related info & articles you might find interesting:
How To Freeze Summer Squash: Illlustrated step-by-step instructions from the wonderful site pickyourown.org
Quality for Keeps: A Comprehensive Guide To Freezing Vegetables from the University of Missouri Extension Center
The Ball Home Canning Basics Kit includes everything you need get started canning
What To Do With All Those Green Tomatoes? Make My Easy Green Tomato Relish!
My Basic Summer Squash Soup Recipe
My Simple Summer Harvest Soup
My Simple Summer Harvest Soup--The Autumn Version

*When you blanch and freeze most vegetables they lose their crunch. I actually prefer my squash on the soft and nearly overcooked side, but if you're an al dente sort of person you'll want to use your frozen squash in soup.

© 2007 FarmgirlFare.com, the award-winning blog where Farmgirl Susan shares stories & photos of her crazy country life on 240 remote Missouri acres.