Five Happy Things

The Zucchini Edition

New!

In an effort to have fewer email providers chop my emails in half because they’re so dang long, I’m moving my inspirations (book recommendations, favorite recipes, and awesome artists) to their own newsletter every Wednesday. Think of it as a quick way to fill your cup in the middle of the week. 🥰

If you’d rather not receive these Wednesday emails you can turn them off and still receive the regular Monday news and Friday archives.

1. Click this link.

2. Scroll down to where it says Notifications.

3. Click off the button for Five Happy Things.

Easy peasy!

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Spread a little joy today! Pass this along to someone who’d love it. 🥰

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It’s zucchini season!

I know all the jokes about people desperate to get rid of the zucchini from their gardens, but in my mind there is no such thing as too much zucchini. Or yellow squash.

It’s just so good!

I used to have a garden and one year we got way too much rain. I’m talking buckets of rain - over twenty inches in just three weeks! It washed out our road, ruined my daughter’s summer camp, and my garden rotted in the ground. It was awful, and I was especially devastated by the loss of my summer squash. 🙁

I’m serious about my zucchini!

I just tried a new recipe and it was AMAZING.

Braised Chickpeas with Zucchini and Pesto from Smitten Kitchen

I was out of pesto, but it turns out it didn’t need it. The chickpeas were plump and creamy. The zucchini broke down into an almost jammy sauce. I didn’t have any burrata, so I nestled in some chunks of fresh mozzarella. I toasted a handful of pine nuts and tossed them on top with the parmesan as a nod to the missing pesto. It was the best kind of recipe - one pot, incredibly simple, and so much more than the sum of its parts. Absolutely delicious!!!

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But of course I have other favorite zucchini recipes! And I’m going to share four of them because this new mid-week dose of happiness is called FIVE Happy Things. 😁

Pasta with Smashed Zucchini Cream from 101 Cookbooks

This one (like the last) cooks the zucchini down so much that it basically becomes a sauce. I will say I thought it needed more salt than the recipe calls for. Zucchini needs seasoning to bring out its awesome flavor! I added the half teaspoon it calls for with the cooking liquid so it really cooked in, and still ended up needing a bit more at the end. Yum! I like to serve this one with a big pile of salted cherry tomatoes.

Zucchini and Ricotta Galette from Smitten Kitchen

Everything is better wrapped in pie crust. It just is. But I don’t use the pie crust she specifies in the recipe. I use this one from Serious Eats instead because it’s perfect every time. I make two batches (that’s four crusts) and freeze the extra so I always have pie crust ready and I only have to clean my food processor once. 💦 🫧

Fried Rice with Zucchini, Tomatoes, and Parmesan from Smitten Kitchen

Why, yes. I do love a lot of Smitten Kitchen recipes. She’s totally reliable and cares about things like how many pans you’re dirtying. 😁 This recipe is a thing I never would have thought of, but is now a staple. Basically, it’s Asian fried rice method, but with Mediterranean flavors. So good!

Squash Pickles from The Spruce Eats

Maybe you don’t want to eat your zucchini all at once? Every day? All summer long? Ok - that’s a choice too! 😂 These bread & butter style pickles are delicious. I like to make them with a mix of yellow squash and zucchini, just because that makes the jars prettier.

So there you are - five delicious zucchini recipes, and none of them are zucchini bread!

Bon appetit!

Best,
Wendi
❤️