For the rest of the summer, my Wordless Wednesday posts will be replaced by Summer Fest 2010 – a cross-blog food event that celebrates the beautiful fruits and vegetables so readily available from home gardens and farmer’s markets at this time of year. The event is in its third year and I’m thrilled to be a part of it for the first time this summer. Thanks to Margaret Roach and Deb Puchalla for creating this fabulous summer blogging party!
Each Wednesday for the next five weeks a group of us will be sharing tips and recipes centered around a specific garden theme. There are several bloggers participating, new friends and old, and we will be linking to each other and encouraging you to share your favorite tips and recipes as well. It’s a big celebration of summer produce and you’re all invited!
Summer Fest 2010: Cukes and Zukes
The theme for this week is cucumbers and zucchini. Though not as stunningly beautiful as heirloom tomatoes nor as fragrant as plump, vine-ripened peaches, cucumbers and zucchini are high on my list of summer favorites. Yes, you can buy both year-round at the grocery store, but there’s something special about seeing the first Armenian cucumbers and tiny summer squash showing up at the farmer’s market. And what’s more beautiful than the fleeting appearance of delicate orange squash blossoms piled high at a market table? Cucumbers and zucchini deserve to be celebrated and I’m thrilled that they are the starring attraction this week at Summer Fest.
I chose to celebrate zucchini in one of the simplest ways possible – grilled. I like to slice the zucchini lengthwise into long 1/2 – inch thick strips then add a quick squeeze of lemon juice, a drizzle of olive oil, a pinch of kosher salt, and a grind of black pepper. These simple additions along with a quick sear on a hot grill will turn your ho-hum, boring zucchini into something magical.
The entire process takes less than ten minutes once you have the grill (or even a grill pan) preheated. And once the zucchini is grilled you can eat it warm or cold, alone or chopped and combined with other grilled veggies. It’s great served alongside grilled meats, but can also make an interesting sandwich addition, or even layered into lasagna.
Grilled Zucchini with Lemon and Olive Oil
zucchini, cut lengthwise into 1/2-inch slices (allow one small zucchini or half a large zucchini per person)
fresh lemon (allow 1/2 lemon for 2 – 3 large zucchini)
olive oil
salt
fresh ground black pepper
Preheat gas or charcoal grill. Place zucchini slices in a large bowl then squeeze lemon juice over the zucchini and toss to coat. Drizzle with a bit of olive oil and rub the slices with your fingers to make sure all sides are coated with the oil and lemon. Arrange slices on a platter and sprinkle with a pinch of kosher salt and a few grinds of black pepper. Turn the slices over and season the other sides with salt and pepper as well. Grill the slices over direct medium-high heat for a few minutes per side or until nice grill marks appear and zucchini is tender. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Other Ways with Cucumber and Zucchini
- Sweet and Spicy Cucumber Salad with Fresh Dill
- Tzatziki
- Chocolate Chip Zucchini Bread
- Zucchini and Tomato Gratin
Cukes and Zukes from other Summer Fest Attendees:
- Margaret from A Way to Garden talks about Refrigerator Zucchini Pickles
- Zucchini Appetizers from Alison at the Food2 Blog
- Jennifer and Mark of The Gilded Fork share information on summer squash and a recipe for Chilled Cucumber Mint Soup and Jennifer discusses cucumber as a beauty treatment at Food Philosophy
- 10 Things You Didn’t Know You Could Make with Zucchini from Michelle at Devour The Blog
- Liz from Food Network’s Healthy Eats discusses Health Benefits of Cucumbers and Zucchini
- Caron from San Diego Foodstuff discusses cucumber varieties and shares recipes for Cucumber and Radish Confetti Soup and Zucchini Pancakes
- Kirsten at The FN Dish is in love with Paula’s Zucchini Bread
- Prosciutto, Sour Cream, and Feta Stuffed Cucumbers from Todd and Diane of White on Rice Couple
- Paige at The Sister Project is overrun with zucchini and making Summer Squash Bread Pudding
- Cucumber and Sesame Salad from Kelly at Just a Taste
- Tara at Tea & Cookies shares recipes for Stuffed Zucchini, Zucchini “Noodles”, and Zucchini Pickles
- Cucumber Mint Sorbet with Lime Shortbread is brought to us by Alana at Eating from the Ground Up
- Caroline from The Wright Recipes shares Cucumber Salad with Lemons and Poppy Seeds and Marinated Summer Squash Salad
- 50 Ways with Cucurbits from Tigress in a Pickle
- Cate from Sweetnicks shares a recipe for Indian Cucumber Wraps
- Tips, tricks, and recipes for cucumbers and zucchini including Fried Stuffed Zucchini Blossoms from Judy at Over a Tuscan Stove
- Shauna from Gluten-Free Girl and The Chef discusses how she came to love cucumbers and shares a recipe for Cucumber Soup that can be frozen as popsicles.
How You Can Join in Summer Fest 2010
Have a recipe or tip that fits any of our weekly themes? Starting with our posts of Wednesday, July 28, for five Wednesdays, you can contribute in various ways, big or small.
Contribute a whole post, or a comment—whatever you wish. It’s meant to be fun, viral, fluid. No pressure, just delicious. Simply leave your tip or recipe or favorite links in the comments below a Summer Fest post on my blog, and then go visit my collaborators and do the same.
The cross-blog event idea works best when you leave your recipe or favorite links (whether to your own blog or someone else’s) at all the host blogs. Yes, copy and paste them everywhere! That way, they are likely to be seen by the widest audience. Everyone benefits, and some pretty great dialog starts simmering.
Or think bigger: Publish entire posts of your own, if you wish, and grab the juicy Summer Fest 2010 tomato badge (illustrated by Matt of Mattbites.com).
Upcoming Summer Fest 2010 Posting Schedule
7/28: Cukes and Zukes
8/4: Corn
8/11: Herbs, Greens, and Beans
8/18: Stone Fruit
8/25: Tomatoes
Loving the look of that plate. Grilled Zucchini is soooo good. Try this great Chilled Zucchini Soup http://dejavucook.wordpress.com/2010/06/15/chilled-zucchini-soup/
2:40 pm Jul 28th, 2010Looks so simple, and soooo good.
2:45 pm Jul 28th, 2010My contribution to Summer Fest is a cucumber salad with garlicky yogurt and dill
- http://boodely.com/2010/07/28/cukes/
What a novel idea. Just yesterday I blogged about my favorite Cuke Salad.
http://sweetbasilkitchen.com/2010/07/27/
2:46 pm Jul 28th, 2010[...] Pinch My Salt Grilled Zucchini with Lemon & Olive Oil [...]
3:09 pm Jul 28th, 2010Beautiful photos! I just posted a similar recipe with grilled zucchini and chimichurri! I love the flavor and texture of grilled squash!
7:50 pm Jul 28th, 2010I’m so excited about SummerFest! My zucchini’s are going crazy so I’ve been constantly working on new recipes for them these past few weeks! This year, my favorites include:
Garlic Ginger Zucchini Pickles
http://heartlandrenaissance.com/2010/07/garlic-ginger-zucchini-pickles/
Whole Wheat Zucchini Bread with Chocolate Chunks & Ginger
http://heartlandrenaissance.com/2010/07/whole-wheat-zucchini-bread-with-chocolate-chunks-and-ginger/
Southwestern Garden Succotash (which actually features a number of garden vegetables coming up on the SummerFest line-up)
http://heartlandrenaissance.com/2010/07/southwestern-garden-succotash/
and, from a previous post, my favorite lentil salad which is best with fresh cucumbers and basil from the garden
http://heartlandrenaissance.com/2008/01/super-fresh-and-tasty-lentil-salad/
Can’t wait to peruse the other recipes! I’m going to be eating our zucchini for weeks!
Best,
8:44 pm Jul 28th, 2010Sarah
http://twitter.com/HeartlandSarah
Looking forward to seeing all the recipes for zucchinis and cucumbers! This is my family recipe for stuffed zucchini.
11:37 pm Jul 28th, 2010http://bibberche.com/2010/07/stuffed-zucchini/
My friend and I had a Zucchini swap, Curried Zucchini Bread for Paula Deen’s Chocolate Chip Zucchini bread. We both enjoyed our swap.
http://purplecook.blogspot.com/2010/07/zucchini-trade-curried-zucchini-soup.html
3:25 am Jul 29th, 2010I needed this. I have a LOT of garden zucchini to eat.
5:57 am Jul 29th, 2010My fave way to prepare zucchini:
Cut zucchini into cucumber like slices and place into container. Toss in 1/4 c. grated parmesan cheese per each zucc, depending on size of zucc, of course. Cover container and shake until zucchini is fairly evenly coated. Place coated zucchini into baking dish.
In another bowl, mix softened butter (usually 1 T per zucc) with 1/4 t. cracked black pepper, 1/4 t. prepared garlic in oil and dash of kosher salt. Place 1 T. prepared garlic butter on top of coated zucchini about every four inches or so.
Bake at 375 for about 10 minutes or until zucchini edges are golden brown. Enjoy!
6:09 am Jul 29th, 2010[...] Nicole at Pinch My Salt Grilled Zucchini with Lemon and Olive Oil [...]
6:39 am Jul 29th, 2010I think I might have to participate in this! I am going to do some Adventures in Gardening: Recipe Posts, so I will time it out to the Wed and link up! So much fun! Thanks!
6:57 am Jul 29th, 2010This sounds really fun! I’ll try to match up my future posts with the themes. By the way, this is my first time commenting but I love your blog. I also got the BBA book recently, so I might start that challenge too!
7:51 am Jul 29th, 2010Ranjani: Thanks for the reminder about BBA! I need to get back to baking today
7:58 am Jul 29th, 2010Hooray for Summer Fest! I’d like to submit these zucchini “noodles” with avocado garlic dressing:
http://blog.healthy-green-lifestyle.com/zucchini-noodles-with-avocado-dressing-and-a-cookbook-giveaway.html
As well as this refreshing cucumber sorbet:
http://blog.healthy-green-lifestyle.com/cucumber-sorbet.html
And some good old reliable lacto-fermented pickles (a recipe that’s really adaptable; I just made a batch with garlic, tarragon and chile pepper)
http://blog.healthy-green-lifestyle.com/pickled-cukes-and-garlic-scapes.html
I’m really looking forward to reading everyone’s recipes…and I’ll try to do a dedicated Summer Fest post next week
Winnie @ http://twitter.com/drwinnie
10:07 am Jul 29th, 2010This sounds, and looks, just wonderful! I will try it.
11:02 am Jul 29th, 2010You might want to take a look at a really wonderful food and lifestyle blog: http://www.lindaraxa.blogspot.com
I’m glad I found you (from A Way to Garden…) and I’ll be back!
I am so glad to finally “meet” and also to have your recipe — how simple, but I would have not thought of the lemon. Perfect!
By the end of the summer, we will be old friends. : )
2:03 pm Jul 29th, 2010Thanks, Nicole, for your feedback. As a new blogger I need it, and it means a lot. I am looking forward to more of the Summer Fest. One can never have enough zucchini recipes!
5:00 pm Jul 29th, 2010I’ve also been roasting big batches of squash and whatever veggies are left at the end of the week. I toss them in a pan, drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper then use the grill to roast them (shut the middle burner off, and leave the outer ones on for an indirect grilling method). Here’s a different take on baking with zucchini—streusel topped coffee cake! So glad to join in this year’s SummerFest.
6:19 pm Jul 29th, 2010http://su.pr/1Lhonk
The idea of Summer Fest sounds amazing! Here is pasta recipe that combines both zucchinis and tomatoes. I look forward to next week’s challenge! http://www.thehungryturk.com/2010/06/easy-does-it.html
2:29 pm Jul 30th, 2010Simply grilled zucchini are delicious!
Here is my Summer Fest contribution:
Zucchini Feta Cheese Chopped Salad recipe
http://su.pr/5sOnjA
Have a delicious weekend! xo
5:02 pm Jul 30th, 2010what a lovely photograph. You really captured the essence of zucchini here, so fresh, simple and delicious.
9:55 pm Jul 30th, 2010thank you for the inspiration!
how timely! Our CSA share has had plenty of beautiful zucchini and cucumbers and our own garden is about to explode with the same. Here is a recent post from my blog with a favorite recipe:
http://guinnah.blogspot.com/2010/06/summer-squash-crab-cakes.html
Can’t wait to read through all the other contributions!
1:09 pm Jul 31st, 2010I really enjoy basic recipes in the summer that allow the flavors to shine!
I’m late joining the party but here’s my contribution to the fun… Ice box pickles and Zucchini Ribbons in a Hazelnut butter sauce.
http://itsthewayshe.blogspot.com/2010/08/encouraged-me-to-share-summerfest-2010.html
7:52 pm Aug 1st, 2010[...] Cukes and Zukes 8/4: Corn 8/11: Herbs, Greens, and Beans 8/18: Stone Fruit 8/25: Tomatoes Print This Post [...]
2:52 am Aug 4th, 2010[...] am joining the fun with my favorite food blog, Pinch My Salt, for a cross blog event that she and her fellow foodies are [...]
3:24 pm Aug 11th, 2010I just contributed!! A little later in the day than I had planned! I love your green bean recipe. I made something similar to it last week but yours sounds much yummier!
http://www.paintchipsandcupcakes.com/2010/08/11/basil-pesto/
3:25 pm Aug 11th, 2010Hi Nicole,
We’ve had a cool summer and the zucchini in my garden is just about ripe…so this recipe is a perfect discovery today. Thank you!
Great site!
12:06 pm Sep 8th, 2010[...] at PinchMySalt delivered a gorgeous grilled zucchini and an archive rich with other cuke-and-zuke [...]
11:20 pm Jan 6th, 2011[...] Summer Fest? Well, spring has sprung and I’m once again getting together with a fantastic group of [...]
10:04 am Apr 20th, 2011[...] Squash – Cucurbita pepo Click Here Now for Baby Round Summer Zucchini Squash (Cucurbita pepo) Baby Round Summer Zucchini Squash Baby Round Summer Zucchini Squash The Squash Summer Baby Round Zu…Summer Zucchini Squash">Baby Round Summer Zucchini Squash Baby Round Summer Zucchini Squash The [...]
6:48 am Sep 12th, 2011