Zucchini Season-they're taking over

It's high zucchini season around here. The time when you step away from the garden for a day and come back to find this  

I've been diligent in using these Cocozelle Heirlooms. We've had them steamed, sauteed, in a creamy parmesan soup, as fritters, in a layered casserole with onions, in chocolate chip cookies, bread, as chips...I AM the Bubba Gump of zucchini!  But I grow weary, so I went in search of some new and exciting recipes to make use of today's bounty. What I found and made was so awesome, I had to share...

First I tried my hand at hummus, which I've never made before. Jeez, I've never even used our food processor because I have an irrational fear of it. But today I am brave. And hungry. And working on a very limited grocery budget, since Farm Camp ended.  Most of the recipes I found involved tahini, which I don't have, so I improvised with sunflower seeds.  It's lemony and garlicky! Mmmmm  (disregard the curry in the photo-it was there for the next recipe...)

ZUCCHINI HUMMUS WITHOUT TAHINI

• 2 cups peeled zucchini, chopped
• 4 Tbs. olive oil
• 1 and 1/2 lemon, juice of
• 3/4 cup sunflower seeds
• 3/4 tsp. sea salt
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1 tsp. paprika
• 1 t ground cumin
• Cayenne to taste

Blend all of the ingredients in food processor or blender. It doesn't get much easier than that!

                                                                                                                                                                     
Next I found a recipe for Curried Zucchini soup and made a few adjustments based on my taste and the reviews I read (which said it was too thin-so I added potatoes).  It's cheap, filling, exotic and super low cal. Not to mention good for you! And it is OH SO GOOD. I put some in former jam jars and froze them for lunches in the next few weeks.

CURRIED ZUCCHINI SOUP

• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 large onion, halved and thinly sliced
• 4 tsp curry powder (very mild with this amount, I'll add more next time)
• sea salt to taste
• 4 small zucchini, (or in my case, one huge) halved lengthwise and cut into 1 inch slices
• 3 carrots, chopped to 1inch slices
• 3 potatoes, chopped  1inch slices
• 1 quart chicken stock (or vegetable)

1. Heat the oil in a large pot. Stir in the onion, and season with curry powder and salt. Cook and stir until onion is tender. Stir in zucchini, and cook until tender. Pour in the chicken stock, add carrots and potatoes. Bring to a boil and cook until everything is softened.
2. Remove soup from heat.  Use a hand blender, or transfer in batches to a blender, and blend until almost smooth. (if you use a blender, LET COOL before blending or the lid will blow off and leave you with a big mess or worse!)