[HBHW News] The Zucchini Edition

Published: Sat, 05/22/21

Hello ,

Life is still a little crazy around here and from the looks of it, it will stay that way for most of the summer. Yesterday for example, I spent my day helping our daughter get ready for senior prom. I figured I'd have plenty of time in the morning to get this out to you, but alas, it didn't happen. Other chores around the house and garden took priority and by the time she was off to prom, I was too tired to get any work done. I hope the new recipe will make the wait worthwhile.

What does that mean for you going forward? The HBHW newsletter may hit your inbox a day late as it did this week and possible that I'll have to skip a week here and there. I'm trying to work ahead to make it easier to stay on schedule.

This week's issue is inspired by the beautiful zucchini and yellow squash growing in my garden. Gardening has been quite the challenge this year with so much up in the air and the garden being left to it's own devices for days and days at a time. So far it has fared better than hoped and the zucchini harvest that was waiting for me when we got back in inspired this weeks' edition.

I made a big batch of potato and zucchini soup yesterday and thought I'd share it with you this week. I went to the blog looking for the recipe post and realized I'd never published it. This soup is something I grew up with. My mother would make it whenever we let the zucchini in the garden get a little too big, or if there was more than what we knew to do with. You can make a double batch of this soup and freeze half for use during the winter months.

My husband and daughter both love this soup and we have it frequently during zucchini and squash season. By the way, while the recipe calls for zucchini, you can use any summer squash instead, or mix and match with what you have on hand.

A bowl of homemade potato zucchini soup with raw zucchini garnish

Potato and Zucchini Soup

3 to 4 medium zucchini (or two large ones)
1 yellow onion
2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp olive oil
4 to 5 potatoes
4 cups chicken or vegetable stock
2 cups of water
salt and pepper to taste

Peel and chop the onion.

Heat the butter and olive oil in a stockpot. Add the onion and cook over medium heat until they are translucent.

While the onion is cooking, peel and chop the potato. Add to the pot and season with plenty of salt and pepper.

Wash and chop the zucchini. Add to the pot and give everything a good stir.

Add the stock and water. Cover and bring to a boil.

Reduce the heat and simmer until the vegetables are tender.

Use an immersion blender to blend the soup to creamy consistency.

Of course this isn't the only zucchini recipe I use. I also made a zucchini bread this morning and as soon as the yellow squashes get a little bigger, I am whipping up some zucchini fritters for lunch.

Since it worked so well last time, I plan on cutting any zucchini and squash off the plants the day we leave here and use them to make a batch of zucchini and beef stew at the new house. It's a perfect summer dinner and can be made with fresh or frozen ground beef. I often buy ground beef on sale, fry it up with salt and pepper, allow it to cool, and then freeze it in large enough portions to make something for dinner.

Ready for even more zucchini recipes? Check out the Zucchini Cookbook available on Amazon.

Book cover for The Zucchini Cookbook by The Hillbilly Housewife

That's it from me this week. I'm looking forward to harvesting more summer squash and zucchini before we head back up to the new place next week to take more of our belongings up to the new house. This is how we'll be spending much of our summer, going back and forth to finish out the school year here, attend graduation (I can't believe my little girl is graduating from highschool), and getting set up at the new place. Wish me luck.