freezing zucchini

I put my first batch of zucchini away this week.

This year, I have four times the number of zuke plants than last year, but harvesting's been a lot slower without last year's 100-degree July.  This year we had snow in June and the most pleasant July a Montanan could hope for.  

Considering that there's sweat pooling in my armpits right now, I'd say we're well on our way to catching up...  Or maybe I'm having a panic attack.  

Nope.  I think it's hot.  I think it's almost 100 degrees.  It's 97.  Oh, that's nice.

So back to zukes.  I slipped away to get my camera and when I looked through the viewfinder, I saw something fishy...

Aha!  It's that cucumber!  He's still here!

Yep, he's poised on the edge of the counter because someone couldn't bear to throw him out.  So he waits.  And watches all the other zukes as they get chopped up for the freezer. 

He'll have his turn soon though.  The vote was overwhelmingly in favor of eating the little sucker, but as I can't even remember the last time I bought a cucumber, I can't quite decide what to make of him.  

A salad?  A sandwich?  What do you even do with cucmbers?  (And don't even ask why I grew him... his momma plant called out to me at the farmer's market.  I'm terribly vulnerable to being called to at the farmer's market.)

Well.  Back to those zukes.  I sliced these because last year, I underestimated my desire to have sliced cucumbers for making Mollie Katzen's Zucchini Feta casserole.  I shredded almost all of it.  Once shredded... well, it's like a bad hair cut - you can't go back.

Also, I just recently read on Cold Climate Gardening where Kathy posted several great-looking recipes for summer squash.  It wasn't the recipes that caught my eye, though.  It was, "dust slices in flour and fry in olive oil."  

Fry?  Oh my goodness, this Alabama transplant (me) loves fried food (like the rest of America). 

I have a feeling I'll be doing a little of that this wintertime so it seemed like an extra good reason to make extra good slices.  

And besides, I plan to throw the slices in the food processor if I want to bake breads or muffins. 

Here's the thing though: I didn't blanch them. 

Am I going to die? 

I hope not.

I didn't die last year when I didn't blanch them, but I've been reading a little bit about it.  Blanching looks like a good idea.  It looks like something my mother would have done. 

I think I'll try it on the next batch and hope for the best on this one!

P.S. If you follow the link to Mollie's website, you won't find the recipe for the casserole.  I googled it and kept coming up with pancakes, so you're on your own.  Mollie's got to make $$$ somehow!