Out of zucchini recipe ideas? 'Houdini' cookbook to the rescue

It's harvest time, and many home gardeners are already awash in squash.

The time is definitely ripe for a new cookbook, "Zucchini Houdini" by Brenda Stanley (Bonneville Books, $13.99).

Stanley, a TV news anchor for an NBC affiliate in Idaho, said her book is "a tribute to our glorious green friend. I am among the millions of backyard gardeners across the country who are usually overrun by zucchini each year. That is why I went in search of ways to utilize all that extra produce."

Last year, Deseret News readers sent in zucchini recipes for a Food section story. I stopped counting submissions after 75 — proof that there are a lot of ways to disguise or embellish this summer squash.

Stanley managed to come up with quite a few recipes I hadn't seen before. She has more than 100 recipes for slaws, salads, chili, soups, corn cakes, crab cakes, pasta, flapjacks, enchiladas, ratatouille, quiche, breadcrisps, pies, cakes, cookies and even ice cream.

Zucchini is a nutritional bargain, writes Stanley. It offers antioxidants, fiber, folate, vitamin A, phosphorus, and vitamin C, in only 13 calories per half-cup.

Is the sky raining green baseball bats at your house? Try one of Stanley's recipes:

ZUCCHINI SLAW

2 cups zucchini, julienned

1 cup carrots, julienned

½ cup celery, chopped

½ bell pepper, seeded and chopped

½ head red cabbage, grated

½ cup olive oil

2 tablespoons lemon juice

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

¼ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon pepper

Combine vegetables in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together the oil, juice, mustard, salt and pepper. Toss with vegetables and marinate in refrigerator about 30 minutes before serving. Serves 4. —"Zucchini Houdini"

THAI ZUCCHINI

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 teaspoon minced fresh ginger

1 pinch dried red pepper flakes