3 Incredible, Healthy Zucchini Recipes from The Fabulous Beekman Boys

Zucchini—it's like a plant on steroids. Plant one and you can practically feed your entire neighborhood with the vegetables it produces. In fact, zucchini is so prolific, it's garnered its own holiday. Every August 8th, gardeners around the U.S. celebrate "Sneak Some Zucchini onto Your Neighbor's Porch Day," when they, well…that part's pretty obvious.

But the vibrant green veggies are so good and so healthy, especially at the height of the summer. If you find yourself with a boatload of green zukes overflowing in your kitchen, try these recipes, courtesy of Brent Ridge and Josh Kilmer-Purcell, also known as The Fabulous Beekman Boys. The duo has a TV show on the Cooking Channel that chronicles life on their organic farm, and they're authors of the forthcoming The Beekman 1802 Heirloom Desserts Cookbook, a compendium of recipes from both their families collected from across the generations.

They gave us their three favorite zucchini recipes, and you can find more on their website, beekman1802.com.

Zucchini Ribbons
Ingredients:
3 to 5 large zucchini
3 Tablespoons olive oil
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon pepper
Pasta sauce of your choice
Ricotta cheese
Fresh basil

Directions:
1. Cut off the ends of the zucchini. With a vegetable peeler, peel the zucchini, skin and all, in strips that run the full length of the vegetable. Continue peeling until you reach the seeds in the center. (The Beekman pigs feast on the unused zucchini cores.)
2. In a large sauté pan, heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil over medium heat, then add the chopped garlic and cook for 2 minutes.
3. Add the zucchini ribbons to the pan and drizzle the remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil over the top. Add the salt and pepper and toss.
4. Stirring occasionally, allow the zucchini ribbons to sauté for 10 minutes, or until cooked through.
5. To serve, top the ribbons with your favorite pasta sauce, a dollop of ricotta, and fresh basil.

Sweet Loaf Bread French Toast
Ingredients:

For toast
½ stale loaf sweet bread (zucchini, banana, pumpkin, etc.), cut into ½-inch slices
3 eggs
1 teaspoon cinnamon
½ cup milk

For syrup
1 cup orange juice or apple cider
1 cup confectioners sugar

1. First, make the syrup: Bring confectioners sugar and juice to boil in a heavy saucepan, whisking occasionally. Reduce to simmer, and allow the mix to reduce by one third to one half.
2. For toast, whisk together eggs, milk, and cinnamon in a medium bowl. Heat a nonstick griddle on the stovetop to medium-high heat. Individually dip bread slices in egg mixture, being sure both sides are coated and mixture is slightly absorbed into bread.
3. Immediately transfer slice to griddle, allowing one side to cook completely before flipping. Repeat with remaining slices. Once both sides are lightly brown, serve immediately, with syrup mixture spooned over top.  Garnish with whipped cream and orange zest if desired.

Savory Grilled Summer Squash
Ingredients:
3 medium yellow or golden squash, sliced ¼-inch thick on a deep diagonal
1 medium gadzooks or zucchini, sliced ¼-inch thick on a deep diagonal
2 small pattypan squash, halved and sliced ¼-inch thick
4 garlic cloves, pressed through a garlic press (2½ teaspoons)
2 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary or ¾ teaspoon dried
1 teaspoon chopped fresh oregano or ½ teaspoon dried
¼ cup olive oil
1 teaspoon coarse salt, plus more for sprinkling
1 Tablespoon red wine vinegar

Directions:
1. In a large bowl, combine all of the squash (it should be a total of 5 cups). Add the garlic, rosemary, oregano, and salt and toss well, rubbing the mixture onto all surfaces of the squash. Add the oil and toss to coat.
2. Heat a grill or grill pan to medium. Lightly oil the grill grates or the grill pan. Working in batches if necessary, grill the squash, turning it over as it gets grill marks, until tender, about 5 minutes per batch. Transfer the slices to a bowl as they finish cooking.
3. Once all the squash has been cooked, add the vinegar and toss. Sprinkle with more salt and serve hot or at room temperature.

All this summer we are working with our friend Sandy Gluck to develop seasonal recipes fresh from the heirloom garden.

Makes 4 servings.

Still have some squash left over? Try making zucchini refrigerator pickles, recipe courtesy of Rodale's Nickel Pincher, Jean Nick.