Giant Zuke

I was given a zuchini the size of a watermelon from someone's garden this week.  Now I had to figure out what to do with it.  So I spend an entire day planning, searching for recipes on line and then cooking. 

The first project was a roasted vegetable soup that turned out so well that I just have to share the recipe.  I cut about a third of the moster zuke into chunks removing the tough skin and seeds, peeled and cut 2 sweet potatoes, two and a half red peppers and one and half red onions into chunks.  I added a head of garlic peeled and drizzled the whole bunch with olive oil and salt and roasted them until they were soft.  Then I blended the whole batch with a carton of vegetable broth until it was smooth.  I dumped the whole mess in a stock pot and added some water to thin it out.  Then I added 1teaspoon each of curry, cumin, cinnamon, salt and paprika and about a quarter teaspoon of red pepper flakes and two bay leaves.  I simmered it for a while and voila!  My daughter had 2 bowls and my cubicle neighbor commented on how good it smelled! 

Next I attempted 2 kinds of zuchini muffins, one with raisins, the other chocolate.  Neither turned out great, but I didn't bother to peel the zuchini and the peel was very tough.  I'm still on the look out for a good vegan zuchini muffin recipe.  I've read good things about 'The Joy of Vegan Baking' by Colleen Patrick-Goudreau.  Perhaps I will check it out.

Luckily it was my daughter's day to do the dishes!!!