Here are some of my favorite zucchini recipes from the Book of Yum:
Vegetarian Zucchini Green Chili Enchiladas
Grilled Zucchini Parmesan Recipe
Chinese Szechuan Zucchini Brown Fried Rice
Zucchini Crust Pizza Flatbread Recipe

Feel free to share the URL of your favorite gluten-free vegetarian zucchini recipe in the comments, and I’ll add the link to this post!

Celiac Tips shared a recipe for Roasted Zucchini and Goat Cheese. (YUM!)

Menu of the Week
Sunday: Thai
Green Bean Pineapple Basil Stir Fry with Jasmine Rice

Tuesday: Vegetarian
Hash Brown Potato Crust Vegetarian Savory Pie

Wednesday: Mexican
Oven Baked Sopes with Zucchini Corn Filling

Friday: Vegan
Brown rice and Caribbean Pineapple beans with greens

You can find more great menus over with Org Junkie. As always, many thanks to Cheryl for temporarily housing the Gluten Free Menu Swap at her blog.

Participants in this Week’s Gluten-Free Menu Swap:

Cheryl of GF Goodness has a menu with plenty of whole grain gluten-free goodness as well as an announcement about a Virtual online Recipe Baby Shower she is throwing Baby Yum! Is it bad if I say that I’d love to see you there? :)

A Modern Gal’s Menu features a variety of international dishes with Mexican, Chinese, and Thai flair.

Gluten Free is Life likes zucchini roasted with EVOO and a little salt, and shares a hearty family-friendly menu using ingredients on hand.

Heather of Celiac Family plans to take inspiration from Elise of Simply Recipes and adapt a recipe for zucchini fritters this week. She is celebrating a birthday this week and contemplating chocolate, but her menu reflects her attempt to balance nutrition with her family’s diverse taste buds. Happy birthday, Heather!

Angela of Angela’s Kitchen is continuing strong with her walk for breast cancer training in the midst of a busy week. She’s planning on sauteeing some zucchini up this week, and has also planted seeds for fresh-from the garden zucchini later this summer. Angela will host next week’s menu swap with an avocado theme and I can’t wait to participate!

Celiacs in the House has a very photogenic post with menu ideas as well as a link to an intriguing Martha recipe for pickled zucchini ribbons.

Esther of the Lilac Kitchen reminded me that zucchini is also known as Courgette in New Zealand or British English, and shared a menu with some local, fresh produce and comforting fare.

I’m including a Thai-Chinese inspired zucchini stir fry recipe I enjoyed for dinner last night, as well as an absolutely delicious grilled zucchini salad that premiered on the Book of Yum two years ago, when I’d just started the blog. I hope you enjoy them, and at least one of these recipes inspires you to experiment with zucchini, even if it has never been one of your favorite vegetables.

Soy free Jicama Zucchini Stir Fry Main Course  Vegetables  Asian  Thai

Ingredients 1 tbsp peanut or other szechuan peppercorns 1 inch knob ginger, minced salt 1/2 small jicama, cubed handful green beans, chopped 3 green onions, sliced 1 zucchini, cubed 1/8 cup raw cashew halves Sauce: 3/4 cup GF veg broth (from cube like Edward and sons not-beef) 1 tbsp mirin 1/2 tsp sesame oil white pepper 2 tsp corn starch 1/2 bunch of fresh thai basil Directions Heat wok on high and add szechuan peppercorns, toasting lightly. Add oil and let it heat until a white wisp of smoke curls off of it, and then add your minced ginger. When ginger turns brown, strain peppercorns and ginger out of the oil and leave oil in pan. Let oil heat again and add salt to it. When oil is curling up in smoke again, add your cubed jicama and stir fry for a few minutes or until it is lightly seared on multiple sides. Add the green beans and fry for another minute, moving around pan occasionally. Add green onions and let them soften slightly before adding cashew halves and finally zucchini cubes. Combine veg broth and mirin (or other GF alcohol of choice) in a small bowl and whisk in sesame oil and sprinkle in some white pepper. Add some of the sauce to the vegetables in the pan and let it heat. Add cornstarch to the remaining sauce, whisk in thoroughly, and then add to the pan. Combine so vegetables are evenly coated in sauce. Let thicken to taste and remove from pan. Add thai basil and serve with rice or rice noodles. Notes For a variation, fill thai rice wrapper with rice noodles and stir fry ingredients, wrap up, let cool into a sealed pouch, and enjoy.

Rating:  8 Original Source:  Completely original creation from my own brain, do not replicate anywhere without my permission. Thanks! Recipe ID:  1413 Added:  May 16, 2009 Last Modified:  May 16, 2009

Grilled Zucchini with Tomato and Olive Salad Side Dish  Vegetables  Mediterranean

Ingredients 1 lb fresh zucchini and/or squash 1 1/2 tbsp olive oil 1 1/2 tsp fresh minced thyme 1 medium sized tomato cut in small dice 1 lg garlic clove, minced 16 kalamata olives, pitted and sliced (or regular blk olives) 1 tbsp chopped capers 1 1/2 tbsp red wine vinegar salt, freshly ground pepper 1 tbsp pine nuts 8-10 fresh basil leaves Directions Heat or otherwise prepare grill or grill pan. (charcoal or propane grill is best) Cut zucchini lengthwise 1/4 inch thick, baste in 1 tbsp olive oil and sprinkle fresh thyme until evenly coated. Combine diced tomato cubes, garlic, olives, capers, and red wine vinegar in a bowl and put aside. Salt and pepper zucchini or squash rounds and grill until marked with grill stripes (3 minutes or less depending on heat). Place on serving platter when done, spread tomato olive mixture on top and season with salt and pepper. sprinkle with pine nuts and attractively cut basil and serve. Notes DH and I don’t even like zucchini, and we gobbled this whole recipe up in a night. A good pizza-less “pizza”- very tasty tapa dish. Yum! Perfect for using fresh farmer’s market zucchini available everywhere this year.

Rating:  9 Original Source:   Recipe ID:  1078 Added:  May 28, 2007 Last Modified:  May 16, 2009

Our 4th of July menu was:
Grilled Sesame Tofu (recipe below)
Summer Vegetable Rolls with Peanut Sauce
Balsamic Honey Grilled Eggplant
and
Gluten-Free Raspberry Almond Financiers (recipe below)

If you look at my post for July 4, 2007 you’ll note that I made peanut sauce last year too, for sesame grilled vegetables. But I also made some new recipes for this year’s feast… like this delightful recipe for Balsamic Honey Grilled Eggplant.

This recipe was a real keeper, and one that I have a feeling I’ll be making a lot in the years to come. DH is skeptical of eggplant, and he seemed to enjoy it- and I couldn’t get enough of the stuff. To me it was like grilled and savory candy (but better).

I also experimented with a recipe from Martha Stewart that I’d been eying for a while. Of course, as written the recipe was full of gluten, gluten, gluten, but I thought it would probably convert reasonably well to be gluten-free. Even though we’re currently packing up our whole house for a move, I deliberately left out my mini-muffin tins just for this recipe. Oh, how I love my mini-muffin tins. Like real muffin tins, but cuter. Anyway, I was thrilled for the opportunity to use up some of the organic, local raspberries I’d been storing in the freezer, and an Indpendence Day Picnic seemed like the perfect time for financiers. Although, to be honest, I didn’t quite know what financiers were. To me they just seemed like little jam-filled-mini muffins.

Luckily, the Joy of Baking was able to enlighten me.

“Financiers are French tea cakes (pronounced fee-nahng-syehr), also known as Friands (meaning “dainty” or “tasty”). They are made from a sponge-like batter of beurre noisette (brown butter), egg whites, flour, toasted ground almonds, and powdered sugar. Financiers are similar to Madeleines in that they both use a sponge-like mixture that is baked in special molds. When baked Financiers are soft and springy with a slightly domed top and a lovely golden brown crust.” (Source: Stephanie Jaworski)

Financiers are a natural for gluten-free conversion, as a good portion of their batter is made with almond flour and eggs, two high protein ingredients that help compensate for any lack of gluten in our flours. Unfortunately commercial varieties will also contain gluten-flour, but you can make them at home with excellent results. As it happens, I converted the recipe to be dairy free, but for a more traditional recipe you could use butter instead of the DF, CF margarine and let the butter brown. This browning of the butter adds great nutty flavor. Just be careful not to burn it! I think traditionally financiers are made in special molds, like madeleines, but home cooks use mini muffin tins very successfully. I knew I was happy I bought that mini-muffin tin!

In Love with Financiers?
Try Gluten-Free Girl’s Chocolate Financier Recipe, brought to you by Smitten Kitten.
Or, an agave-nectar sweetened version of the recipe
An adorable Gluten-Free Apricot Financier Recipe
Or a gluten-free adaption of a Almond Tea Cake Financier Recipe

But food aside, the best thing about any holiday is sharing it with special friends that are your family-away-from-family. Last year we spent it with my favorite adopted “little sister”- and this year we spent it with one of our favorite couples. These are friends that have been with both of us for the long haul, and I hope will always be a part of our life. Happy Fourth of July, everyone! I hope your holiday was absolutely delicious, and that you got to spend it with your very favorite people!

Yummy Grilled Tofu Side Dish  Tofu  American

Ingredients 1 lb of firm tofu (Chinese Style is best for this kind of recipe) 2 tbsp GF soy sauce (preferably San-J Low Sodium Tamari) 1 1/2 tbsp maple syrup 1 Tbsp rice vinegar 1 tbsp fresh ginger, grated 1 tbsp toasted sesame oil (we like a Japanese brand) 2 pressed cloves of garlic Directions Drain water from tofu, and cut horizontally in thirds or half. Wrap in towel and leave for 30 minutes or so until water has absorbed into towel. Mix marinade ingredients, and marinate tofu for at least 30 minutes. If possible, grill, if not, broil or pan fry. Makes a wonderful protein addition to salads, sandwich fillings, and perfect with rich rice dishes like risotto. Notes I’ve been making this recipe for years and it always goes over very well at parties. Very flavorful and easy. Can be doubled for a crowd. You may wish to brush or spray grill with oil, as the tofu can stick.

Rating:  8 Original Source:  Vegan Vittles Recipe ID:  1036 Added:  March 14, 2007 Last Modified:  July 6, 2008

Gluten-Free Raspberry Almond Financiers Dessert  Alternative Grains  European

Ingredients 8 tbsp. dairy free margarine like Earth Balance 1/3 cup honey (I like raw honey) 2 cups finely ground almonds (I use Trader Joe’s or you can grind your own) 1/2 cup granulated sugar 1/4 cup sifted confectioners’ sugar 1/4 cup finely ground brown rice flour (like Authentic Foods’) 1/4 cup sweet (white) rice flour 1/4 cup tapioca starch 1/2 tsp salt 5 lg. egg whites (you can probably veganize this by using 3-4 Ener-g foods egg replacer eggs, soy yogurt, or flax seed eggs) 1 cup raspberries (if frozen, defrost first), pureed and strained (not strained is ok if you don’t mind seeds) Directions Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray two mini muffin tins with GF nonstick cooking spray. Melt your margarine in a small saucepan on medium-low heat, whisking occasionally and heating for 6-7 minutes. At the end, whisk in your honey and let it combine thoroughly. Put your ground almonds, sugars, flour, and salt in a standing mixer (or large bowl) and whisk together on low. Turn up the speed to medium-high and add your egg whites (or egg replacer eggs) one at a time, combining each one thoroughly until adding the next. Use a spatula to make sure all the ingredients on the side of the bowl integrate with the rest of the ingredients. Lower mixer speed to low and add your warm honey-margarine (whisk quickly first to make sure it hasn’t separated) in one long, continuous stream. Turn up speed to high for 45 seconds. Fill your mini muffin tins half full. Then take a scant 1/2 tsp of your raspberry puree and pull up a little of the batter with a knife, dribbling the puree in and then settling the batter over the top to make a raspberry heart shape. Or, just make a little jam circle on the top if the heart is too much effort. Bake for 7 minutes or so, turn your rack around and bake another 7 minutes. Cool on a wire rack and enjoy! Notes Another cute little mini-muffin, er, I mean financier, recipe!

Rating:  7 Original Source:  Modified from Martha Steward Living to be dairy and GF Recipe ID:  1264 Added:  July 6, 2008 Last Modified:  July 7, 2008

This pizza would be perfect for an Independence Day party, or just for a quick dinner before you see the fireworks. Looking for other gluten-free fourth of July recipes?

Try my Recipe for Grilled Sesame Vegetables
with this accompanying Ginger Peanut Sauce (Complete with pics from our 4th of July last year)
My World-Famous Grilled Sesame Tofu Recipe
a classic Gluten-Free Macaroni Salad Recipe
Japanese potato salad Recipe
Grilled Kabocha and Sundried Tomato Pate
GF Lemon Blueberry Muffin Recipe (Add raspberries and white frosting for a red,white and blue treat!)

Want another yummy pizza recipe?
Try my favorite Grilled Veggie and Smoked Cheese Pizza Recipe
Allergen Free Gluten-Free Pizza Recipe (with crust recipe)
Or this unexpected Zucchini Crust Pizza Recipe

Hope this helps you get some ideas for your Fourth of July Celebration! If you have links to your favorite recipes for the forth of July, share in the comments and I’ll add them to the list!

Gluten Free Grilled Chebe Marguerita Pizza and Grilled Veggie Pizza Recipe Main Course  Alternative Grains  Italian

Ingredients Pizza Dough: 1 pkg. Chebe pizza mix 2 eggs 1 tbsp. oil 4 tbsp. your choice of “milk” (dairy or non-dairy) Marguerita topping: Grated nonfat mozzarella cheese (1/4 packaged ball) or favorite non-dairy substitute 1 medium organic tomato Handful fresh basil salt Traditional topping- Tomato sauce: 3 tbsp juice from can of chopped canned tomato 1 tbsp tomato paste 1 tsp. olive oil sprinkle of sugar and salt Veggies: 1 portabella mushroom 3 peeled garlic cloves 1/2 sweet red pepper 8 kalamata olives nonfat mozzarella cheese, grated (or favorite nondairy cheese substitute) Directions Combine Chebe pizza ingredients according to package instructions and knead dough into a ball. Separate into two balls. Take a gallon sized ziploc bag and place your chebe dough inside the bag and flatten it out (pressing on the OUTSIDE of the bag so your hands don’t get icky) into a nice circle in about 1/4 or 1/8 of an inch thick. Remove dough from bag and place on a plate, and reserve. Now make your second pizza. Turn on your grill to medium high heat and place your pizza crusts on the grill (without toppings) letting it cook with the lid open for a few minutes. You may wish to rotate the dough if your grill cooks unevenly. Turn your pizza crust over when that side has nice grill marks and grill the other side for another few minutes. Remove from grill and cover with toppings.* Grill for a few minutes on low, covered. When cheese has nicely melted, remove from grill and cut into pieces. Yummy! *For the marguerita pizzas, top the pizza with mozzarella cheese, tomato slices, a sprinkle of salt and a handful of basil. Drizzle with a little high quality olive oil and finish grilling. *For the traditional veggie pizza, crush your garlic cloves and put them in a small bowl with a tablespoon of high quality olive oil and your favorite pasta/italian seasoning herbs. Baste your portabella mushroom and red pepper and grill, turning when each side is done. Remove from heat and chop into pieces. Also mix your tomato sauce ingredients in another bowl. Top your pizza with tomato sauce, grilled veggies, and cheese, adding olives on very top. If you like, after the pizza has baked with toppings, you can broil it in the oven so the cheese gets all brown on top. Be careful not to burn!

Rating:  9 Original Source:  Grilling technique from chebe site, toppings my own creation. Please do not replicate anywhere without my permission. Recipe ID:  1263 Added:  July 1, 2008 Last Modified:  July 1, 2008

For more yummy grilled recipes featured on Book of Yum, try these links:
Grilled Sesame Vegetable Recipe
Other Grilled Recipes at Book of Yum

Grilled Kabocha Pumpkin and Almond Roasted Red Pepper Sauce Vegan  Vegetables  American

Ingredients 1 kabocha squash, cleaned and de-seeded, sliced 2 portobello mushrooms Toasted Sesame Oil Spice Rub 1/4 tsp chili powder 1/4 tsp allspice 1/4 tsp sugar (optional) 1/4 tsp salt 1/8 tsp paprika 1/8 tsp chipotle pepper Sauce 1/2 cup blanched almonds 4 sundried tomatoes in oil 1 small baked potato (fingerling etc.-optional- pre-baked) 1/4 cup roasted red pepper 5 roasted cloves of garlic Water as needed to make paste fresh herbs to taste (rosemary is good) 1 1/2 tsp white wine vinegar two pinches smoked paprika one pinch chipotle powder 1/4 tsp sesame oil 1/4 tsp chili sauce (I like vietnamese sauce) kosher or black salt Directions Baste Kabocha slices in sesame oil and sprinkle generously with (mixed, combined) spice rub. Grill until soft and glistening, but not completely charred. Do same treatment with whole portobello, until soft and thoroughly cooked. Slice to serve. Combine sauce ingredients in a blender until thoroughly mixed and creamy. The sauce may be slightly chunky. Add water as needed so sauce is spoon-able texture. Taste mixture and adjust seasonings to taste. Serve vegetables with dip. Enjoy! You can eat the kabocha, skin and all.

Rating:  8 Original Source:  Contents of my brain, do not replicate without permission Recipe ID:  1134 Added:  September 11, 2007 Last Modified:  September 25, 2007

I also used different vegetables, including these dear Pattypan squash I found at the Farmer’s Market this past weekend. I thought they were the cutest vegetables I’d ever seen, and since my recent success with zucchini like squash, I had hopes that I could produce something tasty. According to Wikipedia, “Pattypan comes in yellow, green, and white varieties . . . [and] is a good source of magnesium, niacin, and vitamins A and C. One cup contains approximately 20 to 30 calories and no fat. ” Wikipedia It is also sometimes called Petit pan squash, white squash, scallop squash, custard marrow, or custard squash. Whatever you call it, it’s an adorable little squash. I cut off the knobs at the top and bottom and sliced it horizontally in order to create flower shaped discs. I took these disks, discs of zucchini, portobella mushrooms, a fennel bulb, eggplant discs, and pieces of red onion, basted them with a little sesame oil and sprinkled them with my “new improved” spice mixture, and grilled them on our propane grill.

To create a delicious, easy sauce, I took 3 tbsp. of salsa and 1 tbsp of smoky barbecue sauce (any gluten free favorite brand would work but it should have a mesquite type flavor), and combined them, topping my tortillas with the sauce like mini pizzas. Then I added a mixture of lowfat grated cheese and a little grated smoked fontina cheese, and put them under the broiler to melt the cheese. I transfered them to the grill to make sure they didn’t get soggy and loaded them up with roasted vegetables. I left them on a grill on low for a bit, and then served them, garnished with some leftover pico de gallo and guacamole. It was DELICIOUS, and got high marks from DH.

Since I had the grill on, I also decided to grill some fruit to serve with a dab of ice cream for dessert. I put a little melted butter on some apple and nectarine slices and them seasoned them with a mixture of apple pie seasonings and sugar. I put them on the grill, turned them when they had appealing grill marks, and then plated them. It was simple, but was a nice end to the evening.
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But I wasn’t done with my leftovers! After all, the next day I had all these leftover grilled vegetables, not to mention the bean cakes from before. How could I use them, now that I’d used up all my tortillas? The answer was hiding in my freezer- the remains of a large order I’d placed with Kinnikinnick that included quite a lot of white rice tapioca bagels. I microwaved and then toasted one, cut it in half, used the same 3-1 salsa to barbecue sauce as my condiment, filled it with my bean cakes and piled yummy grilled vegetables next to it. I had a heavenly brunch on my balcony, enjoying the sun and gobbling down grilled food without so much as turning on the propane. Now that, my friends, is why I like leftovers. You never know what form they’ll take the next day.

I have a crush on these “Petit Pan Squash.” Can you tell? What farmer’s market vegetable or fruit finds do YOU have a crush on? Do tell..