Are you tired of zucchini yet?

I'm actually NOT tired of zucchini... it's just hard keeping up every so often. They ripen in spurts. Found another recipe I hadn't made in quite a while, and since my tummy wasn't feeling great yesterday, decided it would be just the thing. And it was.

Zucchini and Brown Rice Soup

1 lb zucchini (about 2 medium)
½ lb spinach or chard (1 bunch)
6-8 cups chicken or vegetable broth
½ long grain brown rice
1 ½ cups sliced onions
3 Tbsp butter
Salt and freshly ground pepper

Wash, trim and grate the zucchini.
Wash the spinach leaves, dry and cut into thin strips. (I used chard and removed tough stems)
Bring the broth to a boil, stir in the rice, lower heat, cover and cook slowly until the rice is just tender, about 40 minutes.
In large sauté pan, cook onions in butter until wilted and golden.
Stir in zucchini and cook, stirring, 4-5 minutes. There will be moisture left in the pan.
Mix in the spinach and cook until barely wilted. Set aside.
When rice is cooked, stir in the zucchini mixture, heat through, and season with salt and pepper.
The soup will be fairly thick. Thin with additional broth if you wish. Makes about 2 quarts.

For a heartier soup, add cooked chopped chicken.

Another way to use Zucchini

We tried this recipe tonight, and it's good! And it's another way to use all those zucchini that ripen at once. We had it with sliced tomatoes and multigrain baguette slices topped with grated Parmesan cheese and broiled for a few minutes to melt.

Zucchini Linguini with Chicken
Serves 4

2 Tbsp olive oil
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1/2 in pieces (we used organic)
Sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper

1 Tbsp unsalted butter
1 Tbsp minced shallot
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 cup fat-free chicken broth or water
3 green zucchini, julienned
3 yellow zucchini, julienned (we used all green)
1/4 cup julienned fresh basil
2 1/2 ounces goat cheese

1. Heat oil in large saute pan over medium heat. Season the chicken with salt and pepper (we omitted salt) and saute until cooked. Then transfer to a bowl and set aside. Drain all but 1 Tbsp of oil from the pan.
2. Add the butter and shallot to the pan and saute until soft, then add the garlic and saute until fragrant. Add the chicken broth and zucchini and saute for 3-4 minutes just until soft. Remove from heat.
3. Return he chicken to the pan, add the basil and stir to combine. Divide among plates and top with the goat cheese. Serve immediately.

Note: I forgot to pick up shallots and goat cheese, so used minced onion and feta. I sauteed the chicken using olive oil spray rather than 2 Tbsp oil, and it worked fine. I may reduce or omit the chicken broth next time, the zucchini has a lot of liquid as it cooks. I'm sure this would work with Tofu instead of chicken.

261 calories; 25g protein; 7 g carbohydrates; 2 g fiber; 15g fat.
Recipe from Mariel Hemingway in AARP magazine.

Did I mention that I love zucchini? :D