August 8th is National Zucchini Day, one of the most versatile foods. Zucchini can be:

 
Varieties of heirloom zucchini can be speckled, striped, pale green, or round like a ball.

There’s even a yellow (golden) variety of zucchini, which is easy to confuse with yellow squash. Golden zucchini isn’t grown commercially, because of the confusion with yellow squash.

If you’re confused by the color, the easiest way to tell the difference between zucchini and summer squash is by the the shape. Yellow squash usually has a tapered neck and a fatter bottom, while zucchini looks like a cylinder (or a cucumber)—no tapered ends.

Some yellow squash can have a top that’s reminiscent of their cousin, the crookneck squash (check out the different types of squash).

Purchase smaller rather than larger summer squash. The larger ones are more mature, with larger seeds and more watery flesh. We like to mix both green and yellow for an appealing color combination.

 
THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ZUCCHINI & YELLOW SQUASH

Both zucchini and yellow squash are summer squash, thin-skinned varieties that are only harvested during the summer season.

They are different varieties within the same genus and species, Cucurbita pepo.

Yellow squash is considered to be sweeter. Cook some of each, and eat some raw, and see what differences you find.

 
ZUCCHINI RECIPES

Zucchini can be served baked, boiled, broiled, fried, grilled, raw, roasted, sautéed, steamed or stir-fried.

 
Don’t peel summer squash: The skin is tender and nutritious.

BREAKFAST

 
APPETIZERS

 
MAINS

 
SIDES

 
DESSERTS

 
 
ZUCCHINI HISTORY

A botanical fruit*, zucchini is treated as a vegetable, used as a savory dish or accompaniment (with the exception of zucchini bread and muffins).

All squash originated in Central and South America, and was eaten for thousands of years before Europeans discovered it in the 16th century. Cultivation has been dated to 5500 B.C.E., and it was integral in the diets of people living in Central America and South America.

Christopher Columbus originally brought seeds back with him, to the Mediterranean region and Africa. However, the long, green zucchini that has become the modern standard were developed at the end of the 19th century near Milan, Italy (from American zucchini).

Zucca is the Italian word for pumpkin. The word zucchini comes from the Italian zucchino, meaning a small squash. That’s why zucchini is sometimes referred to as “Italian squash.”

Zucchini, Cucurbita pepo, is a member of the cucumber and melon family, Cucurbitaceae. The word squash comes from the Narraganset language of the Native Americans of Rhode Island, who grew askutasquash, “a green thing eaten raw.” The Pilgrims had difficulty pronouncing the whole word, and shortened it to squash. It was an important food crop for both peoples.

A word about squash blossoms: A long orange blossom grows on the end of each emerging zucchini. It is considered a delicacy, and can be stuffed and fried or pan-fried plain. Alas, this treat was not widely known in our youth, when we grew zucchini at home; and Mom simply tossed them out.
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*All squash are botanical fruits. They grow from a flower, and they carry their seeds in side of the fruit. Zucchini is the swollen ovary of the zucchini flower. Here’s the difference between fruits and vegetables.

[2] Zucchini soup. Here’s the recipe (photo courtesy Puglia Shop Online)

[3] Pineapple zucchini bread. Here’s the recipe from Betty Crocker.

[4] Zucchini and eggplant lasagna. Here’s the recipe from Pasta Fits.

[5] Tiger zucchini, one of the heirloom varieties (photo courtesy Burpee).

[6] Eight ball summer squash are round (photo courtesy Burpee).

[2] A waffle roller (at right) turns a round waffle into a cone. Here’s the technique from Celebrate-Creativity.

[3] The same sandwich cone maker creates ice cream cones (photo courtesy Chef’s Choice).

Plans to go shopping for dinner ingredients were discarded, and we searched the cupboards for something to make.

We found waffle mix and peanut butter and jelly in the cabinets, and a refrigerator full of breakfast and lunch materials: bacon, eggs, cole slaw, ham, cheese, salad, cream cheese, smoked salmon.

We were inspired to make savory waffles, and later wrote an article about them.

But we didn’t think to roll the waffles into cones until we saw this photo from Savannah Seafood Shack (photo #1).

The inspiration: waffle sandwich cones.
 
 
HOW TO MAKE SAVORY WAFFLE SANDWICH CONES

1. DECIDE on your main filling: BLT, chicken (a touch of maple syrup makes “chicken and waffles”), Greek salad, ham and cheese, fish fillets, shrimp, taco fixings, etc. You can find other ideas online, including this shrimp and cheese grits cone.

For a breakfast sandwich, consider “the usual suspects:” scrambled eggs, bacon/Canadian bacon, cheese, avocado, tomato, etc.

2. PICK the supplementary ingredients: bacon, lettuce, tomatoes, onion, grits, mashed potatoes, stuffing, condiments, etc.

3. GET out your waffle maker or pizzelle maker. The waffle maker needs to be round to shape a pointed cone. If you don’t have a round waffle maker, see if you can borrow one.

You’ll also need a cone-rolling form (photo #2): a cone shape with a handle. You can purchase a wood version for about $10. The same mold makes homemade ice cream cones (photo #3) and pizzelles.

4. MAKE the batter. Leave the sugar out of the waffle recipe. You can add a pinch, but no more; you don’t want even a slightly-sweet waffle.

You can also flavor your batter with fresh herbs (basil, chives, cilantro, parsley), grated cheese and/or spices (cayenne, chili flakes, curry, poppy, etc.). Check out these cheddar-chive cones.

5. MAKE the waffles, cool slightly, stuff and enjoy. Use a fork, as needed.

 
MORE ABOUT WAFFLES

August 6th is National Root Beer Float Day: a type of ice cream float (a.k.a. ice cream soda) that combines ice cream, usually chocolate or vanilla, with root beer.

Just place a couple of scoops of ice cream in a tall glass, add the root beer, and serve with a straw and a long spoon (photo #1). Yum!

You can do this with any flavor ice cream and any coordinating soda. There are some ideas below.
 
 
ICE CREAM FLOAT HISTORY

Credit for the invention of the ice cream float was invented by Robert McCay Green, operator of a soda fountain in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. In the era before bottled soft drinks, a soda fountain was a place where people would stop by for a fresh-jerked soda.

The “soda jerk” would add syrup to a glass, then jerk the handle of the soda water [carbonated water] tap. The pressure blended the soda, although a swirl with a spoon finished the job.

Green wanted to create something special to compete with a larger, fancier soda fountain down the street. His brainstorm: a combination of vanilla ice cream and soda water with a choice of 16 different flavored syrups. He called it an “ice cream soda.”

A variation of the story is that, on one hot day, Green ran out of ice for his soda fountain drinks and used vanilla ice cream from a neighboring vendor, has been put to rest by his own account, published in Soda Fountain magazine in 1910 (source).

Alas, in those days small business owners were not trademark-oriented, and the competitors soon knocked him off.

As the ice cream soda soda concept took off, different fountain syrups were used: birch beer, cola root beer and fruit-flavored soft drinks.

Bottled soft drinks became broadly available by 1950, enabling consumers to mix and match their own floats. Some examples of the variety:

 
Floats are often topped with whipped cream, and may have garnishes from cherries to chocolate shavings.

 
 
HOW ABOUT AN ALCOHOLIC FLOAT?

Add an ounce or two of your favorite spirit, and have as much liqueur. One of our favorites: banana ice cream, vanilla soda, rum and banana liqueur.

[3] Guinness Float. Here’s the recipe for the float, plus homemade stout ice cream (photo courtesy Silver Moon Ice Cream).

 
 
THE HISTORY OF ROOT BEER

Modern soft drinks would not exist, had carbonated water not been invented. Here’s the history of carbonated water, which was first sold commercially in the late 1700s; and the debut dates of early soft drinks.

Root beer, at least in its earliest, non-carbonated form, long predates carbonation.

Emigrants to the New World found Native Americans drinking beverages made of sassafras root and sarsaparilla vine, for culinary and medicinal reasons American culture.

By the 16th century, colonists were using European culinary techniques to create it, and other root- and herb-based beverages.

Ingredients could include, among others, allspice, birch bark, burdock root, dandelion root, coriander, juniper, ginger, hops, licorice, molasses, sarsaparilla, sassafras root, vanilla beans, wild cherry bark and wintergreen.

Today, the root commonly used is the root bark of the sassafras tree (Sassafras albidum) or the sarsaparilla vine (Smilax ornata).

With the spread of soda water/carbonated water in the early 19th century, the technique was applied to these traditional beverages. Sweet syrups were the foundation of soda fountains, and it was combined with soda water as early as the 1850s.

Drinks like root beer were also sold as “tonics,” for their perceived medicinal qualities. The syrup was added to a glass, topped with carbonated water and given a brief stir.

While traditional root beer was indeed made from sassafras tree roots, modern commercially produced root beer typically does not contain any sassafras root. In 1960, the FDA banned sassafras oil due to an ingredient, safrole, which was shown to be carcinogenic in rats.

This led to the use of artificial flavorings in most commercially produced root beer. Artisan brands use extracts from which the safrolehas been removed.

Modern, commercially-produced root beer (and other sodas) is typically sweet, foamy, carbonated, nonalcoholic, and flavored with artificial* sassafras oil (source).

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*Sassafras root is still used to flavor traditional root beer. However, sassafras is no longer used in commercially-produced root beer since 1960, when it was banned by the FDA for use in commercially mass-produced foods and drugs. There were health concerns, highly controversial, about the carcinogenicity of safrole, a major constituent of sassafras oil, in animal studies. Some small-batch root beers do use a safrole-free sassafras extract.
  

[2] Buy one or two sets of ice pop molds. You can use them to freeze juice, including vegetable juice for a savory snack . These are from FumCare.

August 6th is National Root Beer Float Day. For something even colder, try this food fun: Root Beer Float Ice Pops.

Active prep time is 15 minutes, plus freezing.
 
RECIPE: ROOT BEER FLOAT ICE POPS

Ingredients For 6 Pops

 
Preparation

1. SOFTEN the ice cream slightly on the counter, 5 minutes or so. Then fill the tip of each mold with about 2½ tablespoons of ice cream, packing the ice cream down firmly. Place in the freezer to set until the ice cream is firm again, 15 to 20 minutes. Meanwhile…

2. BRING the root beer to a low simmer in a medium saucepan, whisking to help remove the carbonation. Simmer gently until there are no remaining carbonation bubbles, about 5 minutes (new bubbles will be caused around the edge of the liquid the process of simmering). Allow to cool.

3. REMOVE the molds from freezer. Pour about 2 ounces of root beer into each mold. To reduce foaming, it’s best to slowly pour the root beer down the inside wall of the mold, and not straight on top of the ice cream.

4. LET the root beer settle a moment. Then top the molds with the lids, and insert the sticks or handles.

4. FREEZE until solid, at least 8 hours or overnight.

5. SERVE: Unmold the pops by running the molds under water for about 60 seconds (or follow manufacturer’s directions).

August 3rd is National Watermelon Day.

Ready for some sweet, juicy melon? Here are tips for picking the best of the bunch.

TIPS TO CHOOSE A MELON

1. Look for a stemless melon, with a slight indentation on the stem end. If the melon still has a stem, it could mean that it was picked before it was ripe. Once a watermelon is picked from the vine, it stops ripening. A melon should be ripened on the vine until its stem detaches naturally.

2. Choose a uniform shape. Odd bumps and curves may have “personality,” but can mean that the melon did not have consistent sun and/or water. Press the skin of in different spots to test for firmness.

3. Don’t worry if it’s dull. Some growers process their melons to put an attractive shine on—the equivalent of waxing an apple. A dull melon is perfectly fine.

4. Pick a deep green skin. The skin should be a rich green color with a smooth texture. This indicates an even amount of sun.

5. Check the “field spot.” This is the creamy yellow spot on the bottom of the melon, showing where it was resting on the ground. It indicates that the melon had the time it needed to sweeten in the sun. If the melon is green all over, avoid it: That often indicates a melon that was picked before ripening. A white spot on the bottom is better than no spot.

6. Heavy in the hand. Compare the melon’s weight with one of similar size, and pick the heavier one. Produce Pete advises this test with any fruit.

7. Give it a good slap. Hold the watermelon in one hand, then slap it with your palm or thump it with your knuckles (this is called a “knuckle rap”). Listen for a melon that sounds full, which has been described as “more like a tenor than a bass.” The bass indicates a condition known as hollow heart.

8. Buy from a good retailer. As you’ve no doubt noticed, fruit quality can vary from seller to seller. A better retailer tends to spend for better produce, so the retail price may be slightly higher. If you see melons at very low prices, they may indicate lower quality.
 
MORE MELON TIPS

Chilling the melon before serving enhances its flavor on the palate. It’s better to slice it first, then chill.

If the melon lacks the sweetness you seek, here are some fixes:

[2] Yellow watermelon is more available these days. The ones we’ve had have been super-sweet (photo courtesy DP Seeds)

 
HOW LONG HAS MAN CULTIVATED WATERMELON?

The first recorded watermelon harvest occurred nearly 5,000 years ago, in Egypt. Check out the history of watermelon.

We end with a quote from Mark Twain: When one has tasted watermelon, he knows what the angels eat.