Zucchinis and summer go together quite nicely. Wouldn’t you agree? Rhinoviruses and summer, however, do not mesh nearly as well. So there I was yesterday, sitting in my apartment with a cough and fever of nearly 102°F, skipping work, nursing my second bad cold in a month’s time, binge-watching “Narcos” and querying what to do with the five zucchinis staring at me from the top shelf of my fridge.

Zucchini saves me on a constant basis. Virtually any time I go to the grocery store to stock up on produce or grab something quick to make for dinner, I always grab one or two. At any farmer’s market, I always buy more than I can handle. (Sad truth: A few have ended up in the compost heap because my eyes were bigger than, well, my time to make a meal out of them. Ha!)

Normally, I dice it, sauté it, or spiralize it. It never occurred to me that I could spread on some toast. The fine folks at The Kitchn showed me the way, and soon enough, I had a wonderful lunch of a summery vegetable spread on toast. It makes for a perfect light end of summer meal, a perfect way to use up your last great batch of zucchinis…and a perfect sick food, to be frank.

Here’s hoping I’ll be in better health the next time I crank a batch of this out!

Zucchini Butter
(Adapted from The Kitchn’s Zucchini Butter)

Ingredients:

– 3 small zucchinis, shredded
– 2 cloves of garlic, minced
– 1/4 cup olive oil + 1 tablespoon butter
– A few shakes of salt
– Dash of chili powder (optional)

Before We Get Started…

– Butter can easily be omitted to make this recipe vegan-friendly.

Directions:

1.) Shred zucchini, add salt, and place into a colander to drain. You can squeeze the zucchini slightly to expedite the process.

2.) In a large skillet, add olive oil and butter and cook over medium-high heat until butter is melted. Add garlic and saute for one minute.

3.) Add zucchini; cook and stir over medium heat for 20 minutes, or until zucchini becomes soft and spreadable. Add optional dash of chili powder here.

4.) If storing, let cool to room temperature before placing in container and refrigerating.