Ooh, this one could be interesting!

Give me a few days, I'm gonna start writing! ^_^

Oh, that's an awesome choice of ingredients! And luckily I tried out one zucchini recipe just yesterday! It's Russian traditional oladji (oladushki) with zucchini.

Ingredients:

1 medium zucchini
2 eggs
1/2 cup of yogurt (in original recipe that would be kefir, but I'm not sure if it's possible to find it abroad)
1 cup of flour
1/2 bulb of garlic (optional)
finely chopped fresh herbs (dill, for instance)
salt
pepper

Directions:

1) Peel zucchini and remove the seeds.
2) In a large bowl, grate zucchini on the small holes of a grater-box.
3) Add the eggs, pressed garlic, herbs, yogurt - and mix well.
4) Add flour and mix again thoroughly.
5) Season with salt and pepper.
6) In a non-stick frying pan or a skillet, heat the vegetable oil (it should be enough to cover the skillet).
7) Using a tablespoon, scoop the mixture and carefully tip it into the frying pan. Don’t crowd your future oladji. I recommend to flatten them with a spatula a bit to let them cook evenly.
Here's the picture I've found on the net:

8) Cook for about 3 minutes on each side, or until they're nicely browned. Adjust the heat to the lower setting if they're browned too soon.
Another pic:

9) Remove these nice little things on a plate layered with a paper towel to get rid of any excess oil.
10) Best served warm with sour cream or some other dips.

With all these from My garden, I should come up with a recipe or 3, lol!

Wow, I'm glad everyone's excited for the Oct/Nov Iron Chefs

I'm mulling ideas myself---the oladji look excellent and I'll try them out this weekend, since I love traditional recipes so much.

And what a promising box of butternuts, SilverIsis!

If anyone's curious about how Iron Chefs can go, check out some of our inspiring entries from the Sept/Oct Iron chefs.

And, just so everyone knows---you're never "late" to these threads! They span two months because ingredients come in season at different times for different regions. And even then, if you get your hands on one of the ingredients even half a year later, you should still dive in! We're never going to turn down inspiration

Too easy, I own a culinary classroom
We do this recipe a lot in our local foods class, but its freakin' amazing and simple.

Butternut Squash Soup With Honey-Pecan Garnish
6 lbs butternut squash

3 tbsps butter

4 slices bacon, rendered dry and chopped

2 large yellow or sweet onions chopped

64 ozs chicken broth

1/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice (optional)

Large pinch freshly grated nutmeg

3 tbsps toasted and finely chopped pecans

1 tbsp honey

Whole leaves Italian parsley
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1. Preheat oven to 375. Halve the squash, remove seeds, and place pieces cut side down on an oiled cookie pan (with sides). Bake until squash can be pricked easily, 45 to 60 minutes. Cool for 20 minutes. Scrape out pulp and reserve. Discard skins.

2. In a soup pot over medium heat melt 2 tbsps butter. Add onion and cook until onion is soft, about 10 minutes. Add squash and broth and simmer until squash falls apart, about 30 minutes. Add bacon. Cool for 20 minutes.

3. In a blender, puree soup in batches until very smooth. If using orange juice, add it now plus nutmeg. For a more lively bacon flavor, add 1-2 tbsps bacon fat. Season with sea salt and freshly ground pepper. If soup is too think add more broth.

4. Make compound butter by mashing together remaining 1 tbsp of butter, pecans and honey. Season with sea salt and pepper. Roll butter in plastic wrap into a cylindrical shape 1 inch in diameter. Store in refrigerator.

5. To serve, ladle soup into bowls. Cut 1/4 inch slices of pecan butter and float one in center of each bowl. Garnish further with a leaf of parsley.
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Is your mouth watering yet? if not it should- this is under 50 calories!

I been making some really good caramelized butternut squash. I will try taking some picture of it next week when I make them again, and post the recipe. It's really easy and delicious

This all sounds and looks delicious! Makes me wish I were a better cook.