One week ago, my zucchini, or more technically my favorite Italian heirloom zucchetta and Korean 'Bulam' squash, started to produce at a trickle. Now the plants are on full blast, and we’re drowning in squash.

As most know, summer squash are crummy keepers; they just don’t store. Fruits that are canned or frozen develop an unappealing texture. The only success I've had with storage is shredding squash for baking, or baking zucchini bread or cakes and freezing them. But who wants to eat zucchini bread all year long?

Really the easiest thing to do when zucchini is producing gangbusters is eat it until you can’t stand it anymore. This is what we do in my household. And, for reasons I never understand by early fall, we look forward to it each year and always plant plenty in spring. The key is trying to maintain a creative edge in summer squash cookery. Here are my culinary achievements through the first week of the zucchini onslaught.

Monday: I work late, so it's carryout night.

Tuesday: Zucchetta sautéed with Vidalia onions and fresh 'Susanville' softneck garlic.

Garden fresh garlic has a depth and pungency beyond what you can buy at the store. Add a little salt and pepper to this buttery, olive-oily zucchini and it’s terrific. We served it with grilled chicken.

Wednesday: Zucchetta and Artichoke Lasagna with Homemade Marinara and Three Cheeses

I’ve no time whatsoever, so I cook with no boil lasagna noodles. Just layer the veggies, cheese and sauce and it’s delicious. Usually I add a ricotta/egg layer, but I wasn’t in the mood for creamy lasagna. The three cheeses in the dish were sharp provolone, mozzarella and parmesan.

Thursday: Zucchetta Vichyssoise

Cold potato, leek and squash soup with cream… this stuff is so delicious. It tastes extra zippy with a little Sriracha chili sauce (www.huyfong.com/no_frames/sriracha.htm), but I like this chili sauce in all cream soups—except for clam chowder. The recipe I use is adapted from an Ina Garten recipe (www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/z...). My modifications include the substitution of white pepper for black, light cream for heavy, and zucchetta for zucchini. I also peeled my veggies and ran them through the food processor rather than a food mill because I lacked the time to mill.

Friday: Well-deserved break from squash

Saturday: Family have asked me to make zucchini bread, which I plan to do once I'm done typing.

This week's goal is to make zucchetta chocolate cake, minestrone soup and fried zucchetta and potato pancakes (kartoffel puffer style for my Lower Saxony man). We'll see if it turns out to be too much squash for one family. Then there's the giveaway box at the community garden...