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Overwhelmed with overgrown zucchinis?  Here’s something that’s virtually effortless, endlessly versatile, and practically imperishable. You need a dehydrating system, but even an oven on very low heat with door slightly open will do.

SUMMER  SQUASH  FLOUR

Summer squash flour can be used as a nutritious thickener in soups and sauces, and a substitute for some of the flour in baked goods. It will enrich the flavor of anything, without changing it.

Slice zucchini or yellow summer squash fairly thinly — a consistent size whatever you choose. The thicker they are, the longer they take to dry but the less space they’ll take up while they’re drying.  If the squash are overgrown and have seeds, include the seeds, but remove any tough rind, it will never soften in cooking once it’s been dehydrated. 

When the slices are crispy, toss them in the blender and process to a powder. If you can’t process them right away, they may need a bit of re-crisping in the dehydrator before powdering, depending on what the weather’s been.

I always wait and powder the whole season’s slices at once, it’s less cleanup after.

IMPORTANT: Keep blender tightly covered and then let the dust settle for a few minutes before transferring to a glass storage container. Or don’t wait;  transfer outdoors so the dust doesn’t get all over.

Like a grain flour, if adding squash flour to a liquid it will disperse more quickly if introduced to some warm fat first, though it isn’t absolutely necessary. Allow at least a half hour for the flour to rehydrate fully in a soup type dish, whether or not you pre-mixed it with fat.

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Laurie Goodhart and her husband co-founded and operated two certified organic artisanal goat fromageries, Nettle Meadow in Warrensburg, NY from 1990 to 2005 and Domaine De Courval in Waterville, Quebec from 2006 to 2017. She created and trademarked the multiple award-winning cheese, Kunik. For more about her how her life experience brought her to develop time-saving ways to eat as much nutrient-dense food from her local environment as possible, see this previous post

Goodhart lives in upstate NY and continues her work as a professional artist and avid home gardener. Since 2007 she has devoted most of her studio time to an extensive body of work collected under the concept, Remnants And Residents Of A Lost Sanctuary Of Aphrodite.

Laurie can be reached through her website, lauriegoodhart.net