Is therer a way to freeze/preserve summer squash?

[flamin lib]

I'm getting 30-40 lbs a week from the garden. We've had squash soup, squash casserole, stuffed squash, squash fritters, grilled squash, steamed squash, squash & onion salad and squash frittata as well as adding squash to every variety of soup/stew/egg dish. There are only two of us fer crissake.

Shared with family, friends and total strangers.

It occurs to me that it might be nice to carry it over the winter. Any suggestions?

[sinkingfeeling]

1. Sure there is....

http://tlc.howstuffworks.com/home/how-to-freeze-summer-squash.htm

[flamin lib]

3. I'll be boiling water in a few minutes. nt

[uppityperson]

2. Grate it, freeze in cupcake tins, remove frozen blocks, put into bag in freezer. Add to

whatever for the rest of the year.

[flamin lib]

5. Brilliant! nt

[uppityperson]

7. Vegs typically need blanching before freezing but I have done this with summer sq with no blanching

And it lasts for years. For some reason I have difficulty growing this most simple of veggies, but still have three yr old muffins of grated in the freezer.

[Little Star]

4. Make some bread and butter squash pickles....

Canning Granny has a good recipe and they are pretty simple to make. You can even give them for xmas presents when the time comes.
http://canninggranny.blogspot.com/2011/05/canning-bread-and-butter-squash-pickles.html

[flamin lib]

6. Good suggestion, I'll be pickling some squash! nt

[applegrove]

8. My mom used to take the skin off, cut it into cubes, freeze it in serving

size bags. Then she'd boil it and serve it mashed. I hated it!!!!

[The empressof all]

9. Bread and muffins freeze well

Take an afternoon and bake And if all else fails there is always the Santa Claus method. Leave some on your neighbors doorstep!!!!!

[flamin lib]

11. I diidn't know baked goods froze all that well. Worth a try tho. nt

[The empressof all]

12. Surprisingly freezing can improve the texture of cakes.

Many bakers freeze their cakes prior to defrosting and decorating, I do it myself especially if I am making a cake with a "wet" kind of filling like a Cassata that uses a ricotta filling. In fact you reminded me....I should bake in the next few days as my daughter requested one for the end of the month for her birthday.

Before you freeze any baked goods just make sure they are totally cool and you wrap well in plastic wrap.

[japple]

10. See if your local food bank or soup kitchen can use it. There used to be a program

called "plant a row for the hungry," but I don't know if it's still in existence.

Edit to add: I think it's still in existence. http://www.gardenwriters.org/gwa.php?p=par/index.html

[noamnety]

13. dehydrated squash chips are the bomb.

It shrinks everything down into a manageable size, kinda like those as seen on tv vacuum sweater bags.

Season with your choice of salt, lemon juice, balsamic vinegar, etc. Dehydrate and enjoy guilt free chips that are great for munching while watching tv, shoving in lunch boxes, etc.

Just make sure to dry them ALL the way. They hit an unchewable leather stage and you have to get past that to crispy.

[flamin lib]

14. Do you need a dehydrater or can it be done in a low oven? nt

[noamnety]

15. a low oven works.

I've never tried that because I have two dehydrators (about $6 each at thrift shops). But in theory it works: http://www.ehow.com/how_8255203_dehydrate-summer-squash.html

[Retrograde]

16. Squash blossoms are edible

Stuffed with ricotta and fried, or puréed in soup: some careful picking early on keeps the output down.

Otherwise I grate them and freeze them for use in baked goods later

ETA: if they're small you might be able to pickle them