Cream of Zucchini Soup

I love this recipe. It is an easy one to pull out frozen zucchini for- or use it fresh from the garden!

1/2 cup butter
3 T. flour
1/2 t. pepper
1 pint cream
2 large or 3 medium zucchini
1 T. dried onion
1 T. parsley flakes
2 chicken bullion cubes
a dash (or two) of cayenne... but that is just because I love cayenne in soup.

Melt butter. Stir in flour and pepper. Blend in cream, whisking until the mixture is smooth. Set aside.
Wash and slice zucchini. put in a large pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil; cook until tender. Drain. Puree with a stick blender or in a stand blender. Add to cream mixture.
Add onion, parsley and bullion. Salt, pepper and cayenne to taste. Heat and serve!

How to Blanch Veggies

If you have a large harvest or aren't sure what to do with all your leftover Bountiful Basket goodies, freeze them for a future meal! In order to keep you veggies tasting like they should, you should blanch them before freezing. Need instructions? Here you go:

Bring a large pot of water to a rapid boil over high heat. Add enough salt so the water tastes faintly salty.

While the water heats, fill a medium bowl about three-quarters full with ice, then add enough cold water to come just to the top of the ice.

When the water is boiling and the ice bath is ready, trim the vegetables to the size you need. It's best to trim them just prior to cooking so they won't oxidize or dehydrate.

Add the vegetables to the boiling water in batches small enough to ensure that the water doesn't lose its boil.

Boil the vegetables only until they're barely cooked through but still tender. To test, remove one piece with a slotted spoon, dip it into the ice bath to cool, and eat it.

As soon as the vegetables are done, remove them as fast as you can and submerge them in the ice bath.

Remove them from the ice bath as soon as they are no longer warm.

To reheat the vegetables, you can use any cooking method you wish, like sautéeing, grilling, or boiling; just make sure to barely heat them up and not to cook them again.