August is a hot time this year. I am wishing for a little rain. The good thing about a hot summer, the fruits and vegetables are amazing. I am finding lots of recipes I want to try but don’t seem to have a lot of time.

This has been the longest summer I can remember, but time is now flying by it seems. I found a few recipes using zucchini and tried a couple. They are both pretty easy to put together; give them a try.

I can feel a change in the air coming; fall is creeping up on us.

Pineapple Cranberry Zucchini Bread

3 eggs

2 cups shredded zucchini

1-cup vegetable oil

1-8 ounce can crushed pineapple, drained

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

3 cups all purpose flour

1 3/4 cups sugar

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon

1-teaspoon salt

1/2-teaspoon baking powder

1 cup chopped nuts

1/2 cup dried cranberries

1/2-cup coconut (optional)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, combine eggs, zucchini, oil, pineapple and the vanilla. In a separate bowl, combine the dry ingredients. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients in a large bowl. Fold in the nuts, cranberries and coconut. Pour into 2 greased 8 in. by 4 in. loaf pans or 3 small loaf pans. Bake 50-55 minutes, smaller pans for 35-40 minutes or until golden brown and toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool. I didn’t use the coconut, and I used coconut oil for half of the vegetable oil.

This recipe was on the Just A Pinch website.

Sweet Corn and Zucchini Pie

4 tablespoons butter

1/2 of a yellow onion, diced

2 ears sweet corn

2 large zucchini, sliced very thin (about 4 cups)

8 ounces mushrooms, sliced thin

1 tablespoon dried basil

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1/2-teaspoon salt

12 ounces shredded cheese (mozzarella, Swiss, pepper jack)

4 eggs, beaten

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Heat the butter in a large, deep skillet or Dutch oven over medium high heat. Add the onions, zucchini and mushrooms. While the vegetables are sautéing, cut the corn kernels off the cob. Add them to the pan and continue to sauté until the vegetables are soft, 5-10 minutes. Remove from the heat.

Once the mixture has cooled for a few minutes, stir in the basil, oregano, salt, cheese and the beaten eggs. Line a pie pan (9 in. or larger) with parchment paper or spray with non stick spray. Transfer the mixture to the pan.

Arrange the top so the zucchini slices lie flat and look nice. Top with a little extra cheese for looks, cover with greased foil and bake for 20 minutes. Remove foil and bake for an additional 5 minutes to brown the top. Let stand to rest for 15 minutes before cutting.

I used a spring form pan. There was a lot of liquid from the mushrooms and zucchini, so I would brown the mushrooms first, then cook the onions and zucchini and then combine and add the corn. This recipe came from the website Pinch of Yum.