I was lucky enough to be the gifted with yellow squash and zucchini - both with hard skins and quite large . Here is what I did with them today .

What better thing to do on a blisteringly hot day ( 100 degrees ) than to crank up the oven and bake ! Yes , I am nuts ! I used two larger yellow squash to make a quiche and a large green zucchini to make zucchini bread - really more like a sweet cake . As my husband said , I think I hurt myself eating it all. These were so good that we had second helpings and he even went back for thirds . Here are the recipes that I sort of made up . I'd be interested to hear your modifications and improvements to the recipes . Enjoy !

Don's Yellow Squash Quiche

1 Pillsbury piecrust

1 pkg frozen or fresh spinach

2 medium to large yellow squash

oil - 1 Tbs. or so

1 large yellow onion - chopped

fresh chopped garlic - to taste

( I used 6 cloves )

1 16 oz . container cottage cheese .

1 cup milk- ( I used Smart Balance fat free )

4 eggs ( I used Eggbeaters )

2 tsp salt

2 tsp pepper

nutmeg - optional

Fit piecrust into pieplate . Line with foil and weigh with beans or weights . Bake at 425 for 10 minutes . Remove foil and weights and cool . Optional - brush with spicy mustard .

If using frozen spinach - squeeze dry . I used three large handfuls of fresh spinach .

Add oil to pan . When hot add chopped onion . Stir . When slightly cooked ( 3 minutes ) add chopped squash . Stir . Cook 3 minutes . Add spinach and finely chopped garlic . Stir . Season to taste . Cover and cook until the fresh spinach is wilted . Remove from burner .

In a bowl , add cottage cheese , stir in milk and eggs . Add a little more salt and pepper to taste . Add a large spoonful of the veggie mixture . Stir and keep adding until it is all incorporated into the milk mixture . Carefully pour into pastry shell . Do not be surprised if a little filling is leftover .

Bake at 375 . Check after 45 minutes . Could take one hour total . Shield crust with foil collar to prevent excessive browning . Let stand 10 to 15 minutes before serving .

Don's double the Zucchini Bread

Use a very large mixing bowl for this !

Mix :

3 cups flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

3 tsp cinnamon

Stir together and add to dry mixture :

3 cups sugar

4 eggs ( I used Eggbeaters )

1 cup canola oil

1 Tbs vanilla

1 tsp salt

Add 6 ( yes , six ! ) cups grated large dark green zucchini , 1 cup coconut , 2 cups chopped nuts ( I used walnuts ) . Stir mixture well . Carefully pour into 3 regular size loaf pans or 5 to 6 small pans that have been sprayed or oiled first . Bake at 375 . Check after 45 minutes . Test during cooking using a wooden chop stick . May take as long as one hour . Cool on racks for 30 minutes . Wrap and store any left - if you haven't eaten them all ! Even better topped with vanilla ice cream . You would never know this contained zucchini !