Okay, to start off this zucchini crusade, here are the quickest, easiest, no-fuss ways of cooking zucchini. My most frequent usage of zucchini is to grill ‘em up.

It’s incredibly simple. Slice them into spears and remove the seeds (you don’t necessarily have to if the seeds are small, but I always do anyway). Drizzle them with a little olive oil, season with salt, pepper, and any other spice you desire. Or even just use bottled Italian dressing.

Slap those suckers on the grill until they’re tender, but still a little bit crunchy, and that’s that. It’s surprisingly delicious for such a simple preparation, and makes the perfect accompaniment to any grilled dish.

Another variation is shish kebob. Same tactic, different shape. Add other veggies to the skewers for some variety. Grill marks and squash are friends!

Even simpler yet, you can just steam zucchini. Cut them into little half-moons, steam, season with salt and pepper, maybe a touch of butter, and serve.

Perhaps the simplest way of cooking zucchini is to not bother cooking them at all. Cut ‘em up and eat ‘em raw on salads. Sounds a little weird, but it’s actually a really nice texture and flavor in a salad.

By the way, for almost any recipe calling for zucchini, you can also use yellow squash, though I’m finding that I much prefer the zucchini. The yellow squash we’re getting out of our garden this year seem to have pretty tough skins, so I’ve had to peel them before cooking, which is lame.

Also, a note on seeds. If you’re growing your own zucchini at home, make sure to pick them while they’re small. Smaller zucchs have more flavor, as well as smaller, more tender seeds, and fewer of them.

Anyways, give these simple ideas a try when you don’t feel like fussing in the kitchen. Fortunately, I often do feel like fussing in the kitchen, so there are many more interesting zucchini recipes to come!