Stewed Zucchini

This is a really simple recipe, with few ingredients, but very healthy, and very tasty. I love it. It's a great dish to make when you're overwhelmed with fresh tomatoes at the peak of tomato season.

A handy little tip for those extra tomatoes in the summer: Wash them, core them, and then freeze them in a Ziploc bag. When you want some tomatoes in soup, or for this sauce, take out the amount of tomatoes you need and let them sit on the counter for at least 6 hours. When they've softened up some, the skins will slip right off, and you can add them to a soup, or make a fresh tasting sauce off season. You can also throw them straight from the freezer into the soup, and in about 3 minutes you'll be able to slip the skins off.

Stewed Zucchini

About 7 little zucchinis (you can adjust this by how much zucchini you want, I like a lot)

6-8 large tomatoes

1 small onion

garlic

salt to taste

1/8 cup chopped fresh basil*

Slice the zucchinis in half the long way, then chop into pieces about 1/4 inch thick. Saute the onion in a little olive oil until translucent, then add the tomatoes. Cook until they start to soften and get a little saucy, then add the zucchini. Cook until the zucchini is tender. If desired, you can cook the tomatoes until they start to thicken, then add the zucchini and cook until tender. I cheated the other day added half a can of tomato paste to help it thicken, because I didn't give myself enough time to let it thicken on its own. If you're going to cook it until it gets thick, it will take about 2 hours to boil off enough liquid. Season to taste, and serve over noodles and top with fresh grated parmesan. I used dried homemade style noodles that I just got at Wal-Mart (oh the shame! ) and they were actually really good noodles. Tomorrow I'll post a homemade noodle recipe that I made with my sister a couple months ago and they were really good (but a lot of work).

*Another fresh tip. To have fresh basil all year, harvest several cups of leaves and wash them. Put them in food processor and grind to desired fineness. Scoop into clean ice cube tray, and pack firmly. Place in freezer. Once the cubes are solid, remove them from the tray and put them in a Ziploc bag. Voila! Fresh basil all year! Just take a cube out and throw it into whatever you're making. It melts in a matter of minutes, and you get the fresh taste of basil all year long.