Zucchini Runneth Over 'n Stuff

Saw some lovely zucchini at the Green City Market a couple weekends ago that I thought would be a good experiment. I rather enjoy buying zucchini because it means you can heft and compare the weights of each squash to find the freshest and I think that makes you look cool and discerning. Because how one looks while buying produce is waaaaaay more important than actually taking the time to buy and prepare yummy dishes with said produce.
Anyhow, the traditional zukes got used in a batch of zucchini bread from Cook's Illustrated's "Best Light Recipe." This is definitely rivaling their food processor carrot cake as my favorite quick bread recipe. Ever. I brought a couple mini loaves over to Rob and Beth's 4th o' July Barbeque n' Boccie Bonanza. There are still a few green and yellow 8-ball zucchinis to use up. I am envisioning some sort of stuffed squash dish with quinoa or wheat berry pilaf.
I also made Jeremy Jackson's Little Meatballs with Sour Cherries for the bonanza and it was pretty tasty. I got the ground lamb from Mint Creek Farms from the aforementioned market and picked up more sour cherries there too. I'd just finished reading about meat practices etc in "How to Eat" and so was pretty happy to be able to get some nice, true grass-fed, hormone free, locally grown lamb. It was pretty darn tasty and, I think, had a slightly less gamey flavor than lamb I've had in restaurants. But that might also be due to the liberal cinnamoning of the dish. Or the drive-by nutmeging.
On a final interesting food note, I learned to make risotto from brown sweet rice at a Christmas party at Chef Paul W.'s house. Finally got some at the Korean Mart this weekend when I went to pick up honey powder and made a nice spicy garlicky brown rice risotto for dinner which went really well with a quick garlic chive and shrimp stir-fry. Mmmm.
And if you ever get a chance to try Ace Fermented Perry Cider (pear cider) this or any summer, do by all means. It's tasty. I'm no fan of hard cider and I can't stop drinking this stuff - not too sweet and a good depth of flavor. Really tastes like pear.