August is zucchini time, whether you are ready or not. It gets worse in September. There is a limit to how many one family can use. Friends' eyes glaze over when they see you coming with a bag of something. I know. There was a time years ago when I had too much zucchini. I was in a quandary as to how to use them. I wasn't on the farm anymore. There were no hogs to feed. They would have loved zucchini, but we hadn't even heard of zucchini in those days. I certainly wouldn't have known how to spell such a foreign word - "zucchini."

Do you have any idea how big a zucchini can get? Huge! Jack-o-lantern size! That year my kids were young enough to be excited about Halloween. I didn't have a pumpkin, but boy, oh, boy, did I have zucchini! There were six monstrous zucchinis, all green and ugly, in my garden. I put a layer of newspapers on my kitchen table and addressed the zucchini. You know what I mean. Their time had come. I determined which side would be the face, then cut a trap door in their back-side. After removing the seeds, I drew eyes, nose and mouth on the front. Not bad! I placed a small candle in the bottom, lit the candle and closed the back door. Not bad at all! I approached the next zucchini and the next and the next. We had green jack-o-lanterns that year, lined up on our front steps for all the world to see.

Nowadays, without a garden, I welcome a gift of zucchini or summer squash. Of course, Food City sells them, but garden fresh tastes better. Zucchini can be sliced, dipped in egg, dredged in flour and fried. I do that. Zucchini can be made into delicious zucchini bread. I do that. It can be cut crosswise into two boats, filled with a meat and/or cheese mixture and baked. I do that, too. I like zucchini pancakes. Here is my recipe.

ZUCCHINI PANCAKES
1/2 cup plain flour
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
2 eggs, separated
2 cups shredded zucchini
Oil

In medium bowl, mix together flour, salt, pepper egg yolks and zucchini. In another bowl, beat egg whites with hand mixer until stiff. Fold into zucchini mixture. Drop by heaping tablespoons into about 1/4 inch hot oil in skillet. Over medium heat, brown on both sides. Serve immediately. Makes about 15 Zucchini Pancakes.
Note: Yellow summer squash would work, too.