Zucchini Two Ways

Last night was all about zucchini.  I had found a recipe for zucchini soup that looked promising so I headed to Fairway on my lazy Sunday to pick up the ingredients.  I assumed I would end up with some extra zucchini so I picked up a few additional ingredients to try out a fun zucchini appetizer.

The soup was easy to make: I sauteed shallots and zucchini in a soup pot until tender and then simmered in stock and water with dill and parsley.  I pureed it and stuck it in the fridge to start chilling while I set to work on the appetizer.  I took the extra zucchini and sliced it thin on a mandolin.  I then seasoned it slightly and roasted it in the oven for about 20 minutes.  While it was getting nice and pliable in the oven, I mixed together goat cheese, lemon zest, and basil.  I spread the goat cheese filling on each zucchini strip and rolled them up into cute little pinwheels.  It hit me that these little scrolls are great at room temperature and the filling can be made in advance so they would be perfect for bringing to a party.  I'll remember that one for later.  By the time I was done with my appetizer, my soup had chilled so I removed it from the fridge and stirred in some salt, pepper, and greek yogurt.

I am surprised that I was satisfied with an all vegetarian dinner like this, but after spending the whole weekend eating takeout and beer, lighter fare was exactly what I wanted.  Also, since it's Labor Day weekend and Summer is officially coming to a close, I wanted to take advantage of all the herbs that really make Summer cooking special.