Summer zucchini soup

There is a lot of zucchini in the fridge, and to be honest, I don't like it - both zucchini and the fact that it is taking over not one, not two, but THREE vegetable drawers.

I decided to get rid of all of it at once by making a soup. And despite my dislike for zucchini, in soup form, it's actually pretty mild and tasty. I started off with a recipe I found online. To be honest, though, that one is a little bland, so I started adding pretty much whatever I could find (and I found some pretty random stuff ... not as random as what went into the gross omelet I made last night, but still pretty random).

The original recipe is incredibly simple - just zucchini, onions, garlic, milk, cream, broth salt and pepper. I decided to go for 2% and skim milk since that is what we had in the fridge. I'm sure it would be even tastier with milk and cream ... And as for adding random seasonings, I'd advise dividing the soup in half before doing so. This way, if you add a little too much seasoning, you have the other half of the soup to cut the flavor. And if whatever you add turns out really gross, you can chuck it and just eat the unseasoned half.

A final note: this soup can be eaten hot or cold.

Summer zucchini soup - Make 4-6 servings

• 5-6 medium-sized zucchini, chopped into one-inch cubes
• 1/2 white onion, chopped
• 1 shallot, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/4 cup good olive oil
• 1/2 cup chicken or beef broth (preferably home-made ... it really does make a difference)
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• Pepper to taste
• 2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1 heaping tsp hot sauce (such as Dea Harissa)
• 1 tbsp ground red sumac
• 3/4 cup 2% milk
• 1/4 cup skim milk

1. Heat a skillet with olive oil. When it is hot, add the shallot, garlic and onion. Saute until the onion is slightly translucent and then add the zucchini. Turn the heat down to medium or medium-low and cook the zucchini for about 10 minutes, or until it is soft and well-flavored.

2. In a blender, puree the zucchini and broth until nearly smooth. Then add and blend the milks, salt, and pepper.

3. At this point, I would recommend dividing the soup in half - both because it's probably too much for the average blender and so that you have some leeway when it comes to seasoning. Leaving half of the soup in the blender, add the sumac, Worcestershire sauce and hot sauce (this is optional and you should add it to taste). Next, begin adding back the other half of the soup until you are happy with the level of seasoning. I like this technique because if you don't like the seasonings, you always have the other half of the soup to work with.

4. Enjoy with some fresh, crusty bread.