Labor Day – The tradition of end-of-summer picnics may not be possible in your area of the country, due to the seemingly never-ending heat. Where I live in the Midwest we have experienced a heat index for many days of 100+ degrees. Ugh!
I will enjoy the three-day weekend, especially since a daughter is flying home for a visit. We may continue to stay inside, but we have plans to spend time with friends, chat, and relax on sofas watching old Romcoms. They don’t make movies like ‘While You Were Sleeping’ anymore! Why not?
As my daughter is vegetarian, I’m happy to have made her a perfect salad that I may indulge in as well. It is full of vegetables with a ‘clean-out-the-refrigerator’ vibe.
What I mean is, almost anything chopped or diced could be added/ substituted to the dish.
For example, 1 cup of celery could be substituted for 1 cup of cabbage. A chopped hard-boiled egg could be added as well as raisins and maybe grated cheddar cheese or cooked chicken for protein. Tailor it for your own tastes!
I found this recipe for Zucchini Macaroni Salad in ‘Garden’s Way Zucchini and Other Squash Cookbook’ from 1977. It is a paperback in good condition with approximately 140 pages. This is the first recipe I’ve made from this cookbook. It won’t be the last!
This cookbook is also special as it is the 100th one I’ve cooked from during the past three years!
Back then, I only had a dozen or so cookbooks, none vintage. Since then, I’ve grown the collection to several hundred—it fills a room in my home. Most were purchased from online auctions.
I like the look of so many books in my house—It makes me feel like I have my own library!
Yes, it’s messy as I’m constantly digging through the books for a good recipe to post here.
Yes, I’m not being diligent and refiling the cookbooks from where I found them. It is summer and I’m trying to spend as much time out of the house (when it’s safe from excessive heat) with friends/activities as possible before cold weather sets in. I plan to re-organize the library this winter. I actually enjoy that part.
Meanwhile, I’m celebrating the blog I’ve maintained, offering dozens (hundreds?) of vintage recipes for you to try that are not too complicated and don’t require fancy kitchen equipment. Just encouraging you to get your hands in there to try a new dish and maybe save money by fixing a meal, rather than dine out.
Of course, the best thing about baking is the chance to offer it to others. I find great fulfillment in that.
I hope you have a good Labor Day weekend and enjoy yourselves.
Take care,
My Notes:
- I won’t lie—prep on this dish is lengthy with all of the chopping. Use a food processor to speed up the chopping. I hand chopped the zucchini, green pepper and onion. That’s the hard work done! Just mix and chill.
- The recipe mentioned using elbow macaroni. Rotini with its spiral shape is another great option that adds a fun look to the salad.
- Try using plain yogurt, instead of mayonnaise or sour cream.
- The recipe suggested dishing the salad on top of a lettuce leaf. Another option is to mound all seven cups on a plate and supply tongs for serving. I completed the look by adding tomato wedges around edges. Aren’t they gorgeous!
Zucchini Macaroni Salad
2 cups summer squash, diced– unpeeled
3 cups shell macaroni, cooked
2 cups cabbage, shredded
1 cup carrots, shredded
½ cup green pepper, chopped
3 Tablespoons onion, minced
1 cup mayonnaise, sour cream or yogurt
2 Tablespoons lemon juice
1.5 teaspoons sugar
1.5 teaspoons dry mustard
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon dill seed
Combine all ingredients.
Mix well.
Sprinkle with dill seed.
Serve chilled on leaf lettuce.
Yield: 12 servings
Vintage Eats of Kayleen Reusser 
Leave a comment