Squash

When a generous garnish of pesto gets stirred in, the soup turns a vibrant green and becomes perfumed with the intense and sweet aroma of basil mixed with garlic.

Preparing the zucchini for this dish won't heat up your kitchen — simply salting thin slices is enough to tenderize them. Active time: 30 min Start to finish: 30 min

Butternut squash and a variety of beans give this vegetarian dish its hearty texture.

Only native Californians like two wine-making friends of mine in Salinas can regularly throw together a vegetable chili such as this utilizing their almost year-round abundance of fresh vegetables and herbs. For those of us with seasonal gardens, various substitutions often have to be made (canned tomatoes, dried herbs, and the like), but such is the availability almost everywhere today of certain fresh produce even in the coldest months that no imaginative cook should have much trouble concocting a very tasty vegetable and bean chili according to this basic recipe. One advantage, by the way, of using a 28-ounce can of tomatoes with their juices instead of the fresh is that most likely you won't have to add any water to keep the chili slightly soupy.

Serve one of these loaves the day you make them. Wrap the other in foil and freeze up to one month so that you'll have it on hand for unexpected company.

Here's a new take on calabacitas, a traditional Mexican side dish with zucchini, onions and peppers.

At Vong in New York the lobster is rolled in paper-thin strips of daikon radish. Zucchini, which is much easier to find, is used here; its more flexible and easier to cut.