Summer Squash for Wintertime

Ah, the annual summer squash glut.  This particular lovely harvest is by way of a friend, as my squash has sadly succumbed to invasion by the dreaded stink bug and poor pollination.  But any way you look at it, gifted or homegrown, summer squash is a delightful problem.  I've eaten loads in various incarnations, but there comes a point where it won't keep any longer.  In the past, I'd shredded and frozen it...and consigned it to a sad slow death by freezer burn.

So this year, I decided: I was going to slice it up thinly using my vintage, $1 deal mandolin, and dry it.

After a few hours in the dehydrator (set up on the porch to keep from heating up the house too much), I should have a batch of dried summer squash that can be added to wintertime soups and stews, or rehydrated by a soak in hot water and made into a summery gratin come January, when "fresh" zucchini costs an arm and a leg, and is anything but local.  I think some people even season it and eat them as chips...well, in a pinch, I suppose they would work for that.  But for me, I'm looking forward to adding them to winter soup.