Fun things to do with your zucchini

 

With the summer ripening the fruits of our gardens and local farms, it’s a great time to try a new recipe – or two!  Sunday we picked up a five-pound zucchini and a dozen eggs from one of our local farmers.  I’m guessing the zucchini was five pounds, because it was almost as long as my arm, and it was thicker than my fist at its widest end!  The zucchini was so big that I was able to make both recipes below, and I still have a one-pound chunk for tomorrow night’s meal!

These recipes are fast, easy, and delicious!  Do you have a favorite zucchini recipe?  Please feel welcome to share it in the comments, or give us a link to the recipe online.

Zucchini Bread

Source: Modified from the zucchini bread recipe in Good Housekeeping Great Baking

Ingredients:

1 cup all purpose white flour

1/2 cup all purpose whole wheat flour

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup white granulated sugar

2 1/4 teaspoon baking power

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

dash nutmeg

2 large eggs

1/3 cup vegetable oil

1 medium shredded zucchini

1/2 teaspoon freshly grated orange peel

dash lemon juice

1/4 cup finely chopped walnuts

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour a loaf pan.

2. Blend dry ingredients with a fork.  Make a well in the center and set aside.

3. Combine wet ingredients and sugars and blend thoroughly with a spoon.

4.  Add wet mixture to dry mixture all at once, and stir until just moistened.  Batter should be lumpy/crumbly.

5. Fold in nuts.  Pour batter into loaf pan and bake 1 hour 10 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

6. Remove from oven and let cool in the loaf pan for 10 minutes. Remove from the pan a let cool completely on a wire rack.

Notes: Be creative!  Substitute and add ingredients according to your tastes.

Zucchini Cheese Bake

Source: My Mom (plus my own additions)

Ingredients:

3 cups sliced zucchini or 3 medium zucchini

chopped fresh onion and garlic to taste

fresh garden herbs to taste: parsley, oregano, basil, etc.

1 can prepared cheddar cheese soup (DO NOT ADD WATER)

1/2 cup seasoned bread crumbs (salt, pepper, and whatever else sounds good)

2 tablespoons melted butter

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

2. In a large bowl mix zucchini, onion, garlic, herbs, and cheddar cheese soup.

3. Melt butter and toss with bread crumbs.

4. Add zucchini mixture to a casserole dish.  Top with breadcrumb mixture.

5. Bake uncovered for 30 minutes or until zucchini is tender.  My mom says, “I would poke them after about 20 minutes so they don’t get too overdone.”

Notes: Next time, I plan to start it earlier and try my hand at making my own cheese sauce/soup.

It is unfortunate that I didn’t plan better for the blog post – the zucchini bread was devoured in minutes, and the zucchini bake was eaten just as quickly, so my pictures are limited.  You’ll just have to believe me when I tell you that zucchini was so big I had to hold it with two hands!

 

Happy Cooking!