Wednesday, July 13, 2005

I had been warned by several people regarding the proliferation of zucchini plants. The thought of zucchini bread and zucchini fries overtook my senses though and I planted three of them.

Everyday we are picking two off the vines. I made the first batch of zucchini bread and - it - used - only - one - zucchini. We are going to be eating a lot of zucchini bread.

25 comments:

  1. Epicurious.com has a really great recipe for chocolate zucchini cake. There are two recipes, the one with the buttermilk is the best. It is super-duper rich and a very tasty way to use up zucchini.
    angel

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  2. I can sympathize. Here's a recipe for zucchini nut bars that was described as "another recipe to use up those pesky zucchini." They're very yummy and made a great breakfast treat for everybody at work!
    1 cup honey
    1/4 cup butter
    3 eggs
    1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
    1 teaspoon baking powder
    3/4 cup grated zucchini
    1 cup chopped walnuts
    1 cup dates, pitted and chopped
    1 pinch salt
    1/3 cup sifted confectioners' sugar
    1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 9x13 inch baking pan.
    2. Melt the butter over low heat. In a large mixing bowl, combine the butter, honey and eggs. Beat well.
    3. Stir in the flour, salt and baking powder and mix well. Mix in zucchini, dates and walnuts until well blended.
    4. Spread mixture into baking pan and bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until lightly brown. Cut into 1 x 3 inch long pieces, and roll in confectioners' sugar while still warm.

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  3. You can also shred them, pat them dry, and make pancakes with them (like potato pancakes, but greener and healthier!). Very, very tasty, especially if you also shred in a little onion.

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  4. It sounds like you might have to celebrate "Sneak Some Zucchini Onto Your Neighbor's Porch Night" on August 8! Have you cook just the blossoms? Stuffed with cheese, light battered and fried - so yummy!

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  5. We make "poor man's crab cakes" to help use up zucchini. There are various recipes out there but here is what I use.

    2 cups grated zucchini (I use a little more)
    2 beaten eggs
    1 cup seasoned bread crumbs
    2 Tbsps mayo/miracle whip
    2 tsp Old Bay seasoning
    Mix everything together, shape into patties and fry in some olive oil.

    I don't like zucchini but I like these!

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  6. I am VERY excited about these zucchini recipes!

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  7. Aaaa! We planted three zucchini plants, too, and now I'm afraid!

    I grate it and mix it with shredded cheddar, onion, salt and pepper and a dash of worchestershire, and broil it on toast. Mmn. I forsee that meal in our future, now. A lot.

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  8. You can also shred however much you need for zucchini bread, then freeze it. Thanw it in the winter to make more zucchini bread!

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  9. The fabulous zucchini crisp!

    Crust:
    4 cups flour
    2 cups sugar
    .5 tsp. salt
    .75 lbs. butter or margarine

    Filling:
    7 c. seeded, peeled, sliced zucchini
    .66 c. lemon juice
    1 c. sugar
    .25 tsp. nutmeg
    1.5 tsp. cinnamon

    Preheat oven to 375 F. Prepare the crust: combine flour,
    sugar and salt in a bowl. Cut in the butter or margarine until it resembles coarse meal. Divide in half. Press half the mixture in the bottom of a greased 9 x 13 inch
    baking pan. Save the other half for later. Blind bake for about ten minutes,then remove from oven and set aside.
    In a sauce pan, cook the zucchini uncovered in lemon juice until
    tender, about 10 minutes. Add the sugar, nutmeg and only 1 tsp. of
    the cinnamon. Simmer for about a minute then add a half cup of the
    saved crust mixture. Simmer until thickened, stirring constantly.
    Let cool. Pour over the blind baked crust.
    Mix 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon with the rest of the crust mixture, spread on top. Some chopped nuts or a little crystallized ginger is nice, too. Bake for 35-45 minutes, or until lightly browned.
    This will taste almost like apples, and is a great way to get rid of the green beasts that have taken over your yard.

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  10. my sister has an awesome zucchini quiche recipe, i can get it for you if you would like. definitely go the "shred it and freeze it" route if you have room in the freezer. eating zucchini bread and quiche in the winter is like having a little taste of summer. the yummy food part of summer, not the hot, sticky part of summer.

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  11. mmmm - i love zucchini bread.
    and chocolate zucchini cake.
    and zucchini bread w/ chocolate chips.

    have fun!!

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  12. I love zucchini. Here's one thing we do with it ... take your mandoline or box grater and grate a bunch up. For two of us we use 4 zucchini (or a mix of zucchini and yellow squash). Put them in a collander and salt them. Leave them for about 30 min and then squeeze the excess water out. Sautee in a pan with some butter until they've gotten nice and bright and a little less crunchy. They make a sort of spaghetti-like consistency, very very yummy!!

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  13. I have already made 6 loaves of zucchini bread this season. And I have two zucchinis sitting on my counter that are as big as my arm. I only have ONE plant. Keep posting recipes though! I plan on using them!

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  14. i adore zucchini. i really just like stirfrying it with olive oil, garlic, salt, & pepper. They do really great on the grill too, just cut them into slices the long way, coat w/ olive oil and put garlic salt and pepper or whatever seasonings you like.

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  15. Zucchini Roma (sort of like half mozzarella sticks & half deep-fried zucch.)(from Dierberg's)

    1 pound Zucch. (about 2 medium)
    2 T butter or margarine
    1/2 cup shredded mozzarella
    1/3 cup Italian-style breadcrumbs
    1/2 t Italian seasoning
    1/4 t salt (I don't use)

    Cut Z. in half lengthwise and slice into 1/2-inch thick slices. In large skillet over medium-high heat, melt butter. Add z. slices; cook until crisp-tender, about 4 minutes. In small bowl, combine remaining ingredients. Top z. with bread crumb mixture. Cover & let stand one minute (so cheese gets melty). Serve immediately.

    If you don't have I-bread crumbs, just use extra I-seasoning. Don't buy I-seasoning special, just use a mix of oregano, thyme, basil, rosemary, garlic, & dill weed, give or take.

    Makes 4-6 servings...or 2 or 3 if you really like Z! Or only one if it's all you have.

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  16. I forgot.

    One zucchini plant will die.
    Two zucchini plants will feed the whole neighborhood.

    So says my F-i-L.

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  17. I make a lot of roasted zucchini, there used to be a recipe but now it's mostly just made by method.

    mix together olive oil, salt, minced garlic, pepper and rosemary. pour that over thinly sliced zucchini and toss. put it under the broiler until it's speckly brown.

    i use obscene amounts of garlic and rosemary.

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  18. Or, just simply slice the zucchini thinly, place in a single layer on a non-stick baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil, parmesan, and black pepper. Broil until golden brown. Delicious and sweet.

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  19. If you just want to use as much Z as you possibly can, make like, 4 double batches of Z bread dough, bake what you want right then, and freeze the rest. Then later you can thaw some and bake it fresh-so your house has that "I just baked" smell. People will come a runnin' and it's easier to give away off season:)

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  20. This is completely unrelated to Zucchini, however I thought you might find this website cute: http://www.bloggator.com/bubuthepug/wordpress/

    Enjoy the pug and the zucchini!

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  21. I LOVE zucchini walnut muffins. Of all places, I used to buy them all the time from the Starbucks near my school. I haven't seen them anywhere else since :(

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  22. My Mum puts pureed zucchini in her spaghetti sauce - you'd never guess it's there, and it adds dietary fibre. I also have an aunt who has an awesome recipe for zucchini relish - another good and yummy way to make use of your abundance of zukes.

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  23. I make these baked zucchini chips which are great!

    2 Medium Zucchini (about 1 pound)
    1/2 Cup Egg Substitute (or 2 Eggs)mixed with 2 Tablespoons Water
    1 Cup Italian Breadcrumbs
    2 Tablespoons Grated Parmesan Cheese
    1/8 teaspoon Pepper
    Cajun Seasoning to taste

    -Preheat oven to 475 degrees.
    -Cut zucchini into thin slices
    -Mix egg substitute with water in a small bowl and set aside.
    -Combine breadcrumbs, parmesan cheese and pepper and Cajun Seasoning in a shallow dish.
    -Dip zucchini into egg mixture then dredge through breadcrumb mixture and place on a baking sheet sprayed with nonstick cooking spray.
    -Bake each side approx. 5-10 minutes or until brown and crispy.

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  24. At my mom's we always had "calabacitas". I know it's zucchini cut into little pieces sort of soupy with cheese, onions, tomatoes, and green chili. I've never made them myself but I'll ask my mom or grandma for the recipe.

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  25. when i was young, my parents planted an entire! bed! of! zucchini! one morning, they busted me in the garden where i was ripping the blossoms off the plants because i was so tired of zucchini at every meal.
    try sarah moulton's fried zucchini blossoms instead; i totally would have saved the blossoms if i knew i could stuff those suckers with cheese and fry 'em.
    www.foodnetwork.com/food/
    recipes/recipe/0,,FOOD_9936_7390,00.html

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