Zuchinni

Summer is here. That means Zucchini. I love Zucchini. I love how prolific it is. How reliable, how versatile. I was very sad to come home from our crazy month on the road and to see that both my zucchini plant and my yellow summer squash plants had been eaten to dust by squash bugs. Never fear, there is always zucchini to be had somewhere.

My parents took a motorcycle ride to Montana for a week and left me in charge of caring for their chickens and her garden while they were gone. Rick volunteered to check on the chickens on his way home from work every day, and not wanting to overwhelm him, I decided that I could go check on the garden a couple times during the week, well, I FORGOT. Saturday had arrived and I went to tend to my duties for the last time. As I was watching the chickens, my gaze landed upon my parents' lovely garden, and oh, how many red tomatoes there were. And then it hit me! So I spent the next hour harvesting tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers of every size, and 3 zucchini. 2 of them were large, but still edible, and the third? I don't know if I have ever seen a zucchini that big. I laid all of the fruits out on a table, put the large sized evidences of my neglect in a couple grocery bags, left the tomatoes, small cucumbers, and zucchini, and headed home.

With the zucchini the size of a small child in my fridge, I began to look for ways to cook it. We have tried 3 new zucchini recipes this summer that we've all liked that I thought I would share.

The first 2 recipes I tried on the same day. A main course and a dessert. Both were a hit. The main course was called Spaghetti Zucchini Bake. I actually doubled this recipe and froze the other half. I just unthawed it, topped it with cheese and cooked it. It worked out great!

Spaghetti Zucchini Bake (serves 8)

1 lb Penne or Macaroni Pasta

1 1/2 lb Italian Sausage, cooked and cut in to bite sized pieces or Meatballs (I used hamburger)

2 cans 14 oz Diced Tomatoes

1-2 cans mushrooms (optional. I opted OUT)

1 can Tomato Paste

1/4 C. Dehydrated onions, hydrated

1-2 cloves of Garlic

4-5 C Zucchini, cut into large chunks

1 t. Oregano

2 t. Basil

2 C. Mozzarella Cheese, grated (I used cheddar)

Salt to Taste

1. Cook your pasta in boiling water until tender.

2. combine diced tomatoes, mushrooms, tomato paste, hydrated onions, garlic, oregano, and basil in large pot. Heat to boiling and simmer for 5-10 minutes.

3. While the noodles are cooking, grill Italian sausage.

4. Place zucchini chunks in a bowl and microwave for 3 minutes (just to cook them slightly).

5. Add zucchini and meat to sauce and simmer for 5 minutes. Add in noodles and 1 C of cheese and stir. If you don't want to heat up your oven just place remaining cheese on the table for people to top theirs with.

6. Place Spaghetti Zucchini Bake in a 9x13 casserole dish and top with remaining cheese. Place under broiler until cheese is melted. Make sure and watch it so the cheese doesn't burn.

The dessert we had that night was

Death by Chocolate, Zucchini Cake (one 8" pan)

1/2 C. Brown Sugar

1/4 C. White Sugar

1/4 C. Butter

1/4 C. Oil (or Applesauce)

2 Eggs (if you're doubling the recipe use 3 eggs)- 2 T. dehydrated eggs + 1/4 C. Water

1 t. Vanilla

1/4 C. Buttermilk-3/4 T. Dry powdered milk + 1/4 C. Water + 1/4 T. lemon juice or white vinegar, let stand for 5 minutes before adding to the recipe

1 1/4 C. Whole Wheat Flour

1/2 t. allspice

1/2 t. cinnamon

1/2 t. salt

2 t. baking soda

3 T. cocoa

2 C. Zucchini, grated

1/2 C. Chocolate Chips

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 325.

2. Cream brown sugar, white sugar, butter and oil together in large bowl.

3. Add eggs vanilla and buttermilk and stir well to mix.

4. In a separate bowl mix remaining dry ingredients together and add to mixture.

5. Fold in grated zucchini.

6. Pour into greased, floured 8 inch round cake pan or 8x8 pan.

7. Sprinkle the top of cake with chocolate chips and bake at 325 for 30-35 minutes or until inserted toothpick comes out clean.

The one we had last night was called

Zucchini Cakes

1 large zucchini

1/2 c. seasoned bread crumbs

1 heaping Tbsp. minced garlic

1/2-3/4 c. Italian cheese blend (I used half queso fresco and half cheddar)

1-2 eggs

a pinch of kosher salt

olive oil

black pepper

Chop the ends off the zucchini and then use a cheese grater to shred it. Place the shredded zucchini in a clean towel and squeeze out the liquid (VERY IMPORTANT. I even ended up putting mine in a strainer as I was cooking to continue to let the moisture out). I was very surprised how much came out. Next place the semi-dry zucchini in a large bowl. Add the garlic, bread crumbs, cheese, 1 egg and salt and pepper then stir with a fork (I used 3 eggs. I liked a firmer texture). If mixture is to dry, add another egg. If it is too dry, the mixture will fall apart when you try to cook it. In a frying pan, heat olive oil on medium heat. Use enough oil to cover the bottom of the pan by about 1/4". When the oil is hot, drop the zucchini batter by large spoonfuls into the pan and then flatten with the back of the spoon. Cook for about 2 minutes on each side or until golden brown. The PW recommends serving these with Ranch dressing for dipping sauce, of which I had none last night, so we ate without and they were still fabulous on their own.