Wednesday, August 19, 2009

what to do with all this zucchini?!?!

Hello Friends,
So when Marco returned with one fat yellow zucchini and announced that it was a challenge to bake something delicious with it, I thought "no, prob." Now that I've already baked one large chocolate zucchini cake, one batch of chocolate chip oatmeal zucchini cookies, and Marco and Erika have used a good chunk, I'm wondering what the H else we can do with it. I've included below some recipes I've come across (from this great website called "Closet Cooking in TO"), as well as the recipe for the cake and cookies. Enjoy, and best of luck!
P.S. Last summer my parents had an over abundance of zucchini, and my mom grated some for me and froze it, and it was splendid to have throughout the winter for cooking and baking.

Chocolate Zucchini Cake
This is a recipe passed down from my mom and grandma. Don't worry—the zucchini gets drowned out by the chocolate, and you don't even know you're eating a vegetable.
i find this cake doesn't even need icing--it's perfect just the way it is. just like you.

1/2 cup butter or margarine (I ommitted this and just added 1/2 cup more zucchini)
1/2 cup veg. oil
1 3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup milk or soy milk
2 1/2 cup flour
4 tbsp cocoa
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup choc chips
2 cups zucchini

Preheat oven to 325°F. Grease a 9 x 13 pan and set aside. Cream together butter, oil and sugar until smooth. Beat in egg and vanilla. Add milk. In a separate bowl (or on top of the wet mixture if you're lazy like me and don't like doing ANY more dishes than you have to) mix together flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, and cinnamon. Add dry mixture to wet mixture, and then throw in the chocolate chips and zucchini. Taste the batter as much as you like--it's delicious! Pour batter into pan, and bake for approximately 35 minutes, or until a knife comes out clean. Enjoy!!!
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Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Banana* Cookies
* I have learned by experimenting with this recipe that zucchini is a grand substitute for banana in baking!!

Heat oven to 375 & Lightly grease a baking sheet.

Stir together in bowl:
1 C. flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp ginger (optional)

Add:
1 C. brown sugar (packed)
1 C. rolled oats

Mix in thoroughly:
1 tsp. vanilla
1/4 C. vegetable oil
2 Tbsp vanilla soy milk
1/4 C. mashed banana

Stir in:
1/4 C. chocolate chips

Bake for about 12 minutes, then cool on the sheet a minute before transferring to a rack. Enjoy!

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Corn and Zucchini Quesadillas

(makes 1 quesadilla)

Ingredients:
1 ear corn (grilled and kernels cut from cob)
1 small zucchini (grated, squeezed and drained)
1 jalapeno pepper (chopped)
1 green onion (sliced)
1 handful cilantro (chopped)
1 teaspoon cumin (toasted and ground)
1 lime (juice)
2 tortillas
1 handful cheese (grated, cheddar cheese and/or monterey jack cheese)

Directions:
1. Mix the corn, zucchini, jalapeno, green onion, cilantro, cumin and lime.
2. Melt a touch of butter in a pan.
3. Place a tortilla into the pan.
3. Sprinkle some cheese on the tortilla followed by corn and zucchini mixture and top with more cheese and finally the other tortilla.
4. Cook until the quesadilla is golden brown on both sides and the cheese is melted. (I placed a plate onto the quesadilla and flipped it from the pan to the plate and then slid it back into the pan.)
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Parmesan Crusted Baked Zucchini Sticks with Marinara Sauce

(makes 4 appetizer sized servings)

Ingredients:
1/2 cup bread crumbs (I used panko)
1/2 cup parmigiano reggiano (grated)
1 teaspoon oregano
1 pound zucchini/courgettes (sliced into sticks and pat dry)
salt and pepper to taste
1 egg (lightly beaten)

Directions:
1. Mix the bread crumbs, parmigiano reggiano and oregano in a bowl.
2. Season the zucchini with salt and pepper.
3. Dip the zucchini in the egg and then dredge in the bread crumb mixture.
4. Place the zucchini on a baking sheet in a single layer with the skin side down.
5. Bake in a preheated 425F oven until golden brown, about 20-25 minutes.

1 comment:

Bright Smile said...

I made the quesadilla recipe on Sunday night and it was GREAT!