Recipe Edition of Zucchini: The Gift that Keeps on Giving

Because this is a food blog, I suspect you don't just want us to write about how fun it is to eat. "For the love of God," you might cry "What on earth is a zucchini fry and how does one even go about conceptualizing such a thing?!"

So my friends, I give you the following zucchini recipes. Not Kelly originals, but carefully (and sometimes carelessly) edited and tweaked. Kevin can tell you that it takes great restraint on my part not to alter or change any recipe I come across. Some people enjoy the exhilaration and danger of skydiving. Me? I like to add a teaspoon of cinnamon or some mustard powder and see what happens. To each his own, right?

I know, I know. Quit rambling and on with the recipes already!

Zucchini Cake

ingredients:
4 large eggs
2C white sugar
1/3C canola oil
2/3C unsweetened apple sauce (This is a subsitute for oil in an attempt to make a cake that was slightly less evil)
2C all purpose flour
1tsp salt
2tsp cinnamon
2tsp baking powder
8oz canned crushed pineapple, drained
1C chopped pecans (can use walnuts too, I just had pecans on hand)
2C grated zucchini (minimum--if you have more to add, you can back off the pineapple); I do this in my food processor with the shredder blade on clean-up is a bitch, but it sure is fast!
2tsp vanilla extract

directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour a pan. This can be done in a bundt, tube, or 9x13 pan--just have the confidence to change it up AND check on it about 10-15 minutes before the cooking time is up to make sure it doesn't burn. You can also make cupcakes if you so desired!
2. Measure out dry ingredients in a small bowl and whisk a few times to incorporate and break up any lumps, etc. You can also add the nuts to the flour and stir to coat. Coating the nuts before you add them to the batter will keep them from sinking down to the bottom of your cake as it bakes.
3. In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat eggs and sugar until pale in color. Add oil, applesauce and mix again.
4. Add dry ingredients and mix just until flour is incorporated. Add pineapple, zucchini, and vanilla extract. Mix until combined and pour into prepared pan.
5. Bake for about 80 minutes (if using bundt or tube pan) and probably about an hour for the 9x13 pan. Check after 45 minutes. A skewer or toothpick should come out clean when it is done.
6. Decorate with your favorite glaze, frosting, etc. I confess that I was too lazy to make my own, so I used a store bought whipped cream cheese frosting and it was perfectly delicious.

Result: This makes a lot of cake so great for a party or family gathering. Mine was dense because I subsituted applesauce for most of the oil but I liked it because it felt substantial and since it was covered in cream cheese frosting, I wanted every bite to feel like a big one. Ever eaten a piece of cake and it just didn't do it for you? So sad...

Oven Zucchini Fries (an awesome way to eat veggies with your burgers in the summer time)

Ingredients:
2 small/medium zucchini
1 large egg
1C panko bread crumbs
flour
salt
pepper
3/4 tsp onion powder
3/4 tsp garlic powder
non-stick cooking spray

Directions: Preheat oven to 400 degrees F
1. Don't peel, but trim and cut the zucchini into sticks (or I suspect you could probably do rounds if you really wanted to--then they'd be chips!) Season with salt and pepper and put into a ziplock bag. Add 1-2 Tbsp flour to the bag, seal and shake to coat the zucchini sticks with flour. Set aside.
2. In a separate low bowl, beat the egg with a Tbsp or so of water. Set aside. In another separate low bowl, mix breadcrumbs, salt, pepper, onion powder, garlic powder. Set aside.
3. Make an assembly line for yourself starting with the flour dredged zucchini, then the egg, then the bread crumbs. Get a cookie sheet lined with foil and sprayed with non-stick spray ready.
4. Roll the zucchini sticks in the egg mixture, then press in the breadcrumbs so they stick (do the best you can and know that they won't be completely coated, no matter what)
5. Lay the sticks so they do not touch (but close together so as to maximize on pan space) and give a final generous spray of non-stick spray before popping in the oven. This may also be a great time to do a sprinkling of parmesan if you so desired.
5. Bake for abot 20-25 minutes until browned and slightly tender.

Results: a delicious addition to a turkey burger (or regular burger, for that matter). I also made a delicious dipping sauce consisting of horseradish, sour cream, salt, pepper, and a generous pinch or three of ground mustard powder. I was inspired by this great horseradish dipping sauce that is served with the deep fried zucchini fries at one of our favorite pubs near our house. I felt like I was being bad, but without actually being bad. Who needs to be weighed down with badness when there's some summer enjoyment to be had?

Savory Zucchini Cakes (as in Latkes, not as in cupcakes)
ingredients:
2-1/2C grated zucchini
1 beaten egg
2Tbsp melted butter
1C breadcrumbs
1/4C onion, grated (I grated mine in the food processor along with the zucchini)
1 tsp Old Bay (I didn't have this, so I just threw in my garlic powder, salt, pepper, paprika, and that was it since my breadcrumbs were already seasoned)
1/4C flour
Olive Oil
Vegetable Oil

Directions:
1. In a bowl, combine zucchini, beaten egg, and butter. Stir in breadcrumbs, onion, and seasoning. If it is too wet, add additional breadcrumbs. You are looking for something like a meatball consistency.
2. Have the flower in a low bowl. In a non stick skillet heat a small amount of olive oil and an equally small amount of vegetable oil--enough to coat the bottom of the pan. The veg oil will keep the olive oil from burning, but the olive oil is better for you than the veg oil, so you are cutting bad stuff AND increasing the cooking ability of the good stuff. Not a horrible deal.
3. Form the zucchini mixture into patties, dredge patties in the flour. My patties were very wet, so I made very loose balls and pressed them down into the flour. Some people say I have the patience of a saint, so I was able to carefully place the falling apart patties into the pan. Much easier to deal with once one side is golden and fabulous.

Results: Crispy/crunchy on the outside, soft on the inside. Like a crab cake without the crab. Had these with grilled steak and potatoes. YUMMMMMY!

I highly recommend trying these recipes before you give away all of your garden's green lusciousness.