What to do with all that Zucchini...

Our garden hasn't put forth a TON of zucchini, rather it has trickled in quite regularly--and for that I am grateful. I remember growing zucchini several years ago and was absolutely overwhelmed by the quantity of it. I REALLY love zucchini bread but can get rather uncontrolled when consuming it, so I tried branching out this year and have been pleasantly pleased with some of those recipes.

Last week, looking for a fairly lowfat bread recipe, I stumbled on a recipe for zucchini cornbread. The zucchini added enough moisture to allow for only 3 T of butter for the whole recipe! Also, I think the secret ingredient is molasses. But, shhhh. I didn't tell you that.

Zucchini Cornbread
1 cup all purpose flour
3/4 cup cornmeal
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 t salt
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 cup buttermilk
1 egg
1 egg white
2 tbsp molasses
3 tbsp butter, melted
1 cup shredded zucchini, with extra moisture squeezed out

Preheat oven to 400F. Lightly grease an 8inch square baking pan.
In a large bowl, whisk together flour, cornmeal, baking powder, baking soda, salt and brown sugar.
In a medium bowl, whisk together buttermilk, egg, egg white, molasses and melted butter until smooth.
Pour buttermilk mixture into the flour mixture. Stir until just combined, add the zucchini and stir to evenly distribute. Pour batter into prepared pan and spread evenly.
Bake for 25-30 minutes, until a tester comes out clean and the bread springs back when lightly pressed.
Allow it to cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then remove the bread to a wire rack.
Makes 9 pieces.

And last week, I roasted a bunch of our veggies: eggplant, zucchini, yellow squash, tomatoes, poblanos, jalapenos, and red peppers. Then Bri pureed them all and mixed them into the sauce and cooked up the meanest spaghetti I have EVER eaten! I am not an exaggerater when it comes to foods so this is a very sincere claim I have just made. The girls ate up without realizing they were consuming several different veggies at once!

And then my mom just sent me this great recipe...I haven't tried it yet, but thought I would post it anyway...my mom's recipes never need to be tested first. She is an awesome cook!

Zucchini Fritters

Ingredients:
2 cups grated zucchini
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp oregano
dash of pepper
1 T grated parmesan cheese
2 tbls parsley
2 eggs
1 cup flour

Directions: Beat all together....fry in olive oil....like hot cakes.....drain on paper towels...Yummy!

Brian and I had a conversation about zucchini the other day. We are not in agreement about whether zucchini bread could be considered a vegetable or not. What's your opinion? Tell us in the poll so that we can resolve this once and for all!