Zucchini - the Abundant Squash

 

This summer it seems that the zucchini just keeps on going, and going, and going. At least there is an abundance in the produce box I get weekly from our CSA. I've been shredding and freezing zucchini in 2 cup batches as well as making many recipes of zucchini bread, brownies, and the occasional roasted zucchini with other squash. 

In my search for new ideas, I have found two more recipes that are family favorites. Besides enjoying these frequently this summer, we'll be using these a lot this winter as we work through the stash in the freezer! Both recipes are from Taste of Home. 

 ZUCCHINI BROWNIES

 

1 cup butter (2 sticks), softened

1 ½ cups sugar

2 large eggs

½ cup plain yogurt

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour

¼ cup baking cocoa

1 teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon salt

2 cups shredded zucchini

 

Frosting:

2/3 cup semisweet chocolate chips

½ cup creamy peanut butter

 

Directions:

1.    Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until lightly and fluffy, 5 – 7 minutes. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in yogurt and vanilla. In another bowl, combine flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt; gradually add to creamed mixture. Stir in zucchini. 

2.    Pour into a greased 13x9-inch baking pan. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean 35-40 minutes. 

3.    For frosting, in a small saucepan (or in the microwave), combine chocolate chips and peanut butter. Cook and stir over low heat until smooth. If using the microwave, heat in 30 second intervals, stirring to blend frequently. Spread over warm brownies. Cool on a wire rack. Cut into bars. 

 LEMONY ZUCCHINI BREAD

 

4 cups all-purpose flour

1 ½ cups sugar

1 package (3.4 oz) instant lemon pudding mix

1 ½ teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

4 large eggs, room temperature

1 ½ cups 2% milk

1 cup canola oil

3 tablespoons lemon juice

1 teaspoon lemon extract

2 cups shredded zucchini

¼ cup poppy seeds

2 teaspoon grated lemon zest

 

Directions:

1.    In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, pudding mix, baking soda, baking powder and salt. 

2.    In another bowl, whisk the eggs, milk, oil, lemon juice, and extract. Stir into dry ingredients just until moistened. 

3.    Fold in zucchini, poppy seeds, and lemon zest. 

4.    Pour into 2 greased 9x5-inch loaf pans. Bake at 350 degrees for 50-55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. The internal temperature taken with a food thermometer should be 210 degrees. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks to cool completely. 

 

 

 

More Summer Veggies - Cukes

Cucumbers, not something we would choose for a garden produce. But when it came in the CSA package, I was determined to try them in new ways. We've not been fans of cucumbers, but maybe that was because we'd previously just had them sliced raw from a relish plate. I knew I'd had salads from our local restaurant's salad bar that I liked. 
     And we were pleasantly surprised! Not only are cucumbers healthy foods, but these salads are quite tasty. Research shows 7 health benefits of eating cucumbers:
* high in nutrients, low in calories but high in many important vitamins and minerals
* Contain antioxidants
* Promotes hydration
* May aid in weigh loss
* May lower blood sugar
* Could promote regularity
* easy to add to the diet

My favorite of these two recipes is the marinated one, but they are both good and make easy salads that can extend over a few days' meals. 

MARINATED CUCUMBER, TOMATO, ONION SALAD

3 medium cucumbers, peeled and sliced

1 medium onion, sliced into rings

3 tomatoes, cut into wedges

½ cup vinegar

¼ cup sugar

1 cup water

2 tsp. salt

1 tsp. coarsely ground pepper

¼ cup oil

Whisk dressing ingredients together. Pour over prepared vegetables. Refrigerate for 2 hours or more. 

Could add feta cheese just before serving. 

CREAMY CUCUMBER SALAD

½ cup sour cream or ranch dressing or Greek yogurt or a combo

1 T. white vinegar

1 T. minced fresh dill (or 1 tsp. dried)

1 tsp. sugar

½ tsp. salt

¼ tsp. garlic powder

3 cups thinly sliced peeled cucumbers

Opt: add thinly sliced onion and/or chopped tomatoes

The Not-So-Common Cabbage

This is one week's half-share of the local CSA.
One head of red cabbage and one of green. 

Cabbage - not a fancy veggie. Something I buy cabbage a few times in the winter when lettuce isn't very good (or too expensive) for salads. Cabbage makes good coleslaw. Anything else? Well, when our weekly selection of produce from our CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) included cabbage for a few weeks, I needed new ideas!

A search came up with a couple that seemed suited for summer meals. And with a thought to next winter I also froze some for soups. Besides coleslaw, I do like cabbage in vegetable soup. Freezing cabbage doesn't sound like it would be too successful since it does have a high water content and freezing would make the cell walls break down resulting in a limp, not crisp, product. But for soup it is cooked to a tender and limp state, so freezing seems like a possibility. I cut the cabbage into small wedges, leaving a bit of the core in each to hold it together. Then blanched the wedges in boiling water for 90 seconds followed by 90 seconds in ice water. After draining the wedges I packed them into a freezer plastic bag for the freezer. We'll look forward to that addition to hardy soups next winter.

The new recipes I tried that we liked were Baked Cabbage and Cabbage Rolls. Baked Cabbage sounded unusual and strange - but surprisingly it is very good. I changed both recipes to shorter baking times, I found with really fresh and tender vegetables the baking time can be reduced. Cooking with veggies is more of an art of what works and what you like, not like the science of baking where careful measurements and times are more critical. So sometimes I take the recipe as a 'suggestion'.

Cabbage wedges ready to be baked.

Baked Cabbage: Cut into wedges and put on an oiled roasting pan. Drizzle with olive oil (I use a basting brush to spread the oil in the bottom of the pan then over the top of the cabbage). Sprinkle with salt and pepper and brush with olive oil. Lay cut bacon pieces (uncooked) on top of the cabbage. Drizzle with a little melted butter. Roast at 450 degrees, covered with foil for 15-20 minutes. Uncover and roast until the cabbage is golden brown and tender. The original recipe instructed a total of 60 minutes of roasting time. With fresh cabbage, ours was tender and even crunchy at the edges in about 30 minutes. You won't believe how good this is! (Could be the olive oil, bacon, and butter!)

Baked - crispy and a little too brown! 

Cabbage rolls ready for baking

Stuffed Cabbage Rolls

I adapted a recipe from thekitchenwhisperer.net to make a smaller amount and shortened the baking time.
Cabbage leaves - I pulled large leaves off the outside and cooked 10. You could cook the whole head (remove core first). Cook in boiling water for 3 minutes until leaves are softened. Cut away the thick center stem from each leaf without cutting all the way through.
Meat mixture - this is basically a meat loaf mixture.
       1 ½ pound ground beef (or 1 pound ground beef + ½ pound ground pork)
       1 medium onion, chopped fine, or 1 Tablespoon minced dried onion
       3 tsp. minced garlic
        1 tsp. kosher salt
       ¾ tsp. ground black pepper
        1 tsp. parsley flakes
        1 large egg
        ¼ cup ketchup
         about ⅓ can tomato soup (use the rest of the can to pour over the rolls)
Mix all ingredients together.
To assemble cabbage rolls: Lay a leaf down with the cut edge facing you (where the stem was) and place about ½ cup meat mixture in the middle. Fold the edges over the meat and roll the cabbage up like a burrito. Repeat until all the leaves are stuffed. If you have extra meat just roll it up as meatballs and place it in the baking pan with the stuffed cabbage. Pour the rest of the can of tomato soup over the cabbage rolls.
Bake covered for about 1 hour, until the internal temperature of the cabbage roll/meat is 165 degrees and the cabbage is tender.

Eating local - roasted carrots, beets, and potatoes from CSA,
tossed salad with radishes from CSA, cabbage rolls - cabbage
from CSA and beef from our ranch. 

I even found a quote about cabbage I like. From Mark Twain, "Training is everything. The peach was once a bitter almond; cauliflower is nothing but cabbage with a college education." Humble as the cabbage may be, it can be tasty in a variety of ways.