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. 

 

 

 

When life (or a friend) gives you Lemons

2 Meyer Lemons with an orange (on the right)

Recently a close friend did a quick winter get-away to Arizona. She said it was to visit a relative, but we know she was escaping winter as we wished we could. The area she visited has interesting agriculture that she always tells us about. This trip she brought back Meyer Lemons and was kind to share a couple with me. 

We can't find Meyer Lemons in our store so this bit of southern sunshine was special. These lemons are noticeably larger in size - they looked like a slightly lighter-in-color orange. We had to caution people not to eat them as that. They are sweeter than regular lemons but still have a little tang that would make you pucker. I searched for a special recipe to use my lemons. This Meyer Lemon Pudding Cake was a hit! 

MEYER LEMON PUDDING CAKE       

Ingredients: 

4 eggs, whites and yolks separated

1 cup sugar

5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled

¼ cup all-purpose flour

½ cup fresh squeezed Meyer lemon juice (I got this from 1 lemon!)

¼ cup whole milk

Finely grated zest from the lemon

Instructions:

1.   Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a baking dish with a 6-cup capacity and set aside. (or a larger pan or dish for a thinner cake)

2.   In the mixer bowl, with whisk attachment, beat egg whites on medium-low speed until foamy. Then increase the speed to medium-high and beat until glossy peaks form, about 1-2 minutes. Gently transfer the egg whites from the mixer bowl into a second bowl and set aside. 

3.   In the mixer bowl combine sugar, butter and flour. Add the egg yolks, lemon juice, milk and lemon zest. Mix until well combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary. With a rubber spatula gently fold in the beaten egg whites, folding in about one-third at a time, until they are just incorporated. 

4.   Pour the batter into the greased baking dish. Transfer to the oven and bake until the cake is set and the top is golden brown. Depending on the size of the baking pan, it could be 30-40 minutes. The cake is done when the pudding layer reaches 172-175 degrees (check with a food thermometer).

5.   Remove from the oven and allow the pudding cake to cool slightly. Dust with powdered sugar and top with fresh blueberries if desired before serving. The cake can be enjoyed slightly warm or cold. 

Purple Ribbon Quick Breads

     Fairs are great celebrations in our state. Both county fairs and state fairs are fun to attend and even take an entry to. As a 'foodie' and retired Extension agent, I get asked to judge a lot of fairs. This year I enjoyed judging 4-H Foods in a nearby county and at the state fair. Its always interesting to see what  4-Hers make and bring.
     Often judges are asked "what makes a blue or purple ribbon entry?" There are definite guidelines for judging each type of food. Quick breads can include loaf breads of fruit or nuts, muffins, cornbread, biscuits, and scones. This year I saw several entries of scones at the State Fair, definitely reflecting food trends. And it must have been a good zucchini year, there were lots of zucchini breads!
     Loaf breads, like banana bread or zucchini bread, are fast and easy to make, so a popular project for 4-Hers and other home cooks. I usually have a few loaves in the freezer for convenient gifts or refreshments. The crack on top is the biggest question. It is typical, and not unsatisfactory. Because the mass of batter heats slowly in the center and the crust forms more quickly, the batter 'erupts' as the bread rises. If you want to prevent this cracked crust, cover the top with a tent of heavy foil and remove it after the batter has risen and begins to brown, being careful not to touch the soft crust. This keeps the top moist and prevents a heavy crack from forming.
    Characteristics of a blue or purple ribbon loaf bread would be an even contour, rounded top, evenly browned top and bottom crust, uniform crumb color and well-distributed nuts and fruit. Often a crusty rim forms around the upper edge of the loaf. This is from over greasing the pan, allowing the oil to 'fry' up the sides as the batter rises. Lightly grease only the bottom on the pan to avoid this. Chopped nuts should be mixed evenly into the batter. Fruit can be tossed with flour to coat the pieces to help them remain well distributed and not sink to the bottom of the bread.
     Tips I always give for quick breads include buying fresh ingredients. I usually buy a new container of baking soda and baking powder either before the county fair baking or before holiday baking. Don't feel guilty about tossing an unused part of a box. Baking soda can always be used to freshen the refridgerator or sink drain. Nuts should also be fresh. This is a time it would be good to taste the ingredient before adding! Knowing when a quick bread is completely baked without becoming over baked is a trick. Many directions tell you to insert a toothpick to test for doneness when it comes out clean. A better method is to check the internal temperature. Quick breads are baked to the correct doneness when the temperature of a food thermometer measures 210 degrees.

There are several things I like about this banana bread recipe. It makes two loaves, one to serve and one to freeze. It is a moist, tasty bread. It uses the browning bananas that seem to appear before we've eaten them in a fresher state.

My very favorite quick bread

Special Banana Nut Bread

¾ cup butter, softened

1 package (8 oz) cream cheese, softened

2 cups sugar

2 eggs

1 ½ cups mashed ripe bananas (about 4 medium)

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

3 cups all-purpose flour

½ teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon salt

1 ½ cups chopped pecans, divided

In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter, cream cheese and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time beating well after each addition. Add bananas and vanilla; mix well. Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt, add to creamed mixture. Fold in 1 cup pecans.

Transfer to two greased 8 inch x 4 inch x 2 inch loaf pans. Sprinkle with remaining pecans. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 to 1 ¼ hours or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean.
In a small bowl, whisk the glaze ingredients, drizzle over loaves. For the glaze I mix powder sugar with enough flavored coffee creamer to make a thick glaze.

Lemon Zucchini Bread at the State Fair judging

 Lemon Zucchini Bread

Ingredients:

1 ½ cup all purpose flour

½ tsp. baking soda

¼ tsp baking powder

¼ tsp salt

¾ cup sugar

1 cup finely shredded unpeeled zucchini

¼ cup cooking oil

1 egg

2 Tbsp. lemon juice

2 Tbsp. lemon peel

Glaze:

½ cup powdered sugar

1 Tbsp. lemon juice

1 tsp. lemon zest

Directions:

1.     n medium mixing bowl combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.

2.     In a separate mixing bowl, combine sugar, zucchini, cooling oil, egg, lemon juice, and lemon peel. Stir to combine.

3.     Add dry ingredients to zucchini mixture; stir just until combined.

4.     Spoon batter into greased bread pan.

5.     Bake at 350 degrees for 50-55 minutes or until golden brown and set.

6.     Cool in pan on a wire rack 15 minutes, then remove from pan and cool completely.

7.     Once cool, combine ingredients for glaze and drizzle over bread. 

Next Best Thing to... or Better Than...dessert

This creamy layered pudding dessert has been a crowd pleaser  since the 1970's when it was called "The Next Best thing to Robert Redford", later versions of the recipe were called "Better Than Robert Redford". I've never heard what  Robert Redford thinks of this dish named after him, but in our community it is a popular dessert for pot lucks and group dinners. This week our UMW served it, in lemon and chocolate flavors, for the high school honors dinner. Since this was a group of teens, perhaps we should have called it "Next Best Thing to Justin Bieber".

THE NEXT BEST THING TO ROBERT REDFORD

Recipe from UMW cookbook (adjusted for more crust)

1 ½ cup flour

¾ cup butter or margarine, melted

1 cup finely chopped pecans

1 (8-oz) pkg. cream cheese, softened

1 cup powdered sugar

1 (12-oz) whipped topping

1 (3-oz) pkg instant vanilla pudding

1 (3-oz) pkg instant chocolate (or lemon) pudding

3 cup cold milk

For crust, combine flour, butter or margarine and pecans. Press into the bottom of a 18x12-inch baking pan. Bake in preheated 350 degree oven for 15 minutes. Cool completely. Blend cream cheese with sugar; spread over cooled crust. Spread half of the whipped topping (6 oz) over the cream cheese layer and refrigerate. In mixing bowl, combine both pudding mixes with milk. Beat 2 minutes on medium speed. Set aside until thickened. Spread thickened pudding over whipped topping layer, then top with remaining topping. Garnish if desired with chocolate, nuts, or both. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

Church Ladies handle this dessert well. 

Six pans of RR dessert served around 100.