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Health & Fitness

"Dining With The Kitchen Diva!"

What to do with all that zucchini? Recipes that may inspire you!

This being my first Oakdale Patch Food Blog, I wanted to take a moment to introduce myself to you.

My name is Barbie Miller and I have been an Oakdale resident for, and I cringe as I say this... about 55 years. I cringe because I had to think about how long I have been at this in terms of years... ouch! I don't really like those kinds of realizations! Oh yes, my husband and I, along with our children have really given Castle Elementary, John Glenn Middle School, Maplewood Junior high, Tartan and North High a real work out! All in all, I am proud to call myself an Oakdale resident. I can't think of a better place to call home.  My father was on the Oakdale Police Commission in the late 1960's and also on the Park's and Recreation Committee following the Police Commission. I now live directly across the park from where I grew up as a child. I never thought that would happen because during that youthful rebellious time when you think you want to go out and explore the whole world, I vowed I would never return because the world was my oyster and I was going to live in some extravagant or exotic place and it winds up my oyster is right across the park from where I grew up... imagine that!

 

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Getting on to some serious food blogging, I don't know about you, but I seem to have been inundated with zucchini... lot's of zucchini from well wishers around the hood! You know this is going to happen right? Now this isn't the only pretty little veggie I seem to have an abundance of, but today I am going to share some very tasty recipes so that you do not have to feel guilty about throwing them out or letting them rot on your porch... lol... (you know who you are).

I know that gardens are all the rage these days, and I certainly have tried my hand at it through the years, but I have to tell you, before I ever do it again, I am going to have to put a lot more thought into it. I remember my first garden very well! Novice that I was, I don't know what possessed me to plant a row of green beans a half a block long and same with the egg plant which I really didn't even like! What was I thinking? Was I thinking? I think I just thought it was so cool that I could grow something, it never really hit me that my life would turn into "night of the living egg plant!" In my dreams all I could see were green beans and egg plant growing by leaps and bounds and I didn't have a clue what to do with them. My sweet little old neighbor lady said to me... "Oh my, you are going to be doing a lot of canning I see"... I'm like "canning? What is canning? I don't know how to can!! Sweet little old lady says, "why did you plant so many plants dear?" Well, my honest answer to her was ... "well, you know me ... if one is good ... a hundred is better right?" Moral of the story? If you are going to grow a garden like I did, at least get smart and sell your stuff at a farmer's market!

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Here is a tasty and unique recipe for zucchini bread I think you will really enjoy!

Lemon Rosemary Zucchini Bread Recipe

  • Prep time: 15 minutes
  • Cook time: 45 minutes

Add to shopping list Ingredients

  • 3 cups flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 2 Tbsp minced fresh rosemary
  • 2 eggs
  • 1/2 cup melted unsalted butter
  • 1/2 cup olive oil
  • 1/2 teaspoons salt (omit if using salted butter)
  • 1 1/4 cup sugar
  • 1 Tbsp lemon zest
  • 3 cups grated zucchini (from about 1 pound of zucchini)

Method

1 Preheat oven to 350F. Prepare two 4x9-inch loaf pans, either coating with butter or spraying with baking spray.

2 In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and rosemary.

3 Beat the eggs in a mixer (or by hand) until frothy. Beat in the sugar. Beat in the melted butter and olive oil. Stir in the lemon zest and grated zucchini.

4 Add the dry ingredients to the wet, a third at a time, stirring after each incorporation.

5 Divide batter/dough into two loaf pans. Bake in a 350°F oven for 45 to 50 minutes. Test after 40 minutes. If you gently press down on the surface of the loaf, it should bounce back, and a bamboo skewer inserted into the center should come out clean.

6 Remove from the oven. Let cool for a few minutes and then remove the loaves from their pans to cool on a rack.

Yield: Makes two loaves.

 

You can really use up a lot of zucchini with the Baked Zucchini Chip recipe!

 

Baked Zucchini Chips

  • 1 zucchini 
  • canola cooking spray
  • seasoned salt, or other seasoning(s) of your choice


Preheat oven to 225 degrees Fahrenheit.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or nonstick foil, and spray with canola oil.  Set aside.

Slice zucchini into thin medallions, about the thickness of a quarter.  (You can either use a knife & a very steady hand, or a mandoline slicer.)

Lay out slices on prepared baking sheet, and spray tops lightly with additional cooking spray. Sprinkle with seasonings of your choice. (A note on seasoning, however - use LESS than what seems appropriate.  These shrink considerably in the oven, and if you use too much it gets very concentrated.  It's better to end up underseasoning and add more later.)

Place in preheated oven and bake 45 minutes.  Rotate baking sheet, and bake an additional 30-50 minutes, until chips are browned and crisped to your liking. These are best eaten within a couple hours of removing from the oven, as they start to get chewy if left out.  One zucchini makes one serving (1/4 C. - 1/3 C. of chips depending on the size of your squash).

 

Zucchini Boats

Yield: 6 zucchini boats | Prep Time: 15 minutes | Cook Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:

3 large zucchini, halved lengthwise and flesh cleaned out halfway

3 turkey sausage links (I used spicy Italian turkey sausage)

1/2 yellow onion, diced

4 oz. button mushrooms, sliced

1 cup tomato puree

Salt and pepper, to taste

Shredded cheese, any kind, to sprinkle on top

Instructions:

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a large baking sheet, set aside.
  2. In a large skillet over medium high heat, brown the turkey sausage until all cooked through, about 5-7 minutes. Then throw in the onions and mushrooms and cook until soft. Pour the tomato puree in and let simmer for 5 minutes. Salt and pepper, to taste.
  3. In the meantime, while filling is simmering, take your zucchini and cut the ends off and cut in half, lengthwise. Take a spoon and scrape out the insides, but keep some flesh in there so the boats don’t collapse. It’s up to you whether or not you want to throw in the scraped out flesh into the filling, I didn’t.
  4. When filling is done, gently spoon the filling into the boats you just made. Place in prepared baking sheet side by side.
  5. Sprinkle a heaping amount of cheese on top and bake for 30 minutes.
  6. Serve immediately.    

 

I hope you will enjoy these recipes or know of a friend or family member that will. If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to leave them for me and I will be sure to address them.

So... until we meet again ... "Let's Get Cookin' In The Kitchen!"

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