It’s Zucchini Time!

What do you do when you have a lot of zucchini from your garden?  There's everything from fried zucchini to raw zucchini sticks with a little salt and pepper and maybe even some ranch dressing to dip it in.  Then there’s those times when you don’t pick them and they become jumbo sized zucchini.  Those are the kind that end up in zucchini bread in my house!

Now I don’t claim to be an expert in the kitchen but I do love baking zucchini bread.  We got a bit of a late start with our garden this year so I wasn’t sure how much produce we would get.  Our zucchini and tomatoes seem to be winning the overabundance prize this year.  So it was time to shred a couple of our big zucchinis to make some bread…actually 4 loaves!

Here’s a little secret…I am not great about inviting the kids to help me in the kitchen.  They always want to help but I'm not always up for the challenge.  So this time I made 2 batches of mix.  On the first batch, I spent time alone and had the freedom to move around my kitchen without stepping on little feet or bumping into little people or cleaning up big messes.  When I was done with the first batch, I took a deep breath and hollered for the kids.  They were so excited to get to help me on batch #2.  And, I did have fun teaching them how to measure and watching their excitement as they stirred the batter.  

Then the wonderful aroma of baked zucchini bread starts wafting through the house.  YUM!  I like mine with chocolate chips instead of nuts.  Every time I make it I find a different recipe online.  Each one of them are delicious!  I haven’t had a bad one yet.  The lemon zucchini bread is another favorite of mine.  Just don’t stir the batter too much.  Our second batch wasn’t quite as light and fluffy as the first.  Did I mention the kids love to stir?

After making zucchini bread I still had another big zucchini.  This time I decided to try something new.  I had seen recipes for zucchini fritters that used shredded zucchini, egg, panko bread crumbs and fresh parmesan cheese.  Well I didn’t have those ingredients so I created my own recipe.  I shredded my zucchini (about 1.5 cups) and squeezed all the excess moisture out.  I added 2 eggs, dry parmesan cheese (1/4 cup), corn meal (1 cup), and seasoning.  Then I made patties and fried them in a little oil in the skillet.  I only flipped them once since they were so wet and fragile.  Too much messing with them would make them fall apart.  They firmed up and were done in about 15-20 minutes.  The family loved them!  I even had a few left over and had them with some ranch dressing the next day for lunch.  

My Take-Aways

1. Zucchini is a must-have vegetable in the garden.  They can be prepared so many different ways and are delicious!
2. Kids in the kitchen are a blessing.  Even though it may be a challenge at times, involving them in the cooking process creates great memories, special bonding time, and educational growth.
3. Try new recipes!  You never know what new and different food you might come across.