What to do with a zucchini?

[Jae Onasi]

Think cooking, people, and RJM, get your mind out of the sewer, or I'll have to bring that post out again.

 

Yeah, Jae's in Emeril "BAM!" mode.

 

Seriously, my garden has produced an, ah, abundance of zucchinis. My neighbors can't take any more, and I can't find any more cars with open windows in order to secretly leave zucchinis on the front seat. Jimbo hopes the plants die very soon, but I won't let him mow them over just yet.

 

Yes, I could google for zucchini recipes, but I wanted to know if you all have a favorite recipe that you (or someone in your home) make, because it's the home-grown recipes that are the best. I can only make so much zucchini bread. Extra zucchini points for you if it's milk/cheese/dairy free, because we have to deal with a dairy allergy in our home. If anyone's interested, I can post my dairy-free zucchini bread recipe.

[Emperor Devon]

RJM, get your mind out of the sewer, or I'll have to bring that post out again.

 

Oh ho, what might this be?

 

Seriously, my garden has produced an, ah, abundance of zucchinis.

 

That happened with my mom years ago. The blasted things *always* produce more than you might think. I got very tired of those vegetables after a while.

 

My neighbors can't take any more, and I can't find any more cars with open windows in order to secretly leave zucchinis on the front seat.

 

You can always feed your family zucchini for several weeks. Get 'em to appreciate good cooking.

 

Have you thought about selling them at a local farmer's market, or donating them to a homeless shelter, your church, etc? Or having some sort of party/gathering with friends and family and using up your zucchini for it? That stuff can get so very tiresome after a while.

 

I can only make so much zucchini bread.

 

Zucchini bread is excellent. The only problem is that zucchini's in it.

 

Another use for them would be to have a zucchini race. Where I grew up, the community would have them yearly. People would grow the largest zucchinis they had, put them on wheels of any type, and race them down a hill. It got very messy, but was entertaining to watch.

 

Can't say I have any recipes other than 'bake some bread, add sugar, and scatter zucchini in it', though.

[Bimmerman]

I don't know the exact ingredients, as my mother never taught me, but I know it's dairly free, or at least easily substituted. take zucchini and yellow zucchini/squash and slice it into circles about a quarter to an eigth of an inch in thickness. put in a frying pan w/ butter(or margerine) and olive oil, and season with basil/herbs to your liking. cook till soft, tastes even better with mushrooms. not sure if the butter/marg's necessary.

 

and a non-food use would be extra ammo for the ubiquitous potato gun

 

enjoy!

[milo]

You could always make...CHOCOLATE ZUCCHINI BREAD.

 

Seriously, it's delicious. Much better than the normal stuff.

[Bimmerman]

You could always make...CHOCOLATE ZUCCHINI BREAD.

 

Seriously, it's delicious. Much better than the normal stuff.

 

Would have to agree- my roommate brought some today- it was really good.

[Mav]

Zucchini is relatively similar to cucumbers, so I suppose you could substitute, cucumber recipes with zuchhini, one thing I like to have... not make mind you, is cucumber kim chee, it's a korean thing, definetly no dairy and I'd imagine that zucchini would be easily substituted. Also, as with almost any vegetable you could alweays just chop it up and throw it in some stir fry, or what my dad did, was make homemade vegetable soup with leftover chicken bones, lots of tomatoes and various vegetables, including zucchini... it's a very versatile thing, like most vegies.

[HerbieZ]

I have never heared of a Zucchini. What is it?

[Mace MacLeod]

Zucchini=Courgette

[HerbieZ]

Mmm. Why do they have that italian sounding name then, i had never heared of them before in my life.

 

Try putting it into a blender and see what it turns into.

[Jae Onasi]

Mmm. Why do they have that italian sounding name then, i had never heared of them before in my life.

 

Try putting it into a blender and see what it turns into.

 

I didn't even know they had a different name in English speaking countries--that's kind of interesting.

 

It'll turn into a very nice liquid mush. I accidentally over-processed one one time. Not pretty.

 

@Bimmerman--we've done something similar (sauteing slices), but I never thought about basil. We've used olive oil and minced garlic, and once the zucchini is crisp-tender, I sometimes sprinkle on Romano pecorino cheese (which is made from sheep's milk so we don't have to worry about the cow-milk allergy) and serve. We'll have to give basil a try--I have a plant of it growing in my kitchen year round.

 

@milo--I've heard of chocolate zucchini bread before but never tried it. I may give that a whirl then.

 

@mav--my kids are too young to appreciate strong flavors like kim chee, but the chicken soup idea sounds good.

 

Very cool. If anyone has something else, feel free to add it.

[HerbieZ]

oooh If you have alot of them, make zucchini pumpkins for halloween!

[Mace MacLeod]

Zucchini, courgette, bleh. Whatever you call it, I can only stand eating it if it's sliced, deep-fried, served with extra dip and slipped to me while I'm distracted ogling the girl giving me a lap dance.

 

And it's just one of those things that has different US/UK names:

 

Zucchini--Courgette

Eggplant--Aubergine

Fried hog fat--Yummy condiment

Chips--Crisps

Fries--Chips

Drunken skinhead gang riot--Football match

Extortion--Mobile phone bills

The Right to Bear Arms--Insanity

[ET Warrior]

Slice up the zuchinni into relativly thin slices, dip each piece in egg, and then into flour (You can add a little garlic powder to the flour, also some salt and pepper to flavor)

 

Then deep-fry the suckers.

[Jeff]

My neighbor has a garden and he brought over so much zucchini. The only thing my family really likes with zucchini is zucchini bread so my mom had enough zucchini to make 8 loaves of it, it was rediculous, yet very tasty.

[Darth InSidious]

Cut the courgette ( ) into slices, cook in olive oil with rosemary.

 

Works well with a sunday roast

[ChAiNz.2da]

BAKED ITALIAN ZUCHINNI

 

Ingredients :

 

2 med zucchini sliced 1/2"

1 med onion, sliced

1 tsp oregano

1 tomato, sliced (optional)

1/2 tsp dried basil

1 dsh salt

1 dsh pepper

2 cup tomato sauce

1 cup cubed bread, buttered **

1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese (dairy free substitute in your case )

 

** Can substitute 1/2 cup bread crumbs instead of cubed bread

 

- Layer in a one quart baking dish, zucchini, onion and tomato, if desired seasoning each layer with oregano, pepper, basil and salt.

 

- Pour tomato sauce to barely cover vegetables. Cover and bake at 350F for 45 minutes. Uncover and top with bread cubes or crumbs and grated cheese.

 

Bake uncovered for 10 minutes.

 

============

 

I also like adding diced zuchinni to homemade (red) pasta sauce..

 

============

 

For dessert:

 

APPLE ZUCCHINI CAKE

 

4 lg. eggs

1 c. vegetable oil

2 c. sugar

2 c. peeled and grated zucchini, drained

3 c. unsifted flour

1 tsp. soda

1 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 tsp. nutmeg

1/2 tsp. baking powder

2 tsp. vanilla

1 c. chopped nuts

2 1/2 c. peeled and chopped apples

 

Grease and flour tube pan. Beat eggs, add oil, sugar, zucchini and vanilla. Mix well. Sift together flour, soda, baking powder, salt and spices. Add to creamed mixture. Add apples and nuts. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour 15 minutes.

[Char Ell]

^^^

Wow! Chef ChAiNz in da house!!!

 

I have only elementary culinary skills. I normally slice and fry zucchini and that's about the only way I eat it. I don't even know how to use zucchini to make bread. Of course, I assume I would need to learn how to actually make regular bread first.

[Darth InSidious]

Mmm...Fried...

 

In olive oil?

[HerbieZ]

Mmm...Fried...

 

In olive oil?

 

No, in human spinal fluids. Brew hahaha!

[Mace MacLeod]

We need a meat dish to go with all this zucchini.

 

Mace's "Impress the pants off your non-vegetarian date with your culinary prowess" Lamb Chops

 

Combine in a mixing bowl:

 

1/4 cup prepared mustard

1/4 cup dijonnaise

1 Tbsp steak spice (or seasoning salt)

1 tsp paprika

1 tsp dried rosemary

1 Tbsp dried parsley

3 cloves garlic, minced or crushed

1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce

2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1 tsp dried mustard

1 tsp cayenne pepper

1/4 tsp lemon juice

 

Mix the above ingredients until smooth.

 

On a baking tray, season 6-8 lean lamb chops with sea salt (kosher is good) and pepper to taste. Coat the chops generously with the spice paste, cover and leave to marinate in the frige for up to 2 hours.

 

Grill lamb chops over medium-low heat for 45 minutes, turning the chops once after 20-25 minutes. Baste occasionally with olive oil to keep chops moist. Take care not to char the surface of the chops. My preference is for rare to medium rare, but judge for yourself how done you like your meat.

 

Let stand for 5 minutes under foil when cooked, serve with rice, potatoes, your favourite zucchini recipe, and bask in the adulation.

[The Doctor]

Experiment. Cut it into strips length-wise and make zucchini fries. Puree them and mix it with ice-cream. Chop it into little chunks and throw it in your morning cereal. Throw them into a chocolate cake and see if anyone notices. Chop it up, dry it out, and throw it in with a trail mix.

 

Or just feed it to the cat.

[Darth InSidious]

No, in human spinal fluids. Brew hahaha!

Shush - you'll start General Ripper off again!

 

@Mace: Mmm...Lamb and courgette...Good recipe!

[JediMaster12]

I'm not a big zucchini fan since I tried that stuff they pan out at Carl's Jr but I have tried it in a stir fry. Try looking for one of those Chinese recipes. The zucchini tastes good with carrots and other stuff. It was a cashew chicken version I think. It's been awhile and I am into the spicy Kung pao chicken. Seriously the stir fry that I had when I was digging for spear points this past July was good. I have been trying to track down the camp cook and beg for the recipes.

[Emperor Devon]

Hmm, why don't you try putting it in a blender for about... half an hour... then mixing it with sugar water? A zucchini drink!

 

Or if you're looking for other ways to use them up (you sound like you want to), you could grind it into powder and sprinkle a little on everything your family eats.

[Darth333]

Zucchini--Courgette

Eggplant--Aubergine

That's something I found amusing when I spent two summers in UK when I was a student. You still use the French names for many things...and even places. I wasn't expecting that French was still having a so strong influence on language there. The most amusing were the deformed French names for some places (Elephant & Castle - "Infante de Castille" and Rotten Row -"Route du Roi" which means "King's Road").

 

It made my life much easier when I was there as I would have had no clue as to what an "eggplant" (ugh! eggs grow in plants now? ) was at that time

 

 

Seriously, my garden has produced an, ah, abundance of zucchinis. My neighbors can't take any more, and I can't find any more cars with open windows in order to secretly leave zucchinis on the front seat. Jimbo hopes the plants die very soon, but I won't let him mow them over just yet.

lol! too many zucchinis!...bwahahahaha...I have a hard time believing this... unless you mean a "metric ton" of extra zucchinis (erm...sorry, that wa beyond me)

 

You see, I'm allergic to gardening since my dad bought a (big) "hobby" farm when I was a kid....yeah...Just imagine 20 cows, 6 horses (that was the fun part), 1 acre of corn, 1/2 acre for other vegetables and...60 000 (no, there is no typo in the number) strawberry plants (oh yeah, he wanted to have buffaloes and deers as well but my mom said "NO!" )

 

Guess who was in charge of all this when he was on business trips : He was selling some but it was just for fun and as a hobby Even the town wasn't big enough to get rid of all this! After we moved (15 yrs ago), I couldn't see a single strawberry until quite recently without feeling sick

 

 

oh...and about zucchinis or courgettes, I have good recipes but they're in French. If you want to practice your French, voici quelques liens (here are a few links - I wouldn't want to poison the family with a bad translation!):

 

 

Zucchini bread: (very good!) http://telequebec.tv/sites/aladistasio/recettes.asp?IDEmission=100#a498

 

 

Pasta sauces:

http://telequebec.tv/sites/aladistasio/recettes.asp?IDEmission=14#a57

http://telequebec.tv/sites/aladistasio/recettes.asp?IDEmission=131#a621

 

I have more recipes, including an excellent "creme de courgettes" (with cream ) but I don't have them with me. In any event zucchini goes with about everything as its taste is very neutral. Feel free to improvise!