Zucchini Muffins

I got this recipe from a friend of my mom’s when I got married 12 years ago. This friend is one of those anomolies – a teeny little lady that looks like she never eats, and yet produces copious amounts of delicious baked goods. I should ask for her secret.

Zucchini Muffins

• 4 C shredded zucchini
• 3 C flour
• 2 1/2 C sugar
• 1 1/4 C vegetable oil (I use olive because that’s generally the only thing I keep in the house)
• 4 eggs beaten
• 1 T plus 1 t Vanilla
• 1 T cinnamon
• 1 1/2 t salt
• 1 1/2 t baking soda
• 1/2 t baking powder

Blend all ingredients in an electric mixer, one minute on low, one minute on medium. Pour into lined muffin tin and bake at 325 for 20 minutes. I can get about 34 muffins from this. If you want to make a loaf, this makes 2 – bake for 50 minutes.

What to do with CSA this week: 7/31/10

I can’t believe that July is already gone! Hello August. And hello to big quantities of fruit in the freezer for those cold fall days when I am sad for summer.

• Corn – I’ll let the kids eat two of these off the cob, then use the other two for corn chowder
• Onions – Pantry!
  
• Cucumber – Side dish of cucmber salad
  
• Summer squash – Adding this to some linguine for dinner
• Zukes – Making two loaves of bread with this, to slice and freeze for future breakfasts
  
• Peaches – Freeze for smoothies or pies
• Plums – These are so sweet and delicious. I’ll be snacking on them all week. I wish I had more time, I’d make some kind of fancy tart with them.
  

Zucchini Frittata

Half of this made a terrific lunch today, and I anticipate the other half will make a perfect 3pm snack. And it’s another use for my friend the zucchini.

I have lots of trouble spelling both zucchini and frittata, so just indulge me and overlook any misspellings you may see…

Zucchini Frittata

• 1 small zucchini, grated and water squeezed out
• 3 small eggs
• salt and pepper
• Olive oil
  
• 1/4 cup grated cheddar

Put your oven on broil, and put a rack at the topmost position. Break your eggs into a little bowl and beat them pretty good with a fork – until frothy.  Add 2-3 T of water, salt, pepper, and the shredded zucchini to the eggs, stirring well to break up clumps. Heat the olive oil (1-2 T) in an 8″ saute pan. Pour the egg mixture in and stir until the eggs are about half cooked (2-3 minutes). Put it under the broiler for about 3-4 minutes, until it is puffed up and browned on top. Remove it from the oven, then sprinkle on the Cheddar. It will melt onto the top (you could pop it back under the broiler for 45 seconds if you wanted). Loosen the frittata from the skillet with a spatula and move the whole thing to a cutting board. Let it cool for about 5-10 more minutes, then cut into quarters and serve, sprinkled with red pepper flakes. You can add some salt if you like. This is also good at room temperature, and reheated the next day.

Summer Squash fritters

I love these made with zucchini or crookneck yellow squash, or any soft summer squash. They are perfect for lunch.

Summer Squash Fritters

• 1 medium zucchini or 1 large yellow crookneck squash
• 1/4 flour
• 1 large egg
• 1 clove of garlic, pressed
• 2 T chopped parsley (optional)
• Salt and pepper to taste (or I like red pepper flakes instead of regular pepper)
• 2-3 T of olive oil for frying
  

Grate your zuke/squash on the large holes of a box grater. This sounds like an extreme PIA, but really, it only takes 2 minutes (I timed myself today). Squeeze out the excess liquid from your grated squash. I do this one handful at a time, but you could wrap all of it in a dishtowel at once and twist it up. Put that, and the rest of your ingredients, into a mixing bowl and stir well. If it seems too thin, add a bit more flour. We don’t want a thin batter or it will run away from your grated squash and be hard to flip. Heat up your oil in a skillet over high heat. Place a few spoonfuls of batter in the pan making pancakes about the size of your palm. Fry until golden and set on one side, then flip and repeat. Fry all the batter in this way. You should get about 5-6 fritters out of it. Drain them on paper towels, sprinkle with salt, and enjoy. If you want to be really decadent, dip them in a little high grade olive oil while you eat them. I like Greek Organic from the Olive Orchard.