Thursday, August 18, 2011

zucchini a plenty (recipes 3-5 + live tasting)


Here are a few more recipes I have made with my zucchini stash. 

Recipe 3: Grilled Zucchini
The other night I got a pork tenderloin at Central Market and marinated it then grilled it with walla wallas and zucchini. It was awesome. The best part about grilling is there is very little mess to clean up. 

 
Recipe 4: Zucchini Orzo Salad
Found this recipe while I was shopping at central market. They served it with rockfish and it was awesome. I just made it for a side dish twice this week for two picnics. 

3/4 cup orzo pasta
1 1/2 T unsalted butter
1 1/2 T olive oil
1/2 cup finely chopped shallot
1 med zucchini (3/4 lb) diced
1 med yellow squash (1/2 lb) diced
1 T white wine vinegar
1/2 cup toasted chopped haselnuts
1/4 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
1/4 cup chopped basil
1 t lemon zest

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add orzo and cook according to package instructions. Drain pasta and set aside. Meanwhile, heat a large saute pan over medium high heat. Add butter and olive oil. When butter melts and foam subsides, add shallot. Saute until translucent and lightly browned. Add both squash and stir occasionally until tender and lightly browned. Add vinegar and season with salt and pepper. In a large bowl. toss together vegetables and orzo. Add hazelnuts, herbs and zest. Adjust seasoning and serve ware, room temperature or chilled.
 
Recipe 5: Pureed Zucchini (for Miles)
Wash and cut the zucchini into 1" circles. Steam the zucchini until tender then rinse in cold water to stop cooking. Blend in food processor or blender until a smooth consistency. Then freeze in ice cube trays and transfer to air tight bag for up to three months. Defrost to serve. Or store in the fridge for up to three days in an air tight container. 


Now for the taste test, haha, this is great!
 I have been told that it can take over 10 times to get a baby to begin to like/enjoy certain foods so we will keep trying.

Wednesday, August 10, 2011

zucchini a plenty (recipe 1 & 2)

In the northwest we can't always count on a bountiful summer garden. However, the zucchini seems to be a faithful and reliable vegetable no matter how much or little sun we get. 

The only problem is one can only eat so much zucchini as a side veggie with dinner. So one needs to get a little more creative.  I love allrecipes.com. I really like being able to see how many people have reviewed the recipe and the rating. You usually can't go wrong when there are hundreds of reviews and the rating is high. Here are my first two recipes of the zucchini season :)

Recipe 1: Blueberry Zucchini Bread
I made 8 mini loaves, some to freeze and some to give and some to eat. I had 4 pints of blueberries I needed to use so this recipe was perfect. You can find the recipe here. I didn't quite double it and didn't add as much sugar.


Recipe 2: Turkey Sausage & Zucchini Quiche
I have to thank my mom for this idea. I am totally not a morning person and don't want to spend too much time thinking about what to eat in the morning let alone try and make something. But I love having protein and something warm to start my day and Mark needs protein to keep up his energy. 

I didn't really follow this recipe as much but used it as a guideline for how many eggs and how much cream I needed. I used two medium sized zucchini, about a 1/4 walla walla onion and 5 turkey sausage links (I just use the already cooked ones) instead of the asparagus and then grabbed some fresh sage, thyme, and rosemarry. I also used half and half instead of cream, bought pre-made crust, and added one more egg. Okay so there are a lot of modifications...but it turned out really well and so easy to just heat in the microwave when I am half asleep in the morning.

More to recipes come as more zucchini arrives!