Zucchini Coconut Bread

BEST OF THE TASTY CHEAPSKATE



I was going to do a post about these amazing chocolate chip peanut butter cookies--the best of both worlds. But then we ate them all before I could take a picture.

Never fear. This just gives me the opportunity to give you the best zucchini bread ever recipe. After all, 'tis the season for overmuch zucchini bread.

Don't mess with the sugar or oil to try to reduce them. Some things are just right and should  be left alone.

Let me tell you another story about this bread: The first time I made this, I tried to ruin it in every way. I underbaked it, but didn't know, so I let it cool and then cut into it and it was gooey--like, really gooey. I put it (that's right--the cut-in-half loaf) back in the oven and pretty much re-baked it for an hour. I thought all was lost. The edges were dark brown. And the middle--who knew--I suspected it was hopelessly dry or still gooey. My friends, it came out delicious. The overly dark edges seemed to have gotten a crispy browned sugar edge and the middle was moist and perfect. Ah, merciful loaf.


Zucchini Coconut Bread
adapted from allrecipes
Makes 1 loaf (or 12 muffins)
Prep time: 10 minutes with food processor; 15 without
Cook time: 1 hour
Cost: $1.00
(egg: .10, oil: .10, zucchini: .20, flour: .07, whole wheat flour: .14, coconut: .35, other stuff: .04)

1 egg
1/2 C vegetable oil (I use canola)
1 C white sugar
1 C grated zucchini
1/2 tsp vanilla
3/4 C all purpose flour
3/4 C whole wheat flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 C shredded coconut (I use sweetened)

Note: I use a food processor to shred my zucchini and even when I take into account the time to wash the darn thing, it saves me a bunch of time when grating zucchini. Also, if you have too much zucchini, freeze what remains in a bag labeled with the amount.

Combine egg and oil. Mix in sugar, then zucchini and vanilla. In separate bowl combine flours, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Add the dry mixture to the wet mixture. Mix in coconut.

Pour mixture in lightly greased loaf pan (I use a larger 9-inch one, although you could probably cram it into a smaller 7-ish inch one too).

Bake at 350 for 1 hour.

Zucchini and Whole Wheat Pancakes

Mark has declared these his new favorite. He knows they've got a secret ingredient, but I haven't had the guts to tell him what it is. (Yup--one of those parents--right here--he's just so painfully picky...)

Suffice it to say that these pancakes are delicious, whole wheat, simple to make, and a handy solution to anyone's zucchini problem. Interestingly, the zucchini (a wholesome ingredient) keeps these moist and ends up making them taste less "wholesome" than they are.

If you need to hide the zucchini because you have bravery issues and also, likely, low moral fiber, I suggest you peel your zucchini. Otherwise the tell-tale green specks will appear and then you're ruined--ruined I tell you.

Zucchini and Whole Wheat Pancakes
Makes 6-10 pancakes
Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 15 minutes
Cost: $1.75 ($.20/pancake)
flour: .20, buttermilk: .90, zucchini (free at this time of year, but otherwise, let's say $.50), other stuff: .15

Note: These work best with fresh zucchini. When I've made them with frozen/dethawed zucchini, they tend to come out gummy.

1 C whole wheat flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1-2 Tbsp sugar (optional)
1 1/2-1 3/4 C buttermilk (I used the real stuff this time; can sub 1 C milk, 1 Tbsp vinegar, but you may need less as this will be a bit more runny)
1/2-3/4 C finely shredded peeled zucchini

Blend dry ingredients. Add milk and mix. Add zucchini and mix.

Pour onto hot greased skillet. When bottoms of pancakes are golden, flip, and cook other side.

P.S. Those dark spots you see in the pancakes above--they're chocolate chips. Told you I had weak moral fiber.

PRINTABLE RECIPE

Five Fabulous Things to Do with Enormous Zucchini

Apparently in the summer zucchini becomes a threat. Gardening friends get a wild look in their eyes and tell you that you won't be able to leave their houses unless you take some squash with you. Oh, sure, it sounds friendly enough. Until the fasten seat belt sound won't stop beeping due to the weight of all those zucchini in your passenger seat.

Of course I can't be threatened. I couldn't pass up free food if it spit in my face. And I love zucchini season because (confession) I'm a bit of a zucchini failure myself. I've had a garden for seven years now and have never grown a successful zucchini plant. I know. I know. The shame. Zucchini is oozing out of everyone else's ears and my plants are infested with bugs or only have male flowers or the forces of the universe have lined up to otherwise spoil my zucchini. I keep planting it every year. Hoping that this--this will be the year. So far it hasn't been. But who wants to go to the store and pay for zucchini in the summer time. I always take what I get.

Recently, I was not allowed to pick my child up from a birthday party without taking some squash. I was happy to oblige. I got a tiny sweet one, a baseball bat-sized one, and two regular-sized yellow crooknecks.

Now the great thing about summer squash and zucchini in particular is that it's very inoffensive--it tends to soften up and to take the flavors of whatever it's with. Thus you can use it in bread, pancakes, fritters, muffins, even chocolate cakes. And no one will be the wiser.

Tip: If you do have a super enormous one, don't be afraid to discard the "core" of seed that is in there and just use the edges of that fat old zucchini.

Here's are my very very favorite recipes for zucchini. To be honest, I love every single squash recipe on this blog (I love them), but these are the best of the best:

1. My favorite zucchini bread.

2. Since I was shredding for the bread anyway, I froze several 1-cup serving sized bags of zucchini for later use.

3. This soup. It's summer in a pot. Super quick, fairly nutritious. Divine.

4. Latkes. Fritters. Whatever you want to call them. Even my kids will eat these. They don't know there's zucchini in them. Delicious.

5. And my favorite summer lunch--Not Really Ratatoille. I haven't posted it before because it's just so easy. And also because it's ugly. In fact, every summer when I make it again for the first time, I always see it and think, "Is this going to be any good? It sure looks ug-ly. Maybe I did some special step that I'm forgetting." Nope. It's always great. Seriously, like, plop a bowl-full in front of a friend/spouse and watch his/her face. But then it just tastes so so good. I love it plain, or on rice, or wrapped in a tortilla.

Here's what you do:
-Heat olive oil in a skillet.
-Dice zucchini and throw it in the oil with some salt. Cook until tender and browning on the sides.
-Dice some fresh tomatoes (or used canned if you don't have any from the garden). Throw those in and cook.
-Slice some black olives. Now I know this sounds weird, but just do it okay. It's actually a really fabulous compliment to the tomatoes. Throw the olives in.
-Top with cheese. Cheddar is my favorite, but Monterey Jack or Parmesan would probably be good too.
-Eat alone or over rice or in a tortilla shell.

Zucchini Lemon Bread

Pictured here with all white (all-purpose) flour and a more sugary glaze. 

Zucchini season is coming. It's like the zombie apocalypse, only greener and without dead people who are trying to eat you (sounds like a win win to me). But anyway, yes, zucchini--sometimes there's a lot of it. I have a zucchini bread on here that I love with my soul, but when I saw this zucchini lemon bread on Cooking on the Ranch, it really caught my eye. It was like a lemon bread with zucchini snuck in. Zucchini sneaks very well (just like a zombie, right). Zucchini is so mild in flavor that it can meld with a lot of foods while also adding moisture to them.

This bread is delicious. The first time I made it with all white flour (pictured above). The second time I used half whole wheat flour so that I could justify it for breakfast instead of dessert (story of my life, people). I think I might like the second version even better. I often enjoy the depth of flavor a whole grain gives baked goods. I also thinned out the glaze on top so it was intensely lemony and I looove that.

And here with the whole wheat and thinner glaze. 

Zucchini Lemon Bread
adapted from Cooking on the Ranch
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 1 hour
makes 1 loaf
Cost: $1.50 (or about $.10/serving)
(flour: .10, whole wheat flour: .20, eggs: .20, oil: .10, sugar: .10, milk: .10, lemon: .20 (asian store price), zucchini: .50 (and that's gonna be all but free come summer)

Note: I peeled my zucchini in order to keep my children unsuspecting. Because that's the kind of Mom I am.

1 C all-purpose flour
1 C whole wheat flour (preferably white whole wheat)
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 eggs
1/2 C canola oil
2/3 C sugar
1/2 C buttermilk (or 1/2 Tbsp vinegar with 1/2 C milk)
juice of 1 lemon
zest of 1 lemon
1 C grated zucchini

In large bowl, beat eggs. Add canola oil and sugar. Then buttermilk, lemon juice, lemon zest, and zucchini. Mix.

To this add the dry ingredients. Mix.

Grease a loaf pan. Bake at 350 for 1 hour or until a knife inserted comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs. (Note: If you use a 9x5 inch pan, your baking time may be shorter.)

Let cool 15-20 minutes. Add glaze. Let cool another few minutes and remove from pan (if you want; we're not bossy around here).

Lemon Glaze:
(Yes, you can skip the glaze, if you want to be lame or healthy or something, but I do believe it increases the overall lemony-ness of this bread. It adds another $.30 cents or so to your cost)
Note: The original recipe called for 2 Tbsp lemon juice and 1 C powdered sugar. It was good, but I found that I liked it better with less sugar. I poured some lemon juice into a bowl and then added powdered sugar until the mixture was still clearish (as opposed to white, which is how it is with more sugar) and sweet/tart. Feel free to experiment with the ratios of lemon to sugar as your little heart/tongue desires.

1/3 C powdered sugar
2 Tbsp lemon juice

Combine. Drizzle over top of bread (I do this while still in loaf pan so that the pan catches the drippings and then they sort of soak into the loaf. But you can take the loaf out and then glaze if you wish.

PRINTABLE RECIPE

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3 Breads to Make with Zucchini

Last night I was supposed to go to an activity at my church. Unfortunately when I went to get into my car, well, there were no keys. Because they were sitting in my car staring at me. Kip had left for work and we hadn't gotten around to making a spare key. I am sure the activity at church was wonderful, but sometimes there's nothing better on earth than being stuck at home with nothing at all you can do about it. I had a big zucchini and some spotty bananas. I made muffins. And muffins. And muffins.

And I realized that I hadn't done something like that for a long time--where I just stayed home and made a lot of food for fun without the pressure of doing something else looming over me. It was delightful. It was more than that--it was soulful.

I've actually been meaning to make a stock-pile of snack food to stash in the freezer for a long time. I find that it's nice in summer. That way we can pack up and head to the park or pool or library or hiking trails spur of the moment and just grab something out of the freezer. Otherwise, I'm like, "Well, I guess we better eat lunch first." And then we do. And then there's a mess. And then, inevitably some other type of meltdown happens. And then we're just barely walking out the door when we should have been walking back in for afternoon naps and quiet time. And then I just end up grumpy and/or angry about whatever activity it was that we did. Freezer snacks solve this problem beautifully. But the great irony of this summer is that I haven't had time to make any freezer snacks. Well, last night without even meaning to, I did. Best locked-out-of-car experience ever.

1. Zucchini Coconut Bread. This is my very favorite zucchini bread ever. For me, it can do no wrong (unless you count causing me to gain dozens of pounds as wrong). I love it to a problematic point. I've eaten several pieces already today and probably won't be hungry by dinnertime.

2. Zucchini Chocolate Bread/Muffins. The recipe here has been healthified. The original used about twice the sugar and only oil--no applesauce. I like it with some whole wheat either way just because I don't love white flour muffins. Last night we threw caution to the wind and made it with all the sugar and all the oil and about 1 C of whole wheat and 1 cup regular wheat. Either way these are nice because the chocolate hides the zucchini better than other recipes do (although not perfectly unless you peel the zucchini).

3. Zucchini Blueberry Bread.  We didn't make this one last night, but we could have because we just went blueberry picking last week. This is a fairly wholesome breakfast bread that is still tasty. It's also pretty.

Zucchini Soup

I have a terrible confession. I cannot grow zucchini. This would be bad enough if I did not consider myself a gardener. Because we all know that apes, if given zucchini seeds, will be able to throw them on the ground and successfully grow zucchini. The fact that I do consider myself a gardener (albeit not a long time vet) makes it all the more shameful. I'm not sure what my problem is. Bugs? Heat? Bad karma from a previous life in which I was a really cocky beefsteak tomato? I'm not sure. Whatever the case, every year I faithfully plant my little zucchini and crookneck squash seeds. And every year several plants grow up and flower and look healthy and flower some more and house bees and flower more and maybe produce an inch-long zucchini that then withers and flower some more. Clearly, what I really need to learn to do is stuff and fry up those flowers (take that, male zucchini flowers), but I'm guessing there would be one and only one person in this household willing to try such a delicacy so I'd still sort of have my problem.

The good news is that plenty of other people (and most likely several species of lower-level primates as well) do not have my problem. Thus, even though I seem completely incapable of producing a lovely (or even ugly) zucchini, I am the happy receptacle of other peoples' too-much-zucchini problem.

Last week I got a bunch. I was supposed to give some to my friend Emilee who was at my house, but I forgot (sorry, Emilee), which left me with a lot of zucchini and yellow squash. Not those delicate little 4-inch beauties you find at the supermarket either. Nope. These were the summer-is-on, foot-long-and-fat kind of zucchini.

I shredded and froze some. I made zucchini bread. I made a squash casserole. But.it.was.still.there. So I took drastic measures and made this soup. It's nice because it uses a whole lot of zucchini and doesn't even have to stuff that zucchini with cheese, bread crumbs, and butter.

The recipe I give you is a bit of a blank slate. It is pretty good on its own. But it is much much better with your favorite seasoning thrown in. My favorite is dill (which I, happily, am able to grow by the booty-full). I also really like cumin or curry. I also really like these seasonings in combination (i.e. cumin and dill--yum). I've also heard that a good sprinkle of Italian seasoning won't do you wrong, but I haven't tried it yet. I actually leave the soup plain and then each day when I have a bowlful, I add a sprinkle of whatever seasoning I'm in the mood for that day. What can I say? I live an exciting life.

This soup also freezes well. So if you get a little souped out, you can freeze a batch and pull it out in a few months when temperatures are drifting down and you get a wee hankering for a bit of summer combined with a breezy fall day.

Zucchini Soup
serves 4-8
Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 30 minutes
Cost: $.45
onion: .15, zucchini: free, broth: free if you made it yourself; otherwise about .30 from granules

Note: If you've got one of those enormous zucchini, cut it in quarters long-ways and scoop or cut out the seeds.

Another note: I say 4 C in this recipe. That's kind of an estimate. You can probably get away with 4-6 cups. The original recipe called for 4 four-inch zucchini.

1 generous Tbsp olive oil
1 onion, chopped
4 C zucchini
salt and pepper
4 C chicken broth

Heat oil in a pot. Add onion and stir for a couple of minutes. Add zucchini and stir. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Let zucchini cook with onion until they're both tender and (hopefully) getting a little color. (Note: If you jam your pot full like I sometimes do, you won't get much color--that's okay too, but the brown bits do add some nice flavor.)

Add broth, bring to boil, then reduce heat and simmer covered for 20 minutes or until vegetables are very very soft.

Puree in blender or with an immersion blender (don't burn yourself, eh).

Reheat if necessary. Serve with dill, cumin, curry, or Italian seasoning. If using fresh herbs, give them a squeeze with your hand to release some of their oils and then let them steep in the warm soup for a few minutes. (Note: I love this with fresh dill, but don't do what I did in the picture up top. It's pretty, but it's like eating hair. Either leave the dill attached to its stalk so you can remove it before eating or eat around it, or chop it finely.)

Zucchini Latkes

Cheap Eat Challenge, Part 2: Watch as our family of 6 eats on less than $6/day.

I was working really hard before our trip to get the refrigerator cleaned out. Maybe that seems like an unpleasant job for some, but once I get started I always think it's kind of fun. It's almost like a puzzle in that you're piecing together different segments of something, only it's more creative than a puzzle because you don't quite know what that something is.

I had a couple fresh zucchini and some really sad looking potatoes that must have been a couple months old. And as I always say, "When life hands you potatoes with inch long eyes growing out all over the place, and most especially if life hands it to you with a needy zucchini, make latkes." Also, if life hands you lemons, (which would be very cliche of life and why would life do that when it can hand you alien-eyed potatoes) you should definitely make that ice cream we talked about yesterday.

Zucchini Latkes
adapted from smittenkitchen
Makes about 8 latkes
Prep time: 10 minutes with food processor
Cook time: 15 minutes
Cost: $1.00
(zucchini: .50, potatoes: .25, flour: .10, egg: .10, other stuff: .05)

1 small zucchini
3-5 medium sized potatoes, peeled or not (I used russets)
1/4 onion (or a good dash onion powder)
1/2 C all-purpose flour
1 egg
1 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
oil for frying

Put the grater thingy on the food processor. Send the zucchini through. (If the zucchini is seedy, first cut it in halves and scoop out the big seeds.) Then send the potatoes and onion through. As an alternative, you can grate these vegetables with a grater.

Transfer the vegetables to a colander or strainer and press the juices/waters out of them. You can also do this by wrapping all the shredded vegetables in a tea towel and then wring the tea towel out. You'll see how much water comes out of these vegetables. Let the vegetables sit for a few more minutes and then squeeze more juice/water out of them.

Put the vegetables in a bowl and add flour, egg, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Stir.

Heat oil in a skillet (I used cast iron.) Use enough oil that you've got a millimeter or two on the bottom of your pan. Then, drop a blob of the mixture onto the pan and flatten it with a spoon. (You can shape them into patties beforehand if you wish, but I prefer the texture of the non-shaped latkes. They are less glutinous, though I can't tell you why.) The latkes are going to be about 1/2 inch thick or maybe just the slightest bit thinner. When you drop them into the oil, it should sizzle, but not go berserk.

Cook over medium high heat until the edges get golden (which means the bottoms are nice and golden). Have a peek here or there to be sure they're not burning. Adjust your heat if they're cooking too fast or if they're taking forever. When the bottom is golden, flip them over and cook until the other side is golden too.

Let them drain on a paper towel.

You can serve with sour cream, yogurt, this awesome cheater sauce, or--as you must surely have guessed is our family's favorite--ketchup.

PRINTABLE RECIPE

Zucchini Orzo

Cheap Eat Challenge, Part 2: Watch as our family of 6 eats on less than $10/day.

Now you see the zucchini...

Now you don't.

Which is one of the many many wonderful things about this recipe. If there are people in your family willing to consume large amounts of vegetable with their pasta, you can leave the skin of your zucchini on and include any of a number of other delicious and colorful vegetable add-ins (tomatoes, peppers, olives, peas...). If the people in your family would rather see their fingernails ripped off than know that their pasta contains a vegetable not in sauce form, then you merely peel the skins off the zucchini and I'll be darned if they don't get completely lost in that orzo. And just in case they're not completely lost, you can slather that stuff in a nice red tomato sauce and, by gum, they will be.

But first a few words on hiding one's vegetables in unsuspecting white starchy foods. I have a friend who studied nutrition who believes very strongly that hiding vegetables instead of serving them straight up just develops unhealthy habits in children (and, cough, husbands). She believes that while they may end up eating their hidden vegetables, they will not learn to be accepting of those poor vegetables that have the misfortune of actually looking the part, and that this will inhibit their making of healthy choices throughout life. I agree with my friend wholeheartedly. I believe that sometimes vegetables must be seen instead of just heard, um--tasted, um, whatever. Kids need to get used to trying things that don't look like a cookie or taste like a cookie or have a nifty cartoon character on the box.

And yet. And yet. There are those times. I think most of you know what times I mean--those times when a hapless vegetable is simply so unloved that something must be done to get the little guy in the gate. Or times when your kid is going through a little vegetable strike (Hello Emma). Or when you don't want a big fight at dinner. Or times when you, in your perfectly clueless first few years of parenting--years in which you may or may not have allowed your oldest child to have a peanut butter sandwich or a bowl of cereal every night for dinner because the little dear just wouldn't eat anything else and you were so (hands wringing) concerned that the little guy would perish from his own perfectly darling stubbornness that you gave in every night even though every other mother who had been a mother of more than one child for more than 60 seconds counseled you not to give in--yes, you may be one of those parents who may or may not (this is not a place of judgment) have neglected to develop said healthy habits in your children and therefore must resort to measures of stealth. At least occasionally while you backtrack and try to make up for lost vegetable time and establish some better habits, conking your head on the countertop wondering why--why I ask you--you did not listen to those more experienced mothers and tell little Junior Cute Cheeks to eat up or go without.

The solution: hide some vegetables in your food, but don't forget to set a few whole on the table as well.

By the way, orzo, should you not know what it is (I'd never cooked with it before either), is a small pasta that looks like rice, or as Mark pointed out, small seeds. You will be shocked how much zucchini can be stuffed into a serving of it without it being noticeable. I went conservative the first time (the peeled zucchini picture) because I really didn't know how my audience would react, and we still each got 1/2 C. The next day I made more for my lunch (the un-peeled zucchini picture) and I put a whole medium sized zucchini in one large serving and wished I'd added more.

And if you're still not convinced how awesome this can be, it only takes 20 minutes from start to finish (and that includes zucchini grating time). Marry me, 20-minute meals.

Zucchini Orzo
adapted from Animal, Vegetable, Miracle
Makes 2 main course or 4 side dish servings
Prep and cook time: 20 minutes

1/2 lb orzo pasta
1 large zucchini or about 4 C grated zucchini
1/4 grated onion or a couple dashes onion powder
2 cloves garlic minced (or a couple dashes garlic powder)
2-4 Tbsp olive oil
1/4 C Parmesan cheese or sharp cheddar (supposing you happen to run out of Parmesan on the day you're to make this, not that I ever would)
salt and pepper to taste
a few pinches chicken bouillon granules
other chopped vegetables (optional--peppers, olives, tomato, spinach, peas--all these would have been great additions)

Cook orzo according to instructions on box.

While it's cooking, heat oil in a skillet and grate your zucchini and onion if using (and any other hard vegetables such as peppers that you may be using). Add salt, pepper, and onion/garlic powders to oil and let them sit for 20 seconds. Add vegetables to oil in skillet (should sizzle, but not go nuts). Mix it around to get it all kind of oily. Turn heat to medium or just below that and allow the zucchini to cook fully (uncovered), stirring occasionally. Add garlic (if you didn't add powder above.

Drain orzo. Add it to skillet and turn heat to low. Mix it up with the zucchini mixture. Add pinches chicken bouillon granules. Add any soft vegetables you may be using such as tomatoes or spinach. Add cheese(s). Give it a stir or two. Taste, adjusting seasoning and serve. Note: I liked this best simply plain, but Kip liked his best with a bit of tomato sauce mixed in. Of course, you can also add meatballs or sausage or whatever if you wish to de-vegetarian it.

PRINTABLE RECIPE

Vegetable and Ricotta Stuffed Pepper Boats

Cheap Eat Challenge, Part 2: Watch as our family of 6 eats on less than $10/day.

Until a few years ago, I just couldn't stand peppers. At all.  They were one of the few vegetables that just didn't work for me. I tried to love them. After all, they were so very very pretty. I'd try them every year or so when I saw some lovely slices on someone's vegetable tray. And every year I thought, "Nope, still not working for me." It got to the point where I thought they were destined to be picked off of my supreme pizzas forever. And then one summer, it happened. We were at a friend's house, she had a plate of red, yellow, and green pepper slices. I was starving. I pulled off a red, gave it a bit of dip. It was sweet--sweeter than I remembered. I had another and another. I tried a yellow. Soon enough I was porking out on them dip-free and I was eager to get more. I started buying them after that--just occasionally when I was in the mood. And then, one day, they made their way into my garden. There's no going back after that. It's too much work not to love them. (I'm feeling a marriage analogy coming on, but I'll try to limit my marriage analogies to my discussions involving brownies, and maybe cookies.)

I still love the reds best. And although the greens and I have made peace, we're still not, like, BFF. Not this year at least.

This summer I've been using my lunches to try to work my way through some of summer's bounties. In the midst of eating my way through a large zucchini and more than a windowsill full of garden tomatoes, my friend gave me some of the prettiest banana peppers ever--some were still pale, some had turned orange, and some were red enough for party lipstick. Would that we all aged as well as peppers do.

So I made stuffed peppers. Only these couldn't possibly stand upright, so I laid them down and made pepper boats. I know; I know; I'm completely brilliant. I just can't help myself sometimes.

Seriously, though, there are several advantages to the banana boats as opposed to the average stuffed pepper:

1) They take less time in the oven because they're skinnier.
2) They're less messy to cut up and eat.
3) When you sprinkle cheese on the top, you have more surface area for more cheese. I ask you, do you need more reason than this? I don't.

Vegetable and Ricotta Stuffed Pepper Boats
Makes 4
Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 20 minutes
Cost: Guys I'm struggling here as most of my vegetables have been free, so this is a bit of a guess: $1.57
(zucchini: .15, tomato: .35, onion: .02, peppers: no idea really; I've honestly never purchased them; let's say: .40, ricotta: .50, feta: ..15)

Note: One of the great things about stuffed peppers is that you can substitute whatever you have. (In fact, I kept mis-typing this to read 'stuff peppers' which can be uncannily accurate.) You can use whatever fresh veggies you've got. You can sub cottage cheese for the ricotta. You can sprinkle it with any cheese that milks your cow (although I like something with some punch like sharp cheddar, Parmesan/Romano/Asiago, or feta). You can use couscous, rice, or quinoa in place of some or all of the ricotta. You can add bacon or sausage or ground beef if you wish to de-vegetarian this. Bread crumbs, sure. Paprika on top, why not? Hot peppers instead of banana; you're brave, but go for it. And, yes, you can even use just a regular old bell pepper. The point is that, if you like peppers, these babies are tough to mess up. They're even tough to uglify. Who doesn't love that in a food?

Another Note: I prepare the filling and just make one pepper at a time for lunch. So I make my pepper and then I put the leftover filling in the fridge so I can use it the next day to stuff another pepper for lunch.

One final note: While I'm preparing the filling I like to throw the (de-stemmed, de-seeded) pepper I'm going to use into the oven while the oven heats and while I prepare the filling on the stove. This way it cooks a bit before I put the fillings in and the whole thing cooks a bit faster.

Okay, this is really really the final note: It is possible you could skip sauteing the vegetables and just mix everything up, stuff the pepper, and then cook it a little longer in the oven. I think it goes faster with the stove to oven method, but if you've got plenty of wait time for things to cook and less hands-on time to be standing at a stove, this might be a great option for you. I've got to warn you, though, that I haven't tried it. If you do and it works as well as I think it would, let me know, would you?

4 banana or other long peppers
1/2 C diced zucchini
1/8-1/4 C sliced onion
1 tomato, diced
1 C ricotta cheese
2 Tbsp feta cheese
salt and pepper to taste

Lay your peppers down and cut a generous sliver our of the side facing up. (Leave the stem in tact so your filling doesn't leak out.) Cut out the seeds and any ribs that are in your way.

Heat a bit of olive oil in a frying pan. Add zucchini and onion to hot oil and saute until the onions are clear and tender. Add tomatoes and salt and pepper. Cook another minute more until tomatoes are warm.

Put this vegetable mixture into a bowl. Add ricotta. Taste and adjust your seasonings. Stuff the peppers and sprinkle with feta cheese.

Bake in oven at 400 for 10-15 minutes.

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Zucchini Blueberry Bread

Cheap Eat Challenge, Part 2: Watch as our family of 6 eats on $10/day.

Have you ever seen a recipe in a magazine (like a parenting, fitness or other non-food magazine) with a picture that looks so good you simply cannot stop thinking about making it? Have you ever then made it and had it come out so awful that you were quite sure that said magazine was overrun by aliens who slapped together an ingredient list with some instructions and then stole a picture off-line? It seems to happen a lot more than it should. I often wonder if they (the humans, not the aliens) test the recipes at all? Or if they really just sort of compose something in their heads that they think will work out well and then use a plastic replica of what they think the recipe will look like for the photo. At any rate, it bugs me to waste time and food on something that was doomed from the start. It bugs me a lot. You couldn't tell, could you?

This is what happened with this recipe. I found it in an issue of "Parents" magazine (motto: we publish the same 7 articles in every issue and our recipes are created by aliens studying human food patterns). It had a beautiful picture of  the most plump and perfect loaf of zucchini blueberry bread you've ever seen, along with the promise that the bright color of the blueberries would distract your youngsters from the green flecks of the zucchini. Well, I should have known there were aliens involved right away, because as any self-respecting human parent knows, nothing short of the apocalypse (and even maybe that) is going to distract your youngster from something green in his sweet bread. Certainly not (in our family anyway) another member of the fruit and vegetable family.

But I wanted this bread for me. And one thing the mag did manage to get right is that zucchini and blueberries come along at about the same season. The recipe was also low-sugar and whole wheat and I can't resist a good breakfast bread.

Against my better judgment I included all the 3 eggs (most recipes call for only 1), the normal portion of oil (I believe it was 1/2 C), and meager cup (or was it 3/4 C?) of whole wheat flour. Lo and behold, I got an extremely runny batter. To this I added (and here I must confess some fault) finely grated zucchini (my attempt at hiding it was to get it nearly pureed rather than largely grated) and blueberries that had been frozen and then thawed releasing some water/juice, which I dumped in with the berries. For my efforts I got a lump of eggy, oily, wet bread that did not even make an attempt at rising. It was...edible, but not really by much. I ended up salvaging my ruined bread by frying it up as you would a scone (the egginess seemed to be begging for something French-toast-ish) and serving it with syrup--not quite the healthy recipe I had in mind.

But the concept, and that picture of somebody's beautiful bread kept coming back to me. Today I got to re-creating it. It's not the heaven that you get in the zucchini coconut bread (but you can't compare 1 C of sugar with 6 Tbsp--it's just not fair), but it's still a very good and very healthy bread. Do not be ashamed to eat it for breakfast. Or to feed it to your young. Although, if you want your children to overlook the zucchini, you're going to have to peel it.

Zucchini Blueberry Bread
makes 1 loaf
prep time: 10 minutes with food processor, 15 without
Cook time: 50 minutes
Cost: $1.04
(egg: .10, oil: .05, sugar: .06, zucchini: .30, whole wheat flour: .20, blueberries: .30 on sale at Aldi, other stuff: .03)

1 egg
1/4 C oil
6 Tbsp white sugar
1 C grated zucchini (if you've frozen it and thawed it, drain the water off before using)
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/4 C whole wheat flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
dash salt
1/2 C blueberries (fresh, frozen, or dried, but not frozen and then de-thawed--I used fresh)

Mix egg, oil, sugar. Add zucchini and vanilla.

Combine dry ingredients.

Add dry to wet. Stir until just combined with a few whisps of flour remaining. Add blueberries and stir 2 or 3 times to combine.

Pour batter into a greased 7-inch loaf pan. (You might want to use parchment or wax paper underneath and draped over the sides, as mine took a bit of coaxing to get out of the pan.)

Bake at 350 for 50 minutes or until a knife inserted comes out clean.

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Zucchini Coconut Bread

Cheap Eat Challenge, Part 2: Watch as our family of 6 eats on $10/day.

I'm currently working on a zucchini blueberry bread. Well, technically, I'm not yet working on it. Technically, I'm thinking about working on it. But I'm thinking hard. Very hard.

In the meantime, I thought I'd share my very favorite in the universe zucchini bread. The recipe comes from all recipes. I leave out the currants and the nuts and sub in some whole wheat flour. But I don't mess with the sugar (and you all know I love to mess with the sugar) or the oil to try to reduce them. There are some treats that are just too right to be messed with and I believe this is one of them. I even eat it for breakfast sometimes anyway. Because everyone needs a guilty pleasure, right? Except that I usually forget to feel guilty about it. Oops.

Let me tell you another story about this bread: The first time I made this, I tried to ruin it in every way. I underbaked it, but didn't know, so I let it cool and then cut into it and it was gooey--like, really gooey. I put it (that's right--the cut-in-half loaf) back in the oven and pretty much re-baked it for an hour. I thought all was lost. The edges were dark brown. And the middle--who knew--I suspected it was hopelessly dry or still gooey. My friends, it came out delicious. The overly dark edges seemed to have gotten a crispy browned sugar edge and the middle was moist and perfect. Ah, merciful loaf.

So, thank you, Carol from allrecipes.com , for making my zucchini life complete.

Zucchini Coconut Bread
adapted from allrecipes
Makes 1 loaf (or 12 muffins)
Prep time: 10 minutes with food processor; 15 without
Cook time: 1 hour
Cost: $1.00
(egg: .10, oil: .10, zucchini: .20, flour: .07, whole wheat flour: .14, coconut: .35, other stuff: .04)

1 egg
1/2 C vegetable oil (I use canola)
1 C white sugar
1 C grated zucchini
1/2 tsp vanilla
3/4 C all purpose flour
3/4 C whole wheat flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 C shredded coconut (I use sweetened)

Note: I use a food processor to shred my zucchini and even when I take into account the time to wash the darn thing, it saves me a bunch of time when grating zucchini. Also, if you have too much zucchini, freeze what remains in a bag labeled with the amount.

Combine egg and oil. Mix in sugar, then zucchini and vanilla. In separate bowl combine flours, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Add the dry mixture to the wet mixture. Mix in coconut.

Pour mixture in lightly greased loaf pan (I use a larger 9-inch one, although you could probably cram it into a smaller 7-ish inch one too).

Bake at 350 for 1 hour.

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Chocolate Zucchini Muffins--Whole Wheat

Cheap Eat Challenge: Watch as our family of 6 eats, or tries to, on $6/day.

I was going to make a nice vegetable soup tonight--one loaded with late winter/early spring vegetables. One perfect for purposes of detoxifacation necessary the day after brownies with browned butter.

But we've been working outside all day and we are HUNGRY. The veggie soup will have to wait until Monday.

For today I'll give you a chocolate zucchini muffin recipe that is super yum. Yes, I realize zucchini is not in season, but we had some in our freezer needing to be used. And even though it doesn't seem like it in this chilly mid-March, in another 3 months, the zucchini will be coming on.

If you simply must have this, but don't have zucchini and think it's too expensive, try using applesauce in place of the zucchini.

P.S. The original recipe is from jamiecooksitup.blogspot.com. It was great. But I was surprised at how close the lower fat, lower sugar, whole wheat muffin was in taste. Also, the healthier ones had more rise. Not sure why.

Whole Wheat Chocolate Zucchini Muffins
adapted from jamiecooksitup.blogspot.com
Makes 12
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes

2 C whole wheat flour
1/3 C sugar
1/4 C cocoa
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/2 C oil
1/4 C applesauce
3/4 C milk
1 very large egg
1 tsp vanilla
1 C shredded zucchini (or 1 scant cup pureed zucchini)
1/4-1/2 C chocolate chips (optional)

Mix wet ingredients in a large bow. Add zucchini.

Mix dry ingredients.

Bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes.

Add dry to wet and stir, just until combined. Stir in chocolate chips.

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Zucchini Banana Breakfast Cookies (Low Sugar)

Here's the Sunday Sneak Peak (the post I do before Sunday becaue a girl needs a day of rest, don't you think) and the final breakfast cookie (for now). Soon we'll be moving on to apple recipes, then Thanksgiving, then foods you can give as gifts, then Christmas cookies. Is it just me or does the time fly in an alarming way at this time of year?

Anyway, one of the many great things about this recipe is that if you don't have zucchini on hand because it's mid-November and all, just double up on the banana and you'll have a yummy banana cookie.

Zucchini Banana Breakfast Cookies
Adapted from Deceptively Delicious
Makes 18

1 C whole wheat flour
1 C oats
1 tsp baking soda (I'd recommend this be scaled back to 1/2-3/4 tsp. I could taste it and I don't like that.)
dash salt
1/4 tsp cinnamon
6 Tbsp brown sugar, packed
6 Tbsp butter, soft
1/2 C mashed bananas (mash 'em good)
1/2 C zucchini puree (or shredded if your family doesn't mind that sort of thing
1 egg
1/2 C raisins or 1/4 C chocolate chips
1/2 C walnuts (opt)

Cream sugar and butter. Add egg, then banana and zucchini.

Sift dry ingredients. Add wet to dry and stir just to blend (seriously, just mix it gently or you'll get a tough cookie).

Add raisins and/or chocolate chips.

Bake at 350 for 12-15 minutes till golden.

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Zucchini Breakfast Cookies (Low Sugar)

It's not easy being green.

This recipe (and the next) feature our friend the zucchini. Now, zucchini can't really be tasted in a cookie, but it can, alas, be seen. In our family, I tend to puree instead of grate our zucchini in order to lessen the green fleck effect. However, little spots are still visible. These may be difficult for children (or perhaps spouses who act like children in regard to food) to get past. If your kids/spouse won't eat anything green except sour apple Jolly Ranchers you may need to peel your zucchini. A little fiber lost, a lot of love gained.

Also, I realize that zucchini is so 3 months ago, but we still have a bunch of it pureed/grated in our freezer. If you do too, or if you have an Asian store with cheap zucchini somewhere nearby, this cookie is warm cinnamon autumn-y in every other way.

Zucchini Breakfast Cookies
Adapted from Animal, Vegetable, Miracle
Makes 18

6 T butter, softened or melted
1/4 C brown sugar
1 T honey
1 egg
1 3/4 C whole wheat flour
1/4 C oat flour (if you haven't got any, use 1/4 C whole wheat or all-purpose flour)
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1 C shredded zucchini (or a scant cup pureed)
1/4-1/2 C chocolate chips
1 T vanilla

Cream butter and sugar. Mix in honey, egg, and vanilla. Add zucchini.

Sift dry ingredients and add dry to wet. Add chocolate chips.

Bake at 350 degrees for 12-15 minutes. (You may want to flatten the plops of batter with a spoon or you'll end up with overly rounded cookies like I did.)

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