Zucchini Cakes

Summer time and the livin's hot and sweaty.  Mosquitos abound and the humidity is high...

Yes, yes, I'm quite musical. It's a gift, really.

If you don't live in the South, here's something you may not know.  We can grow the bejesus outta some squash.  You plant a couple of squash and zucchini plants and before you know it, you have more than you know what to do with.  One year, my parents were out of town and one of my jobs was to go over every couple of days to check the crop.  When we get good rain, those suckers can grow about 200% overnight.  I can't tell you how many times I pulled back the leaves to be startled by a dark green torpedo that wasn't there last time.  It can really scare you.

There's a Methodist church in our neighborhood that plants a giant garden each year...for the community.  That's right, for everyone.  I stopped by there today hoping for some zucchini because I've had my eye on a recipe for months...zucchini patties. Grated zucchini, two cheeses, egg, flour, onion.  Sure enough, I found a couple of those sneaky, lurking torpedos in the church garden. Usually, once they get this big, you don't want them because they can get tough.  But, for a recipe that requires grating them, the big boys are perfect.

So, tonight, I had zucchini loaves and fishes.  I made a batch of these killer patties and 3 loaves of zucchini bread from 1 1/2 (big) zucchinis.  What a plethora of good stuff from so little!  Took a loaf of bread to mom and dad and had part of one for dessert.  So thankful for that church sharing its bounty with the whole neigborhood!

So, if you're interested, this is a new favorite around here. Especially with Neil, because he HATES mushy squash, so finding a preparation that he likes is few and far between.  He's a big fan of these now.

Zucchini Patties
2 cups grated zucchini
2 eggs, beaten
1/4 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella
1/2 tsp salt

Mix all ingredients together; stir well.  Heat about 2 Tbs veg oil in a skillet over med-high heat. Drop zucchini batter in about 1/3 cup measures into skillet. Cook until golden brown; drain on paper towels. 

Place in colander, sprinkle with salt and let sit about 20 minutes; then squeeze water out.

Zucchini patty in all its glory

This is pork tenderloin that I marinated and baked; served with mustard sauce on the side

We were surprised that they actually taste more like potato pancakes than a veggie patty, so if you have anti-veggites in your house, this may be a way to get some veggies snuck in.  I mean, who can survive without vegetables?  We served these tonight with some room-temp leftover pork tenderloin, mustard sauce for the meat and some gorgeous tomato slices with salt and basil. Summertime, summertime!

Cornucopia

I know I go off all the time about how much I love the Brown Box Veggies folks, but here I go again.  I have been jonesin' for my veggies big time after I committed the cardinal sin two weekends ago.  Yes, I admit it.  I ordered a box and <gasp> forgot to go pick it up. To say I was devastated is an understatement the size of Texas. If I must force myself to find a bright side, it's that the Veggie Gals, as they like to call themselves, donate any unclaimed boxes to a charity.  But, dammit, that weekend, I wanted to be my own charity and I forgot.  

So, as you can probably guess, I've been pining away for veggie weekend ever since. I mean, we've been eating <again, gasp> grocery store produce.  But today was the day!  I wasn't going to have a repeat of last time.  I had a reminder and alarm set on my phone, a sticky note on the inside of the front door, and I had a small carrot tattooed on my index finger to remind me.  I even arrived early.

Yowza is all I can say.  When the Veggie Gal handed over the box, it was all I could do to carry that sucker to my car.  It was heavy.  Really heavy.  But I bolstered my strength with the eager anticipation of opening this treasure chest and carried that bad boy to the car. Once home, I cracked it open and it was like that scene when Vincent opens up Marcellus' briefcase.  

The golden light shone upon my face.  

So, getta load of this y'all:

I got squash, zucchini, parsley, Roma tomatoes, onions, over a dozen jalapenos (Neil is in heaven), cabbage, cucumbers, pea pods, peaches, apples, pears, and the largest head of romaine I have ever seen in my life.  Seriously, in the romaine world, you wouldn't want to pick a fight with this big guy. See for yourself.

Perfect lunch box sized pears & apples

Cabbage: the red-headed stepchild of the vegetable world. Undeservedly so. I see eggrolls and stuffed cabbage rolls in our future.

The largest head of romaine I've ever seen

Neil's dietary staple

Uhh, I'm thinkin' salsa? 

This amount of pea pods in the grocery would probably cost half of what I paid for my glorious Brown Box Veggies!

If you know me and my addiction to anything pickled, guess what I'm gonna do with these little cuties?

 Tonight we took advantage of yellow squash, pea pods (snow peas, you may call them) and coconut shrimp. I'm thinking it was a hit since there was NOTHING leftover.  As the cook, that's always a good sign. As a hater of leftovers, that's always a good sign! 

Ok, I realize I'm repeating myself, but if you haven't ordered from Brown Box Veggies before, get online RIGHT NOW! It's a killer deal, it's local produce and it is simply a joy to open that box and see what surprises you'll find inside. Oh, by the way, I was just jerking your chain about that carrot tattoo.  I doubt that even Peter Cottontail would pay money for that!  :-)

Zucchini+Broiler=Epic Win

I love squash.  Yellow,zucchini, acorn, butternut.  Spaghetti squash kinda freaks me out though, so there's one exception.  My dad always grew squash in our garden and I know how to cook it in various ways.  So imagine my surprise, all those years ago, to meet Neil and learn that he's not crazy about squash.  What the...?  How can you not like squash?

Well, turns out, if you grow up eating squash boiled to within an inch of its life, you don't really like squash when you grow up.

 So, over the years, I've occasionally tried out different preparations on him.  Some have gone over well. But some not so much...you turn your back on it and it'll soften up and get mushy in a heartbeat.  But, I keep trying because I love it and because it's good for us.  

As I planned dinner tonight, I was thinking green beans.  But we had green beans yesterday, which could very well get the "Day 2 Rejection" by the wunderkind.  Then I remembered the zucchini in the fridge. Hmmm.  What to do, what to do?  As I contemplated how to make tasty, non-mushy zukes, a thunderbolt hit me.  THE BROILER.  Yes, it's been staring me in the face all this time.  And the idea was formulated.

So, I sliced them kind of thick (this also slows down the mush time factor).  I placed them on the broiler pan and sprayed with Pam.  Broiled for a few, then flipped and sprinkled each slice with some parmesan.  Broily, broily and voila!  They looked acceptable.  Would they pass the test?  Well, test(s) really.  They had to make it past Neil and the wunderkind, who up until this point has been 50/50 on squash.  

I always make Viv's plate first so it can start cooling.  Before I'd finished making mine and Neil's, she was asking for more zucchini. ((What!/!))  Then, completely unsolicited, she said to me, 

"Mommy, these zucchini are great. I really like them.  And I like the way you put the cheese on top; it's kinda crunchy."

Wow!  What an endorsement.  Then, to top it all off, I sat across the table from my (tomorrow) Birthday Man and watched him polish off ALL of his zucchini and he looked happy about it.  This is what success feels like, my friends.  I have uncovered the secret to squash that my husband can enjoy.  As cliche as it is, this was an "epic" win.  Oh yeah, the cubed steak, rice and homemade gravy went over well too ;-)

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