Friday, July 30, 2021

The Vegetable that Keeps on Growing!

Need something to do with all of the fresh zucchini in your garden?! Every home gardener needs a few great zucchini recipes in their repertoire!

Here are some great tips and ideas to make the most of your zucchini this summer.

How to Know when your Zucchini is Ready: The vegetable should feel firm yet tender with shiny or glossy skin. When you cut into a good zucchini, it should have an almost buttery-like texture and the flesh should appear slightly yellow, greenish or white.

Size: Zucchini comes in all sizes, especially home grown. If your zucchini is large increase the cooking time by 2-3 minutes to make sure it gets cooked through. Check it often and adjust accordingly. If you like a bit thicker slice you'll also need to increase the time.

Watery Zucchini: Zucchini naturally has a very high water content. It is best to shred, slice or core out the zucchini depending on your method of cooking it. Simply drain, squeeze or pat with a paper towel to reduce any excess moisture in the zucchini.

If you have found yourself buried in fresh zucchini, you are definitely going to want to try out these Tried and True recipes!

Zucchini Dinner

Dinner just got easier using up all of your zucchini! These light and tasty meals are perfect for hot summer days. Stuff, slice, or add zucchini to a skillet and you have a main dish that everyone is going to love!

Slicing: Slice your zucchini evenly so that it cooks at the same rate. You can use yellow zucchini here as well or a mixture of both.

Fried Zucchini

Add a crispy outside to your zucchini while leaving the inside soft and tender. Zucchini is loaded with flavor and adding seasoning and panko can create the perfect appetizer, snack or side dish.

Cooking in Batches: You will need to cook these in batches, you do not want to overlap the parmesan zucchini chips. They will not crisp up evenly.

Quick Bread

Adding Zucchini into bread is another easy way to sneak in some vegetable while enjoying a delicious treat. These breads are easy to make and are ready in less than 30 minutes.

Fresh Zucchini: Bread is best made with the freshest zucchini vegetable. If possible, use a home grown zucchini rather than a store bought zucchini. Zucchini is best picked from the garden in the summer or fall season.

Grating: Cut the ends off the zucchini and do not peel if you would prefer. Use a grater to grate with the skin on or off. Fresh zucchini is very moist and watery. This will increase the breads moistness as it bakes as well.

Excess Moisture: Place the grated zucchini in a sieve or several paper towels. Discard any excess liquid from the zucchini the best that you can. Let it sit while combining ingredients.

Zucchini Dessert

Sneak in a little zucchini to each of your desserts and no one will ever know! It is a secret, hidden gem, that adds moisture, flavor and creates a savory dessert every time.

Size Matters: The larger the zucchini the drier it will be. Use a medium or small zucchini for this recipe you want moisture but not too much.

Shredding Zucchini: If you prefer to have a thicker and chunkier zucchini the larger shredder is best. The flavoring will be more noticeable than thinly shredded zucchini.