Zucchini Madness III: Bacon-Feta Summer Squash Muffins and Spicy, Honey-Sweet Zucchini Bread

The race to keep up with the squash plants continues, and this afternoon my kitchen was positively aflame while the toddler napped and the newborn nestled against my chest in the sling. The result: more savory muffins, this time with the unexpected combination of feta and bacon, and secondly a dark, spicy zucchini bread with natural sugar sources and whole grain flours.

Bacon-Feta Summer Squash Muffins

makes 12 muffins

1/2 C olive oil

1 C plain yogurt

2 eggs

1 green onion, minced

3 strips bacon, cook until crisp and crumbled

4 oz. feta cheese, crumbled

3 C grated summer squash

1 1/2 C whole wheat flour

1 C barley flour

1 1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp Greek seasoning (or a mix of garlic, oregano, mint, fennel)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Whisk together oil, yogurt and eggs. Stir in bacon, feta and squash. Mix dry ingredients in a separate bowl, then add to wet. Stir until just combined. Fill twelve muffing cups completely full.

   

Bake for 20-25 minutes.

 

Spicy, Honey-Sweet Zucchini Bread

Makes one large loaf

1/2 C oil

1 C honey

1/2 C maple syrup

1/2 C milk

2 eggs

3 C grated zucchini

1 1/2 C whole wheat flour

1 C barley flour

1 C brown rice flour

2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

1 Tbs ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground cloves

1/2 ground nutmeg

1/4 tsp cardamom

Whisk together oil, honey, syrup, milk and eggs. Stir in zucchini. Mix dry ingredients in a separate bowl, then add to wet. Stir until just combined. Pour into a well-greased 9-in loaf pan.

 

Bake for 50-55 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Zucchini Madness II: Garden Strata and Basil Squash Cakes

The quest for original ideas for use of excess squash continues. We had the strata with dinner last night and the cakes were my lunch today. Honestly, I never get tired of these vegetables. They’re so light and adaptable!

Garden Strata

serves 4

4 C stale bread, cubed (we used a mix of sourdough and roasted garlic)

2 C grated zucchini and/or yellow squash

1/2 red pepper, diced

1/4 C minced red onion

1/2 C diced cooked sausage (we used andouille)

1/2 C coarsely chopped fresh basil leaves

1 C milk

2 eggs

1/2 C shredded cheese (we used cheddar jack)

salt and pepper

Salt the squash and place it in a colander to drain 15 minutes. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Squeeze out liquid from squash and combine with remaining ingredients. Stir until combined. Pour mixture into a greased 8-in square pan. Bake for 40-45 minutes, until crispy, golden and cooked through.

Basil Squash Cakes

makes 6 cakes

2 C shredded zucchini and/or yellow squash

1 green onion, minced

1 clove garlic, minced

1/2 C panko bread crumbs

1/4 C coarsely chopped fresh basil

1/4 C fresh grated parmesan cheese

1/4  diced fresh mozzarella cheese

salt and pepper

Mix all ingredients.

 

Heat a skillet over medium heat, drizzle with olive oil. Cook the cakes for 7-8 minutes per side until crispy.    

Zucchini Madness I: zucchini fritters and zucchini french bread pizza

Makes 8-10 fritters and 2 8-in long pizzas

The season is upon us. The season of zucchini door ditching—look out, I might be leaving some on a porch near you. Last night I did my best to incorporate the intimidating harvest into some dishes that would be a little bit novel for Chris, who, in truth, doesn’t even like zucchini very much. I thought they both turned out great—the pizza especially, due to the deeply flavored roasted tomatoes. But more about that in a minute; let’s start with the fritters.

I had never made fritters before—in fact, I’m not sure that I’d ever eaten them. So I went to the internet and found a highly rated and very easy recipe—after all, I’ve got a newborn on the boob and a toddler on my lap, and right now simplicity takes precedence over culinary innovation and complexity. Therefore: this recipe has some ingredients that I wouldn’t ordinary use (out of excessive snobbiness and mild obsession), but they won’t kill ya, and next time I try them I’ll experiment with whole grain flours and natural seasonings. Conclusion: I loved the crispy edges and the fluffy center, and think they deserve a place in the pantheon of zucchini door ditching season favorites.

 

2 C grated zucchini

1/2 C milk

1 egg

1 C flour

1/2 oz. ranch dressing seasoning

1 1/2 tsp baking soda

Mix all ingredients until combined. Heat 1/2 to 1 inch canola oil in a large skillet. Drop four fritters (about 1/4 C batter each) into the oil. Cook about 4-5 minutes per side until golden and puffed up.

 

And now the French bread pizzas (which could, of course, be made on regular ole pizza dough—we had half a loaf of delicious homemade bread left over from generous friends who brought us dinner after Fielding was born). As I said above, what really set these apart was the roasted tomato topping, which idea I pilfered from Passionate About Baking. Except that I had exactly five extremely ripe tomatoes when her recipe called for much more, so I knew that it wouldn’t go far. But the flavor is so deep, so resonant, it was the perfect way to use up tomatoes that were on their way out. All you do is half and seed your tomatoes, salt them and let them drain for a few minutes, then drizzle them well with olive oil and put them in a 250 degree oven for 4-5 hours--I used the toaster oven. By that time they should be shriveled, soft, and pungently flavored. Mash them up or put them in the food processor, and then you can either spread them on pizza crust, canapes, or pack them in oil and preserve them in the fridge for awhile. Here are mine, all mashed up:

1/2 C roasted tomatoes, chopped or mashed

1 link cooked sausage (we used andouille)

1 medium zucchini, sliced into thin ribbons using a vegetable peeler or mandolin

1/2 green pepper, thinly sliced

1 clove garlic, minced

1 Tbs lemon juice

shredded cheese (we used cheddar jack)

Slice your 8-in hunk of baguette horizontally. Drizzle olive oil on each half, rub with a clove of garlic and toast until lightly browned.

While bread is toasting, sauté the garlic and green pepper in a little olive oil until they begin to soften. Add the zucchini, stirring frequently until soft. Add lemon juice and salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.

Spread roasted tomatoes on each baguette half, top with sliced sausage, zucchini mixture and cheese.

  

Broil until cheese is melted and beginning to brown.

Savory Summer Squash Muffins

makes 12 muffins

 

The garden—and in particular the squash plants—is running amok. I’ve already got three bags of frozen shredded zucchini waiting to emerge on a winter day in need of a little sunshine. And now the summer squash is starting to overwhelm me, and I am kind of sick of sweet quick breads (blasphemy!). Enter the savory muffin! I have great plans to experiment on this technique, especially since my friend Lisa recently shared with me that she’s been making muffins on the BBQ (!!). But for round one, I made a fairly basic incarnation of the savory muffin.

1/2 C oil (olive or canola)

1 C milk + 1 Tbs lemon juice (mixed together and left to curdle 5 minutes—or if you have real buttermilk, even better!)

2 eggs

2-3 C shredded summer squash

1/4 C minced chives or green onion

1 C whole wheat flour

3/4 C all-purpose flour

1/2 C barley flour

1/2 tsp salt

1 1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp dried dill

1 tsp Parisian bonnes herbes

1/2 – 1 C shredded cheese (I used cheddar jack)

Whisk together oil, milk + lemon juice and eggs, then stir in squash and chive/onion. In a separate bowl whisk together dry ingredients (including spices). Add dry ingredients to wet, stirring until just combined. Gently incorporate shredded cheese. Preheat oven to 350. Fill muffin cups close to full. Bake 18-20 minutes, or until muffin tops spring back when touched.

Sliced in half, toasted, with some scrambled egg and ham…about the most satisfying breakfast I can think of.