You are what you eat...Eat Veggies!

The cucumbers, zucchini and squash are being harvested in bucket loads right now.
Here are some recipes to try zucchini a new way. Remember a little olive oil or butter and a patty pan squash is simple and delicious just season and grill.


Spicy Squash Cakes
This recipe works well with a combination of zucchini or yellow squash. Temper the fieriness of the jalapenos by adjusting the amount or by removing the seeds and white membrane. Prepare small cakes for an appetizer or larger ones as a side dish or serve with crusty bread and tomato salsa for a full meal. The salsa recipe is in the section on tomatoes.
1 whole egg plus 2 egg whites or use 3 eggs
4 cups grated summer squash
1 cup fresh corn kernels, cut from 2 ears
1/4 cup chopped green onions, tops included
1 large jalapeno pepper, chopped
1/3 cup parmesan cheese
1/2 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper or black pepper
Canola oil for sauteing
Low-fat sour cream (optional)
Fresh tomato salsa (optional)
1. In a large bowl, beat the eggs. Beat in squash, corn, green onions, jalapeno, the cheeses, flour, olive oil and ground pepper.
2. Heat two tablespoons canola oil in a heavy 10-inch skillet over medium-high heat. For small cakes, spoon one tablespoon squash mixture per cake into the hot oil and flatten to uniform thickness. For large cakes, use two tablespoons of squash mixture per cake. Do not over crowd the skillet. Leave about an inch between cakes.
3. Cook until edges turn golden brown, turn and cook the other side until golden brown, about three minutes total cooking time per cake. Transfer to a paper towel lined plate. Place in a warm oven and continue cooking the remaining cakes.
4. To serve, arrange two or more cakes on individual plates. Serve with some of the salsa and a dollop of low-fat sour cream. Sprinkle with salt if desired. Serves 6.

Zucchini Bread Recipe
3 eggs
2 cups raw sugar or honey
3 teaspoons Vanilla
1/2 cup olive oil
2 cups drained and grated Zucchini
3 cups whole wheat flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
3 tsp cinnamon
1 c chopped nuts
Mix eggs, sugar, vanilla and oil together. Beat until well blended. Stir in grated zucchini. Mix in Flour, Baking soda, powder and cinnamon. Mix well. Fold in chopped nuts. Pour into 2 greased 5x9” loaf pans and bake at 350 degrees for one hour.

PUREE OF YELLOW SQUASH SOUP

This recipe is designed primarily for yellow crooked-neck squash ( a summer
squash), but in the winter you can substitute for acorn and butternut.
Ingredients:
1 lb. yellow crooked-neck squash ( approx. 6 small ones)
2 cups chopped onion
1 clove garlic, sliced
1/2 tsp dried thyme (or 2 tsp. minced fresh thyme)
1/2 tsp dried sage
1/2 tsp dried basil ( or 1 to 2 tbsp minced fresh basil) ( I used 2 tbsp
fresh basil -I am glad I did!)
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp unbleached white flour ( I bet wheat flour would be even better)
1/2 cup dry white wine
2 cups milk ( I used 1% WestSoy, Vanilla)
freshly ground black pepper

Optional topping:
2 tsp water
1 small red bell pepper, cut in thin strips
1 clove garlic, minced
minced chives, (I use green onion tops)

Directions: in original form but with my comments.
1) Cut the end off the squash, and peel if the skin looks looks suspicious
in any way. Then cut the squash into 1/4 inch slices and set aside. (I used
my cuisinart)
2) In a large saucepan or a Dutch oven (I used a non-stick pan because I
omitted butter), begin sautéing onions and garlic over medium
heat. After about 5 minutes, add squash, herbs, and salt. Stir, cover, and
continue to cook about 10 more minutes.
3) Gradually sprinkle in the flour, stirring constantly. Continue to cook
and stir over low heat about 5 minutes.
4) Pour in the white wine, stir briefly, cover, and let simmer 10 to 15
minutes. (Note: The alcoholic content of the wine dissipates with cooking,
and the taste of the wine diminishes gradually. So if you let if cook a
little longer at this step, you will get a more subtle result. Just be sure
to stir everything up from the bottom from time to time, so it won't stick
or scorch.) Remove from heat, and allow the soup to cool until it's cool
enough to puree.
5) Puree the soup with the milk in a food processor or blender, and return
it to a kettle. At this point, you may choose to strain the soup through a
fine strainer or a sieve to get a smoother texture. (I don't think this is
necessary at all) Adjust the seasonings. Add black pepper to taste.
6) Heat gently just before serving.
7) While the soup is heating, prepare the optional topping.Saute the bell
pepper and garlic in water until just tender. Spoon a little
bit of this into each steaming bowl of soup, and sprinkle with minced
chives. (my water-sauteed bell pepper strips worked just fine)

Prep time: 45 minutes, Yield: 4 to 6 Servings


To freeze yellow crooked-neck squash (so you can use it later in the
winter), cut the squash into 1/4-inch slices, and drop into a saucepan of
boiling water for 3 minutes. Drain and cool. Then wrap airtight in a
plastic bag or container and freeze.

To use acorn or butternut squash in this recipe, peel and seed a 1-lb.
squash. Chop it into small piecesk and steam or boil until tender. Drain
well. Then simply follow the recipe, biginning with step 2, substituting
this cooked winter squash for the yellow crooked neck.


Adapted from Mollie Katzen's book, Still Life with Menu

The recipe for Pesto follows. But be warned you may be starting a life-long tradition.
Pesto Recipe
3/4 cup olive oil
3-5 cloves garlic
3 cups fresh Basil packed
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
1/4 cup pine nuts
3 tablespoons Romano cheese (or more parmesan)
Run all the ingredients together in a food processor just until smooth. Or, if you want the very best pesto, mash this in a mortar and pestle. The word Pesto is actually derived from the word pestle and which is how Pesto was first made, by crushing all the ingredients together in a mortar and pestle.
This makes enough for one pound of pasta. To serve, the pasta should be drained, returned to the pot and the Pesto added while the pasta is still hot. Mix thoroughly.

Zucchini Cookies Recipe
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup softened butter
2 eggs
2 ½ cups flour
1 ½ cups drained and grated Zucchini
½ cup nuts
t tsp grated orange peel
1 tbsp lemon juice
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp nutmeg
Frost when cool with lemon frosting
Mix eggs, sugars, and butter together. Beat until well blended. Stir in balance of ingredients. Drop by teaspoons, 2 inches apart on ungreased pan. Bake until no indention is left when touched Cool and frost as desired. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Lemon Frosting
3 c powdered sugar
¼ c softened butter
1 tsp grated lemon peel
1 tbsp water or add as need to get consistency required.
Freezing tip: Cut or grate extra zucchini in recipe portion size and freeze in freezer tight bags for later use.