Yellow With Envy

If yellow squash could talk they would probably say; “What’s the deal with zucchini bread? What, you’ve got something against yellow? Banana’s are yellow and you use them in bread, so why not us?” I guess if yellow squash could talk they would be right we always make zucchini bread under the guise that we have such a surplus of it. I have actually had times when I have an over abundance of yellow squash, so why not treat it the same. It actually makes very good bread; it is just a slight bit sweeter than its green counterpart.

Yellow Squash Bread

1 1/2 cups of flour
1 teaspoon of baking powder
1/2 teaspoon of baking soda
1/4 teaspoon of salt
2 teaspoons of cinnamon
2 eggs
3/4 cups of sugar
1/2 cup of oil
2 teaspoons of vanilla
1 1/2 cups of shredded yellow squash

Combine first 5 ingredients; set aside. Combine eggs, sugar, oil and vanilla in big mixing bowl. Beat well. Stir in squash. Add dry ingredients, stirring just until moistened.
Pour batter into a greased and floured 9x5x3 loaf pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 50 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan 10 minutes; remove to wire rack and cool completely.

Photo courtesy of Carlos Porto/flickr

Care Packages From Meema

My grandmother is back from Florida, we went to her house Saturday night for dinner and cards. Dinner was delicious. We had cutlets, salad, bread and her wonderfully soft and fluffy zucchini puff squares. I found myself really looking forward to dessert because I knew there would be some of those rugelach that Aunt Jay had made while Meema was there. The rugelach was delicious Aunt Jay filled them with chocolate and dried cherries. My grandmother had two huge bags started for me of things to take home and kept adding things as the night went on. By the time that we were ready to leave theses bags had become quite heavy. It was like Christmas in April, there was date nut bread, pizzelles, peanut butter balls, crackers, some zucchini puff squares, frozen chicken livers and even a ton of magazines. I cannot think of anything better than getting care packages from Meema.

Zucchini Puff Squares

3 cups zucchini, unpeeled and grated
1 onion, chopped
1/2 cup salad oil
1 cup Bisquick
3 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup grated Parmesan
1 tsp. salt
Dash pepper
1 tbsp. parsley
1 tbsp. of basil

Heat oven to 350 degrees

Mix zucchini, onion, oil, Bisquick and eggs. Add cheese, salt, pepper, parsley and dill. Mix well. Pour into a casserole sprayed with Pam. Bake 35-40 minutes or until golden brown.




Photo/Rob/Flickr

Attack of The Killer Zucchini's

It’s that time of year again…. “Attack of the Killer Zucchini’s”. Some of those monsters are the size of baseball bats. You chop them up and put them in bread after bread, quiche after quiche but they just keep coming. Neighbors begin to avoid you, growing more and more afraid of your zucchini hospitality. They begin to retaliate by leaving their monstrous zucchini’s on your doorstep, ringing the bell then running and hiding.
Zucchini’s for breakfast, zucchini’s for snacks, zucchini’s for lunch, zucchini’s for dinner even zucchini's for dessert, when will it all end? I don’t have the answer to that question but will a recipe do? How about a recipe using zucchini? It’s my way of helping lol.

Zucchini Bars

Bars:
2 cups sugar

1 cup oil

3 eggs

2 cups flour

1 tsp. cinnamon

1 tsp. salt

2 tsp. baking soda

1/4 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. vanilla

3 cups shredded zucchini

3/4 cup rolled oats

1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans

Frosting: (optional, I prefer them without the frosting)
1/2 cup soft butter

1/4 tsp. almond extract

2 tsp. vanilla

2 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar

1 (3 oz.) pkg. creamed cheese, softened

Beat together sugar, oil, and eggs in large bowl or in food processor. Beat in flour, cinnamon, salt, baking soda and powder and vanilla. Beat 1 to 2 minutes until well mixed. Fold in zucchini, carrot, oats and nuts; mix well. Pour into 15"x10"x1" pan (jelly roll pan or cookie sheet with sides). Bake at 350 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes.
If frosting - Make frosting by beating all ingredients together until smooth. Set aside. Cool bars; frost. Cut into bars. Yield: 3 dozen.

Grilled Zucchini

Just a simple side to go with all the outdoor fare this holiday week.

Zucchini (you determine amount)
Olive oil
Fresh garlic or garlic powder (as much as I prefer fresh garlic, it does tend to burn when grilling)
Salt and pepper to taste

Slice zucchini lengthwise 1/2-inch thick. Brush or slather with olive oil sprinkle with garlic powder or chop/slice fresh garlic onto zucchini. Place directly on grates, grill until brown, flip over and brown the other side.