VOTW - Zucchini!

[Moochiecat]

Zucchini...hard to spell, great to eat!
I remember back in the late 70's, this vegetable appeared out of nowhere in our rural town, and everybody was growing it...it was the vegetable to have in your garden patch!
And then everybody was trying to get rid of these monstrous things! I remember helping grate it up and then my mom freezing it. The only things we made from it were zucchini bread, and chocolate cake with zucchini in it.
Time has gone by and I became aware that you can also get it in more manageable sizes...lol and I would be lost without it now.

On the 1 cup veggie list, zucchini is not a nutritional powerhouse, but it is a good source of potassium, http://www.elook.org/nutrition/vegetables/2967.html
and it's versatility is what makes it great.
When cooking it, you either want to lightly saute it, or add it near the end of a stirfry so it doesn't get too soft. Alternately, if you want it to disappear into your food add it at the beginning.

We like it raw with dip or in a salad.
Take a larger one, cut it lengthwise, hollow it out slightly and stuff with seasoned ground beef, top with a slice of bacon and bake...mmm...stuffed zucchini!
I like to take the time to cut it into lengthwise slices, then cut each slice into strips, and saute, as a 'pasta' of sorts.

***note to veggie phobes*** this is a good veggie to sneak into your foods as it can take on the flavour of whatever you mix it with. For example, if you grate some into ground beef and either saute it, or make a meatloaf out of it, or meatballs, you will hardly know it's there.

[sadie147]

i'm addicted to zucchini! I can't get enough of it..i cant believe how easy it is to add into your diet..highly recommended it to veggie haters (i used to be one) it's the most toleralbe and versitile veggie i've found...

[Elizellen]

I often use zucchini to make a sort of relish to accompany meats often with shredded ginger.
Add splenda or a flavoured Davinci sugarfree syrup if you want it sweet and you can spread it on bread or toast.

[Moochiecat]

Let's have some more recipe ideas, folks!

We also enjoy zucchini brushed with olive oil (usually I'll throw some herbs in a bowl with olive oil and let them infuse for a while) and grill it on the bbq or in a grill pan...SO good!

I discovered that when you slice it thinly into rounds (I use a mandolin type slicer to do this...too time consuming to do it by hand with a knife) and use that as your 'noodle' layer, zucchini makes a fantastic lasagne and you can hardly tell you aren't eating proper noodles.
I like to nuke the slices slightly first though.
I've served this to company a few times and had two people say they didn't even realize there were no noodles in it!

[Dawn]

Has anyone tried it grated and fried like hashbrown with maybe an egg in it to keep it together? I thought I saw it somewhere and since then I've been dying to try it. Maybe next week I'll add it to my menu!

Dawn

[mere150]

Ok, I can't seem to get the hashbrown thing to work, but...I love zucchini cooked with tomatoes (like rotel or italian seasoned tomatoes). It's nukable so it's easy to do and it is so full of flavor (tomatoes and seasonings). I also tried to make a mock applesauce that worked pretty well. I basically cooked zucchini in kool-aid and 2/3 cup of splenda. I used 4 cups of water in the pot and 2 cups of diced zucchini. The trick to this recipe is to peel it and to avoid the seediest part of the vegetable. And mash it up when you're done. Somehow, it tasted most like apples when I used Fruit Punch flavored Kool-Aid. And yes, I'm very aware of how weird the whole thing sounds.

[Isabeau]

I love it stir-fried, slices coated in parmesan cheese and deep fried as a treat, raw in salads, sauteed with tomato, mushrooms, peppers and garlic and served over spaghetti squash...the list goes on. They're soo easy to grow yourself and usually pretty cheap in the grocery stores. My grandmother used to also use the flowers of the plant, and I've seen them used in some high end restaurants too. She used to dip them in a light batter and fry them, certainly not Atkins friendly, but wow, sooo good. Hmm...maybe a low carb bake mix when I get up to those rungs....

[not2late]

I like it sliced into 1/4 thick rounds and then pan fried in olive oil until the rounds are a dark golden brown---they're yummy and sweet tasting.

I also like to roast the zucchini rounds in the oven, and mix them with roasted eggplant cubes, tomatoes and onions.

[2big4mysize]

I love zuchinni and around here they say don't park your car with your windows down or your doors unlocked or you will come back to find your back seat full of donated zuchinnies during the growning season it does that well here.

I got my spiral slicer and make low carb pasta "noodles" too out of it and you can make slaw out of the raw "noodles"

Ilve never done it as hash browns Dawn but I 've had it with other veggies liek mushrooms garlic and onions sauted and then mixed with raw eggs to make a frattat sp? cooked in the skillet and topped with cheese

I love it roated broiled and hollowed out and stuffed with meat vegies and cheese sort of like stuffed potatoes

[not2late]

I love zuchinni and around here they say don't park your car with your windows down or your doors unlocked or you will come back to find your back seat full of donated zuchinnies during the growning season it does that well here.

I got my spiral slicer and make low carb pasta "noodles" too out of it and you can make slaw out of the raw "noodles"

Ilve never done it as hash browns Dawn but I 've had it with other veggies liek mushrooms garlic and onions sauted and then mixed with raw eggs to make a frattat sp? cooked in the skillet and topped with cheese

I love it roated broiled and hollowed out and stuffed with meat vegies and cheese sort of like stuffed potatoes

So the spiral slicer worked? Great.

I was watching "Rebecca's Garden" over the weekend and saw a recipe for low carb vegetable fettucini (they used zucchini, yellow summer squash and carrots).

[Pau]

I love it in tortilla (I already wrote the recipe), carpaccio ...... so tasty and healthy!

Zucchini & Mushroom Carpaccio:
Cut the zucchini (raw) in veeeeery thin slices (with mandolina) and put in a dish. Cut some mushrooms (raw) the same way and put them over the zucchini.
Sprinkle with Parmesano cheese + olive oil + oregan or fresh minced basil.

[Moochiecat]

I love zuchinni and around here they say don't park your car with your windows down or your doors unlocked or you will come back to find your back seat full of donated zuchinnies during the growning season it does that well here.

lol..that's exactly how it was that first year my mom and sister grew it!

My sister had this lovely sunny hill on her property so she planted 10 plants thinking they'd trail down the hill....well, they did...and she ended up with like a zillion zucchini's!!

[2big4mysize]

So the spiral slicer worked? Great.

yep megs and it is adjustable so you have to play with it to figure out how think or thin you want them and what will hold up on the recipes too.

[full-wit]

I've done the zucchini hasbrowns before and liked it. I also really like zuchinni pancakes.

[DonnaJ34]

I love grilled zucchini too. I usually cut in long lengthwise slices (skin on) and throw in a big ziplock with evoo and garlic salt with oregano. Throw on the foreman or grill and yes it is wonderful. I've become quite addicted.. i am gonna try the hashbrowns too.. YUMMY!