One Local Summer: Week 9

I have been doing terrible posting my OLS meals! I still owe you my week 8 meal which was a butterflied whole chicken BBQ'ed under bricks. It was so tasty, I promise I'll share it with you this week!

And since I'm also late posting this weeks meal, I'll get right to it. This recipe comes from the book 365 Ways to Cook Hamburger and Other Ground Meats by Rick Rodgers (1992) and is a microwave version of food writer Irene Rothschild's recipe. I snagged this book off PaperBackSwap.com. (picture to come)

Microwave Zucchini-Beef Bake

2 T olive oil
3 medium zucchini, slice 1/2 inch thick
1 pound ground sirloin (I used local ground moose)
1 small onion
1 garlic clove, minced
1 cup tomato sauce
1/2 tsp salt
1/3 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp pepper
1/2 cup cottage cheese
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese

(I realize this isn't entirely local (cottage cheese), but I did the best I could do! Maybe you could sprinkle Cabot cheese on top instead?)

1. In a large skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add zucchini slices and cook, turning often, until lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Transfer zucchini slices to paper towels to drain briefly. Arrange overlapping slices in a microwave-safe-9-inch square baking dish.

2. In a 2-quart microwave-safe bowl, place ground sirloin, onion, and garlic. Cover tightly with microwave-safe plastic wrap. Microwave on High, stirring once to break up lumps of meat, until beef loses its pink color, about 6 minutes. Drain off excess fat. Stir in tomato sauce, salt, cinnamon, and pepper. Pour meat filling over zucchini.

3. In a small bowl, combine cottage cheese and egg. Spread mixture over meat filling and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Cover with wax paper. Cook on Medium-High until cheese topping is set, about 8 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes to complete cooking.

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Blue Ribbon Zucchini Bread

This is the second time I've made this bread and the first time I've gotten a decent picture taken! The recipe is from the Simply Colorado cookbook. I picked it up off of Paperback Swap and I couldn't be more happy with the recipes contained within. There's one copy left on Paperback Swap so be sure to sign up and snag it!

Blue Ribbon Zucchini Bread

3 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup oil
1 T maple flavoring
2 cups zucchini, shredded (I used my frozen shredded zucchini)
2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup wheat germ
2 1/2 cups flour
1/3 cup walnuts, chopped
Cooking spray
1/2 cup sesame seeds

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Beat together eggs, sugars, oil and maple flavoring until foamy and thick; stir in zucchini. Stir in baking soda, baking powder, salt, wheat germ, and flour; mix well. Add nuts. Spoon batter into two 9x5x3-inch loaf pans coated with cooking spray and flour. Sprinkle tops with sesame seeds. Bake 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until toothpick inserted into center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes before removing from pans.

This bread freezes well so put up one loaf and enjoy it later this fall. Happy baking!

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Healthy Zucchini Bread and a Birthday!

Well my youngest is officially two years old! Since dear husband is sick, we quietly celebrated at home and we'll have a a family BBQ this coming Monday. I picked up a small slice of carrot cake at Shaw's (not very local, I know!) which the kids loved. He also enjoyed the new cars he received. Oh and the swing set gift he got as a joint gift with his sister from his grandparents.

I also baked another version of zucchini bread, Whole Grain Zucchini Bread. Honestly it was too lemon/orange zesty for me. And it didn't rise like it should, but that may have been the husband's fault since he opened the oven door about 10 minutes into cooking. I really don't know the rules of opening the oven door and having things rise. Does anyone know? I think I might be willing to try this again, but do know it's really citrus-y tasting!

Whole Wheat Zucchini Bread

1 ½ cups whole wheat flour

1 tsp baking soda

½ tsp baking powder

1 tsp cinnamon

Pinch salt

2 eggs

¾ cup sugar

¼ cup canola oil

¼ cup orange juice

2 tbsp plain nonfat yogurt

Grated zest of 1orange

Grated zest of 1 lemon

1 cup grated zucchini

1. Grease and sugar a 9x5 inch loaf pan. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Sift flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt into bowl. Separately, beat the eggs and sugar until well mixed and slightly thickened. Beat in the oil, juice, yogurt, vanilla, and grated zests. Add the dry ingredients and zucchini and mix well by hand.
3. Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for 50 minutes or until deep golden brown. Cool on wire rack.

So enjoy your weekend and all your local finds! Check in and let me know how your holiday weekend is going! We'll be partying on Monday. :)

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Got Zucchini?

I picked up a few zucchini's at the local farmer's market last week. And I'm sure if you have zucchini in your garden you have a lot of it too!

So I made a quick zucchini bread:

Zucchini Bread

INGREDIENTS

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 3 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 3 eggs
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 2 1/4 cups white sugar
• 3 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 cups grated zucchini
• 1 cup chopped walnuts

DIRECTIONS

1. Grease and flour two 8 x 4 inch pans. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
2. Sift flour, salt, baking powder, soda, and cinnamon together in a bowl.
3. Beat eggs, oil, vanilla, and sugar together in a large bowl. Add sifted ingredients to the creamed mixture, and beat well. Stir in zucchini and nuts until well combined. Pour batter into prepared pans.
4. Bake for 40 to 60 minutes, or until tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in pan on rack for 20 minutes. Remove bread from pan, and completely cool.
   

I did make some tweaks to make it more healthy. I switched one cup flour for one cup of King Arthur's White Whole Wheat Flour. I substituted one cup of brown sugar for one cup of the white sugar. I replaced the oil with one cup applesauce. And I didn't add walnuts.

Overall I like the bread, but it is a denser than I prefer. That is probably due to the substitutions I made. The toddlers and the husband all like it, so I guess it's a hit! Give it a try, the cinnamon really stands out.

Check out the National Center for Home Preservation link in the right side of this blog. They have ways to freeze, can, pickle and store all sorts of produce. Here's how to freeze zucchini so you can make zucchini bread all winter long.

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