First, here is a picture of the hay wagon we borrowed to transport the "tour"ists from the Farm's entrance to the fields:
Farmer Mike beginning the introductions and his goals for the day:
The Motley Crew...a good turnout!
Here is Farmer Mike explaining how the compost spreader works and what it is used for:
Loading up the hay wagon:
And, Farmer Mike's most beloved farm flower...the okra flower (who knew?!?)
All in all, it was a great morning and I am looking forward to more farm tours in the future...hopefully in the Fall!
Now, here are some belated Zucchini recipes that you'll be able to make good use of in the coming weeks:
Zucchini Bread (that I made for the tour and found on allrecipes.com):
Ingredients:
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt1 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
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.
Zucchini "Pizza"
You can use either the round (aka 8-ball) zucchini or regular zucchini, cut in thick slices.
Brush with olive oil and grill or broil until grill marks appear on the zucchini.
Brush on a thin layer of pizza sauce (I like Don Pepino's)
Top with Mozzarella Cheese (and any other pizza toppings you like, think turkey sausage)
Grill or broil until cheese is warm and bubbly and the zucchini is cooked.
I also made eggplant and zucchini parmesan tonight and it was was DELISH! We forgot to peel the zucchini and eggplant, but it came out just fine!
Zucchini and Eggplant Parm
Ingredients:
We used 2 white eggplants and 1 round (8-ball) zucchini
Egg
Bread crumbs
Marinara Pasta Sauce (about 6 cups)
Shredded Mozzarella Cheese (1 bag, which I think is 2 cups)
Grated Parmesan Cheese
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a cookie sheet with cooking spray or cover in foil
2. Cut the zucchini and eggplant into thin circles (or strips, either way should be fine).
3. Beat the egg (it is used for dredging) in a small bowl.
4. Shake bread crumbs on a plate or bowl.
5. Dredge the zucchini and eggplant in the egg and then the bread crumbs. Place in single layer on cookie sheet.
6. Bake in oven for 5 minutes on each side.
7. Use a 9x13 shallow dish to compile your Eggplant Parm. Spread a thin layer of marinara sauce on bottom of dish.
8. Layer the zucchini and eggplant circles (or strips). Feel free to overlap the veggies.
9. Sprinkle cheeses on top of veggies.
10. Cover with marinara sauce.
11. Continue layering until you have no more veggies (ending with a cheese layer).
12. Bake at 350 for 35 minutes. We broiled the last three minutes to get it nice and brown and bubbly on the top but watch it carefully!
13. Serve with pasta and salad...and ENJOY!!
Finally, our member, Louise sent us in her instructions for how to conquer our giant zukes! Here is what she does and we hope you find her tips helpful!!
How to Conquer a Giant Zucchini
by Louise C.
These giant Zucchinis are really awesome vegetables. The entire squash is tender and good to eat, but cutting into one feels more like butchering something than making veg for dinner! A good way to avoid getting overwhelmed is to think of it in three sections:
Section 1: The Fat Blossom End
Use to make: SHAKE-AND-BAKE ZUCCINNI STEAKS
- Cut ½ inch off at the rounded blossom end and discard it.
– Slice ½ inch “steaks” off the cut end. Cut about 2 per person for the meal
– Set the slices aside and place ¼ cup flour and ½ teaspoon seasoned salt in a food storage size plastic bag.
– Dip the squash slices in water and place individually in the flour bag. Shake each piece to coat well, tap off the extra flour, and place on a greased baking sheet.
– When all the slices are done, spray the tops of the slices with a spray oil like Pam.
– Bake at 400 degrees for about 15 minutes, until the outer edge is soft when poked with a fork.
– Serve with lots of Ketchup!
Now, just leave the big zucchini on the counter over night. The cut end will seal itself off. Put it in the fridge if you are leaving it longer than one day.
Section 2: The Middle
Use to Make: ZUCCHINI BREAD
– Cut a thin slice off the cut end of the zucchini and discard. This gets rid of the dry, sealed off edge from yesterday.
– Cut a section about 8 inches long from the squash. Cut this in half lengthwise and into whatever size chunks can be shredded in a food processor. Or grate the halves on a square cheese grater. It actually grates very easily by hand.
– When you have 2 cups of shredded squash, you are ready to make zucchini bread. At this point, you can freeze the shreds in 2 cup packages for next month when the boring insects eat those beautiful plants and we all wish we had more zucchini!
Mix together:
2 cups shredded zucchini
1 cup sugar
½ cup oil
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup water or 1 egg
Mix together and add to the zucchini:
2 and ½ cups flour
¾ teaspoon salt
3 teaspoons baking powder
½ cup chopped nuts (optional)
Mix the wet and dry ingredients together. Add a little extra water is needed to make a nice thick batter.
The water needed can vary because sometimes the squash is more or less watery.
Grease 2 small size loaf pans or a 12 cup muffin pan. ( I use spray oil because it is fast!)
Divide the batter into the 2 half size loaf pans. Or use an ice cream scoop to fill the 12 muffin cups.
Bake at 350 degrees. Bake the loaf pans for 60 minutes, until a knife or toothpick inserted into the bread comes out clean. Tip the bread out of the pans onto a rack. Let cool and place in plastic bags in the refrigerator. The bread slices much better the next day when it is cold.
Bake the muffins for 20 minutes. Cool on a rack and serve warm.
I always make this bread without the egg because my children are allergic to eggs. It is very good flavored but that is why I have to chill it before slicing. The eggless muffins don't have that problem and are wonderfully tender.
Section 3: The Stem End
Use to Make: STIR FRY OR SALAD SLICES
The last part of the Giant Zucchini is the stem end. It is very fine textured and low in seeds. It is perfect for thin slices from the food processor to cook or mix in salads.
Simple Zucchini Stir Fry
– Cut a thin slice off the cut end of the zucchini if it has hardened up over night. Cut ½ inch off at the stem end and discard.
– Cut the remaining zucchini in half lengthwise and then in half again, lengthwise so you have four sticks of vegetable.
– Slice these in thin slices by hand or with the food processor. I like a number 2 blade so they are really thin.
– Peel and chop 1 clove garlic and chop about 4 inches of basil, the lemon basil is good!
– Place a saute pan (or any covered frying pan) on the heat with 2 tablespoons olive oil.
– Put the garlic into the oil first. Stir it around to get the flavor into the oil.
– Then immediately put all the zucchini into the pan.
– Put the chopped basil on top and sprinkle with salt.
– Stir around until the squash starts to get warm.
– Cover the pan, turn the heat down, and steam for 5 to 10 minutes.
– Stir and serve!
And that is the end of the Giant Zucchini!!!
As you can see, the possibilities with zucchini are endless! Don't get stuck in a rut and simply saute it or boil it...use it as a substitute for meat one night, make a delicious bread or muffin for dessert or breakfast, scoop out the middle and stuff it with other vegetables and cheeses, make it a pizza! Let us know if you try any of these recipes...or come across others that you'd like to share.
This week's share will consist of: potatoes, eggplant, cherry tomatoes, plum tomatoes, squash, onions, cucumbers and beans or tomatillos.
Until next time...
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