Lemon-Zucchini Bread

I can't believe it's been 3 weeks since my last post!  We took a little vacation to the Colorado mountains with friends recently and enjoyed some beautiful, warm weather and lots of fun activities which I'll share at the end of this post.

It seems the warmth followed us home. Are you having the same heat-wave that we are?  The past week has brought unseasonably warm and dry weather to the Midwest.  It's been in the upper 80s to mid 90s Fahrenheit!  Needless to say, my zucchini and tomato plants are loving the heat.

Trying to make good use of my zucchini bounty, I made this recipe that I had seen online recently that combined zucchini with my other love - lemon.  The original recipe calls for glazing the zucchini bread with a drizzle of lemony frosting, but trying to keep it more calorie-friendly, I omitted that step. I will include the glaze in the recipe in case you'd rather it be a little sweeter.

I pulled out my late mom's old Ekco loaf pans which made some lovely golden loaves.

The bread turned great!  It was so moist I was happy I didn't glaze it. I loved seeing all the beautiful flecks of green zucchini and yellow lemon zest inside.  It was pretty hard to keep myself from eating slice after slice while taking these photos ;)

Here's a tip for those of you who do grow zucchini, or have a friend or neighbor that gifts you bags of it. Freeze fresh zucchini for your fall and winter baking projects or for the next time you're craving zucchini fritters!  Simply grate the zucchini on a box grater, or use the grating attachment on your food processor.  Remove as much excess moisture as possible by putting it in a clean tea towel and ringing it, or use a potato ricer, which is my preferred method.  After squeezing out the moisture, you can simply tap out the grated zucchini patty from the potato ricer and freeze it until firm, then place it in plastic zipper bags to use whenever you like.

Back to the little trip we took the second week of September!  We have good friends who have a home in Edwards, Colorado which is just west of Vail.  We had glorious sunny and warm days which were spent golfing, hiking and river rafting.  It was my first time river rafting and it was quite a scary an exhilarating experience! We used an outfit located on the Colorado River in Glenwood Springs, which was about an hour drive from Edwards. Driving through Glenwood Canyon is a spectacular ride which I highly recommend.  There are also lots of beautiful hiking trails if you're not into rafting.

Since you do get entirely soaked while going through the rapids I couldn't film the raft ride but if you want to get a little idea of what it was like, take a look at the Rock Garden's website here.  We had an experienced helmsman who was great.

One day, we walked through the Village of Vail and had lunch.  The village is so picturesque and was modeled after European ski towns.  If you look carefully, you can see someone tending the flowers outside the middle floor in the upper-right photo.  Every hotel and business prides itself on its floral displays.

I hope you enjoyed my short Colorado mountain tour and please also enjoy this lovely zucchini bread!

Lemon-Zucchini Bread

Printable Recipe 

Makes two 9×5″ breads

4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
4 eggs 1 cup neutral-flavored oil
1-1/4 cup sugar
1 cup buttermilk (or substitute sour cream or Greek Yogurt)
4 Tablespoons lemon juice
Grated zest of 1 lemon, preferably organic so you're not eating pesticides
 2 cups grated, unpeeled zucchini with excess moisture pressed out

Preheat oven to 350 F.

Grease and flour 2, 9×5″ loaf pans and set aside. Blend together flour, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl and set aside.

In a medium bowl, beat the eggs well and then blend in the canola oil and sugar. Mix in the buttermilk, lemon juice, and lemon zest. Add the zucchini and mix to distribute evenly. Add zucchini mixture to the dry ingredients and gently mix just until blended together. Don’t overmix.

Pour batter into prepared pans and bake at 350 degrees for about 35-45 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Start checking after 35 minutes as some ovens are hotter than others.

Cool in pan 10 minutes, then remove to a wire rack and cool completely.

If desired, you can glaze the breads after they are cool:

1 cup powdered sugar
2 Tablespoons lemon juice, more or less to get desired thickness of glaze
1 teaspoon lemon zest

In small bowl, mix powdered sugar, lemon juice and zest until well blended. Spoon glaze over cooled loaf. Let glaze set, then serve.

Adapted from this recipe.

Summer Harvest Pasta

I have a serious problem.  A problem I will mourn when I no longer have it.  It's an over abundance of tomatoes and a basil plant so prolific that it wants to become a shrub.  What to do with all of these beautiful tomatoes?  Salads, check. BLTs, check. Give some away, check.  Pasta...

This is a recipe that I first shared in 2009 and one I love to make every year at this time when local tomatoes, zucchini, corn and fresh basil are abundant and easy to find at farmers' markets everywhere. I felt it was worth repeating as it's such a delicious recipe and one both my husband and I love. 

This time, I used my prolific cherry tomatoes and some corn and zucchini I had just bought at the local farmers' market. 

Flavored with fresh herbs, it's creamy sauce is made from the juice of the tomatoes, a little white wine and cheese. Sound good?

Before the summer harvest comes to an end, please give this wonderful pasta a try!

Summer Harvest Pasta

Recipe adapted from Williams Sonoma
Printable Recipe

Serves 8 as a side dish

My Notes:  You can use cherry tomatoes in this recipe, just cut them in half and use about 1 to 1-1/2 pounds.I like to use the smaller, mezze penne pasta.  When you buy fresh corn at the farmers' market, cut the kernels off right away if you aren't going to use it and freeze in zipper bags for future use (don't forget to scrape off the corn 'milk' from the cobs too). I buy tomato paste in a tube so I can refrigerate it and use small portions such as this any time.  I used Chardonnay wine, which is what I like to drink with dinner, but use any white wine that you enjoy - or substitute chicken broth or stock.

 
Kosher salt, to taste
1/2 lb Penne Pasta (I used the smaller, mezze penne)
6 tablespoons olive oil, plus more as needed
Fresh Kernels cut from of 2 ears of corn
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
4-6 small zucchini, about 2 lb. total, cut into half-moons
1/2 yellow onion, diced
4 tomatoes, cored, seeded and cut into 1-inch chunks (add more for a saucier pasta dish)
1 tablespoons sliced or grated garlic
1 teaspoon chopped fresh oregano
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1/4 cup white wine
1/2 cup thinly sliced fresh basil
6 ounces mozzarella cheese, grated
2 ounces Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, grated

Preheat oven to 400ºF.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat. Generously salt the water, add the pasta and cook, stirring occasionally, until just barely tender, about 8 minutes. Drain the pasta and rinse under cold running water. Set aside.

In a 12-inch oven proof saute pan over medium heat, heat 3 tablespoons of the olive oil. Add the corn, season with salt and black pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until the corn is lightly golden, 6 to 8 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl and set aside.

Return the pan to medium heat and heat the remaining 3 tablespoons olive oil. Working in batches, add the zucchini, season with salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until the zucchini is tender and golden, 6 to 8 minutes. Add to the bowl with the corn. Repeat with the remaining zucchini, adding more oil to the pan as needed.

Set the pan over medium-low heat. Add the onion, 1 teaspoon of salt and black pepper, to taste. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is translucent, about 2 minutes. Stir in the tomatoes, garlic, oregano and red pepper flakes and cook, stirring occasionally, until the tomatoes soften and begin to form a sauce, about 5 minutes. Stir in the tomato paste and cook for 1 minute. Add the wine and cook until the wine has reduced and the sauce is fairly thick, about 3 minutes more.

Add the pasta, tomato sauce, basil, mozzarella and half of the Parmigiano-Reggiano to the bowl with the vegetables and stir to combine. Transfer to the same oven proof frying pan and sprinkle the remaining Parmigiano-Reggiano on top. Transfer the pan to the oven and bake until golden brown on top, 20 to 25 minutes. Serve warm.

Zucchini Fritters with Mozzarella and Stewed Cherry Tomatoes

Today, I'm sharing a recipe that we enjoyed as an appetizer at our last gourmet gathering at the very end of October. The recipe wasn't assigned to us but I finally got around to making them myself just before Thanksgiving. Although this is a wonderful fall harvest recipe, the ingredients are available at most stores year round. Fresh herbs have been also increasingly available and, at my store, I can buy fresh, living basil in the winter when it's most appreciated.

The stewed grape tomatoes in this recipe are actually cherry tomatoes from my garden. I had quite a few tomatoes that I harvested from my prolific Tumbling Tom cherry tomato plant before the first frost that I froze for recipes just like this.

Tip:  My favorite way to remove excess moisture from grated and shredded zucchini is squeezing it with a potato ricer! You'd be amazed at how much moisture this removes to obtain wonderfully crispy fritters - whether with zucchini or potatoes!

Zucchini Fritters with Fresh Mozzarella and Stewed Grape Tomatoes

(A recipe created by our gourmet group hosts based on several zucchini fritter recipes.)
Printable Recipe

1 pound (about 2 medium sized) zucchini, coarsely grated
5 scallions, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, very thinly sliced
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
½ cup whole milk ricotta cheese
1 tablespoon grated Parmesan cheese
2 teaspoons finely grated lemon zest
2 eggs
Kosher salt
Ground black pepper
Vegetable or olive oil for frying

Fresh mozzarella (preferably buffalo), and
Fresh basil for garnish

Stewed Cherry Tomatoes

2 pint cherry (or grape) tomatoes, rinsed
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon sugar
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
Additional Italian seasonings of your choice - I used the Ariosto seasoning for tomato-based sauces which contains salt, so I deleted any additional salt. Dried oregano and basil would also taste good.

To prepare the zucchini fritters, mix the first 10 ingredients together in a large bowl until blended.

Heat oil in a very large skillet over medium heat and cook fritters in two batches. Drop 2 tablespoons of batter into mounds in the skillet. Do not crowd. Flatten slightly. Cook until browned, for 4 to 6 minutes on each side, turning over once. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate. Sprinkle with salt. Repeat with remaining batter.

To prepare the stewed grape tomatoes, place olive oil in a large sauté pan over medium heat. When the oil is hot, add the tomatoes and season with salt and pepper. Continue cooking and continuously stirring tomatoes until the skins begin to break open (approximately 8 to 10 minutes). Add the sugar and vinegar and continue cooking for approximately 5 more minutes. Note: I found this process took longer than stated to thicken the tomatoes.

To assemble, place zucchini fritter on an appetizer plate and top with one slice of fresh buffalo mozzarella, 1 tablespoon of stewed grape tomatoes and fresh basil.

Zucchini Carbonara with Fresh Thyme

This recipe from Jamie Oliver is a win-win at our home since my husband loves bacon, I love zucchini and we both enjoy pasta. Right now, I have also have lots of thyme on my hands :)

Another great way to use fresh, summer zucchini. If you can get baby zucchini for this recipe, even better. Sauteed pancetta (we prefer bacon) is combined with zucchini and thyme in a creamy carbonara sauce thickened with egg yolks, cream and Parmesan cheese. I have used fat free half and half successfully in the carbonara sauce.

 

If you are craving some summer comfort food, I highly recommend this pasta!

Zucchini Carbonara

Adapted from Jamie Oliver
Printable Recipe

As much as I love Jamie's show and cooking, I tried to make this recipe a little easier to follow rather than using a 'fistful' of this and a 'knob' of that.

Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 medium green zucchini (or 4-6 baby zucchini as I used)
1 Box uncooked penne pasta (some of cooking water saved!)
2 large egg yolks
1/2 cup heavy cream
Approximately 1 cup of freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Olive oil
5 thick slices of pancetta, or good thick bacon, cut into strips to match size of penne
Small bunch of fresh thyme, leaves stripped (dried thyme is okay but fresh will taste much better)
Zucchini flowers if you have them

Heat a large pan of salted water to boil. Halve zucchini length-ways. Discard any soft middle parts if zucchini are large and slice the zucchini at an angle into pieces about the same size and shape as the penne. Baby zucchinis can simply be halved and sliced. Add the penne to the boiling water and cook according to the package directions.

To make the carbonara sauce, put the egg yolks into a bowl, add the cream and half the Parmesan, and blend with a fork. Season lightly and put in refrigerator until ready to use.

Heat a very large frying pan over medium-high heat. Add a tablespoon of olive oil and fry the pancetta or bacon until dark brown and crisp. Add the zucchini slices and 2 teaspoons of black pepper. You want this to have a kick. Add the thyme leaves and stir, so the zucchini are coated with all the bacon-flavored oil, and fry until they start to turn golden and soften just slightly.

This next step is very important as you need to work quickly. When the pasta is cooked, drain it, reserving a good ladle-ful or two of the cooking water. Immediately, add the pasta to pan with the zucchini and pancetta, then remove from the pan from the heat and add the ladle-ful of the reserved cooking water and the egg/cream sauce. Stir together quickly. Do not return to the heat or you'll get scrambled eggs. The hot pasta water and the heat of the other ingredients will cook the egg sufficiently. If you are concerned about this part, you can also use pasteurized eggs.

Serve immediately with the rest of the Parmesan and a little more of the cooking water if needed, to give a silky and shiny sauce. Taste and adjust seasonings. If you have any zucchini flowers, tear them over the top, then serve and eat immediately.

Zucchini Chocolate Olive Oil Cake with Lemon Glaze

I first saw this recipe on David Lebovitz' blog . Then, I Googled the source...Gina DePalma, the pastry chef at Babbo Ristorante.  This is her recipe for Zucchini Olive Oil Cake with Lemon Crunch Glaze.

Right now, I have zucchini trying to overtake my lawn, so what better way to beat it into submission than by turning it into a cake! Not just any zucchini cake, but a cake that gets better and better each day! I'm saying 4-5 days and it's still wonderful!

A cake glazed with delicious, lemony crystals. A cake that is the zucchini recipe of which dreams are made.

Did I tell you that I decided to add 6 ounces of dark chocolate to the recipe?

Oh, Yeah!
  
Zucchini and Chocolate Olive Oil Cake with Lemon Glaze
Adapted from Gina DePalma's Recipe
Printable Recipe

Make one 10-inch cake, about 12 servings.

Cake Ingredients:

1 cup walnut pieces, toasted and finely chopped
2½ cups grated zucchini, excess moisture squeezed out
6 ounces of dark chocolate, chopped
2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
1-1/2 cups granulated sugar*
3 large eggs
1 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Lemon Glaze:

¼ cup fresh lemon juice (from one large lemon)
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 cup confectioners’ sugar

Preheat the oven to 350 °F. Position a rack in the center of the oven. Grease a 10-cup Bundt pan with nonstick cooking spray or melted butter (a silicone pastry brush works well), and dust it thoroughly with flour, tapping out the excess. Place walnuts on a baking sheet and toast them until they are golden brown, about 10-12 minutes. Allow them to cool completely and then finely chop them in a food processor or mini chopper and set aside. Sift the dry ingredients into a bowl and reserve.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, using the paddle attachment on medium speed, beat the eggs, sugar and olive oil until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes, then add the vanilla and beat. Scraping down the sides of the bowl with a spatula after each addition, beat in the dry ingredients all at once on low speed until they are thoroughly combined, then switch the mixer to medium speed and beat for 30 seconds. Add the zucchini, walnuts and chocolate and mix on low speed until they are completely incorporated

Pour the batter into the prepared Bundt pan, leveling it with a spatula. Bake for 45-55 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through the baking time to ensure even browning. The cake is done when it a tester inserted in the center comes out clean and it has begun to pull away from the sides of the pan. Oven temperatures vary so be sure to test before removing.

While the cake is baking, prepare the Lemon Glaze. In a medium bowl, mix together the lemon juice and granulated sugar, then whisk in the confectioners’ sugar until the glaze is smooth.

Allow the cake to cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then invert it onto a wire rack by placing the wire rack over the pan and then turning them both over at once. Allow to settle and then carefully lift the pan from the cake. Using a pastry brush, immediately brush the glaze onto the warm cake.  The glaze with set as the cake cools. Allow the cake to cool completely, then transfer the cake to a stand or serving plate.  Any leftover cake may be wrapped and served over the next several days but is best eaten within 3-4 days.

*Note, I reduced the amount of sugar from the original recipe since I added the chopped chocolate.

PS: You can find the swirl bundt pan here.