recipes for fruits & vegetables

Chris V's Grilled Squash

Our favorite recipe for summer and zucchini squash is an easy one as well. Cut off the ends, then slice them in half. Put them in a marinade of light Italian salad dressing. Pop them onto the grill(skin side down). Grill until tender (6 or 7 minutes) ir longer if you want them softer. Just a few minutes before taking off the grill, top them off with a couple of shakes of Parmesan cheese.

Bunny's Zucchini Quiche
My kids have always loved this recipe, and it's a good way to use big zucchini.
3 cups shredded unpeeled zucchini
1 cup Bisquick
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
2 Tbsp. chopped fresh parsley (or 2 tsp. dried)
1/2 cup minced onion
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. oregano
1/8 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 cup vegetable or canola oil
4 eggs
dash pepper
2 oz. mozzarella, grated
Preheat oven to 350. Mix all the ingredients and put into a greased 10-inch pie plate. Top with 2 additional ounces mozzarella, grated. Bake 45 minutes or until golden brown.

Zucchini Pancakes
There are lots of variations of this recipe. This one comes from the "All New Square Foot Gardening Cookbook." They make a good side dish.

2 cups shredded unpeeled zucchini
2 beaten eggs
1/3 cup flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
ground pepper to taste
1/4 cup grated Parmesan
Combine all ingredients. Heat 1 tbsp butter (or oil) in a large skillet on medium heat. Pour small amount batter into skillet to make a pancake. Cook 3-5 minutes or until bottom is light brown. Turn pancakes, cover skillet, and cook until bottom is browned and pancakes are cooked.
Variations: Add some oregano or minced onion. Add more flour if the pancakes are too thin for your taste. Also, after grating the zucchini into a colander, you can squeeze out the liquid if you wish.

Ashley's Chocolate Zucchini Cake
Very good. Doesn't use up lots of zucchini, but it's an easy, nice, moist chocolatey cake.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Butter and flour a 9x13-inch pan. Sift 2 1/4 cup flour, 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, 1 tsp. baking soda, 1 tsp. salt into a medium bowl.

In another bowl, beat 1 3/4 cups sugar, 1/2 cup unsalted butter (room temp), 1/2 cup vegetable oil until well blended. Add 2 eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in 1 tsp. vanilla. Mix in dry ingredients, alternating with 1/2 cup buttermilk.

Mix in 2 cups grated peeled zucchini. Pour batter into prepared pan. Sprinkle top with 1 cup chocolate chips (white or semisweet) and 3/4 cup chopped nuts (any kind).

Bake cake about 50 minutes, or until it tests done with tested with a toothpick. Remove from oven and let cool before serving.

Cary's Baked Parmesan Tomatoes
Very good! Serves 6

3 large, ripe tomatoes
1/2 cup seasoned dry bread crumbs
5 tbsp. melted butter
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Peel tomatoes, trim cores, halve crosswise. Gently remove juice and seeds either by squeezing or by simply removing seeds with your fingers. Lay on paper towels to dry slightly while you make the stuffing. Blend crumbs, butter, garlic and cheese. Put the tomato halves into an oven dish (pie pan works well), cut sides up. Divide the mixture among the tomatoes, gently pressing it into the holes and also mounding it slightly on the tops.

You can make this several hours in advance of serving.

Bake at 375 for 15 minutes until the stuffing mixture is browned. Serve immediately.

Traci W’s Eggplant Spread (nice alternative to Olive Tapenade)

Use as dip or spread with pita chips, scoops, rice cakes, crackers – or whatever you’d like
Can double or triple as needed all ingredients, subject to taste and amount needed.

1-     Medium to large Eggplant (can also use 3 small Chinese eggplants)
2-     Trim ends discard and cube
3-     Sauté, eggplant slowly in ¼ cup olive oil, sprinkle with some coarse sea or kosher salt to help sweat out any bitterness

When the eggplant starts to get soft and reduce mix and incorporate:
- 1 chopped garlic clove
- 1 tsp coarse ground black pepper
- 4 sprigs of Thyme and 2 of Oregano (any variety), leaves stripped from stem and lightly chopped
- 6-8 leaves of Basil (any variety)
- Palm full of chopped Parsley (again any variety)

To finish, let cool and add ¼ cup additional olive oil and ¼ cup red wine vinegar.

Here are a few extra kicks I have added to the standard recipe above
Anchovies (1-2 fillets) or Crumbled Feta or Reconstituted and chopped sundried Tomatoes or   ¼ cup roughly chopped Capers or ¼ cup Pine Nuts or Jalapeño or other hot pepper (seeded as need for heat) or 2 tsp of crushed red pepper flakes

Finally, one more twist, I have also put the hot eggplant mixture into bell peppers and/or cored tomatoes, topped with breadcrumbs or mozzarella, and baked until soft at 350 degrees

Stanley's Summertime Corn Pudding
An outstanding recipe for a rich and creamy Southern corn pudding.
6-8 plump ears of corn, uncooked
4 eggs, beaten
2 tbsp. margarine or butter, melted
1 cup heavy cream
1 tbsp. sugar
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. black pepper
dash nutmeg

After shucking and de-silking the corn, cut through each row of kernels with a sharp knife. Then, with the back edge of the knife, scrape the meat and milk from the kernels into a bowl. Make 2 cups of pulp. (This can be prepared several hours ahead.)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix corn with all the other ingredients and pour into a greased 1 1/2 quart casserole. Set the caserole dish in a pan of boiling water in the oven. Bake for 1 hour. Serve immediately.
Serves 4-6