Yeah, it’s an odd topic given that we are approaching the conclusion of the gardening season. However, now’s the time to start planning next year’s vegetable plots and make notes of what needs changing. And growing more zucchini should top the list. Let me explain.
This often maligned garden veggie gets mocked because it’s so ridiculously easy to grow and produces so abundantly. Only a lunatic would plant more than one or two. But it could be that zucchini will really save your bacon when things get sporty.
Think about it—there are thousands of ways to use zucchini. Fresh is always best, however, fresh zucchini has a short-shelf life—about 1 week unrefrigerated. Fortunately, this illustrious vegetable can also be preserved in numerous ways so that we can enjoy summer’s bounty year-round. Zucchini may be canned, frozen, freeze-dried, and dehydrated.
When canning zucchini safely, we are basically limited to recipes found in the USDA Complete Guide to Home Canning, their recipes for zucchini pineapple, pickles, and relish. With fresh, frozen, freeze-dried, and dehydrated zucchini, however, the possibilities are endless.
Fresh zucchini is an ingredient in nearly 4,000 recipes on Food.com, ranging from breakfast to dinner and dessert. That’s the easiest way to use it all summer long. When spiralized into zoodles, zucchini replaces your spaghetti, saving that pasta for consumption during the winter. When shredded, it substitutes for some of the flour in cakes and breads.
Chocolate zucchini cake and zucchini cupcakes are all-time favorites around here, but we also recently became fond of using zucchini in pancakes, and it makes a great addition to bread. Added to cookies in place of flour, they become more nutritious with fewer calories. What’s not to love?
In many ways zucchini can replace potatoes—can you believe how expensive those spuds are now? And that’s what I did last week. I decided to try out some zucchini hash browns and zucchini cheese fritters.
Combine all ingredients together in a large bowl.
Add oil, enough to cover the bottom of a large frying pan and set temperature to medium low. When hot, drop spoonfuls of batter carefully onto the oil and cook for about 7 minutes, or until lightly browned. Turn hash browns over and cook on the other side, also about 7 minutes. Serve immediately.
Family reviews: We all liked them. Becky noted that when presenting the zuke hash browns to family, don’t call them hash browns. The family is going to anticipate potato hash browns and just be disappointed, so you’re setting yourself up for failure there.
Combine all ingredients in a large bowl. Add oil, enough to cover the bottom of a large frying pan and set temperature to medium low. When hot, drop spoonfuls of batter carefully onto the oil and cook until golden brown and crisp. Turn and cook on the other side. Alternately, preheat an oven to 425°F and bake 10-15 minutes on each side.
Family reviews: Both Becky and Aaron said the fritters were tasty, a good use of zucchini, and I liked them, too. I preferred the hash browns (which, I will note, are a bit easier to make without the cheese or biscuit mix), while Becky and Aaron liked these fritters better. I liked the baked fritters better than the fried ones.
I really don’t like all the “alternative” foods being pushed upon us. Meat alternatives, plant-based stuff, bugs, even trying to normalize cannibalism and composting people. Our planet is being run by a bunch of power-hungry degenerates. In our efforts to prepare and fight back, we’ve also got to make sure we survive their tactics. Growing more zucchini and substituting it for potatoes and pasta and flour is another strategy we can use as we strive to feed our families and win the coming battles.
Links to related posts:
Good Eats at the TEOTWAWKI Cafe--Zucchini Pancakes
When Life
Gives You Zucchini—Make Pineapple!
USDA Complete Guide to Home Canning
And loads more recipes--just put zucchini in the search bar on the right.
I make something very similar to your Z hash browns, with a couple of differences. I dry the shreds in a towel, use slightly crushed boxed cornbread stuffing mix - a little more than the flour, and omit the salt. They are delicious. I’m going to try making these this winter with frozen shreds. I got a wonderful buy on the stuffing mix at an Amish scratch and dent store. I’ve vacuum sealed them to keep longer.
ReplyDeleteThat sounds pretty tasty!
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