Zucchini Chips

The zucchini glut is so dire at the moment that I couldn't even GIVE them away at the market!

I'm not bothered though. I am happy to store up my zucchini for the winter too.

We talk about zucchinis a lot here on SJ but for a recap, my soup recipe is here and the minted roasted zucchini here or refer to my cook book on pages 20 &21 which also includes the zucchini slice recipe.

So besides sticking them into every unsuspecting chocolate cake and freezing huge batches of soup, dehydration is another sterling idea.

Wash and cut into uniform-ish sized pieces and place in the dehydrator for about 7 hours depending on the size. The resulting "chips" can be used as lunch box snacks for the vegetably-inclined but they are a great addition to the slow cooks and casseroles of winter.

Store them away in an air tight jar in the cupboard.

Both our freezers are chock-o-block. Just look how much space you save. A large coffee jar would easily be equivalent to 10kg of fresh zucchini.

At this moment communities here are still struggling with the effects of the latest bushfires and Qld is in the midst of another terrible flood. Even if your house is not burnt out or flooded, you can still be affected by power outages for extended periods. It's a good idea to store your food in a number of ways. If you preserve and bottle and dehydrate, you will still have food sources if your electricity should fail and spoil your freezer load.

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Reminder that the Living Better group meets this Thursday 31 st Jan.

details in the side bar or email me.

I will be doing some talks and demos at the Kiliecrankie Nursery open day on the 3rd Feb from 10.30-2.30

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Fritters

Fritters are one of my favourite things and every family seems to have a speciality combination.

They are the perfect way to make a meal out of nothing much and can be ready faster than a take-away.

They are ideal to cook on the BBQ for my vegetarian friends and warm and hearty from the kitchen on a cold windy winter night too.

When I was growing up my mother used to make them the day after we had the roast leg of mutton using the leftover meat and combining it with onions. 

I have a friend who makes them with corned meat leftovers and he invites us to dinner when he does. Not fancy, just good and homey.

When Craig was working away all those months, it was one of the things that he did miss. As soon as he got home he expressed a great anticipation for some simple fritters. 

My usual fritters are "Corn Fritters" 

In a bowl beat 3-5 eggs (depending how many people you are feeding) with a dash of milk. To this I add a chopped onion and corn and whatever is in the fridge, like capsicum and in this instance, some jalapeno. Then into this wet mix add enough flour to make a spoonable batter.

Fry those babies in a pan with some oil and serve with home made sauce, chutney or relish.

This is another great thing to do with all those zucchini in summer too. I went to a party once and a girl had made some little mini zucchini fritters, a little like a blini and she served them with a cucumber yoghurt dipping sauce. They were a hit!

What is your family favourite?

Over-run With Squash?

Here is a chutney recipe for those in the depths of a squash glut...

1kg of marrow or squash, peeled cored and cut into 2cm cubes

2tabs salt

2 large onions coarsely chopped

300g carrots coarsely grated

100g of crystallised ginger coarsely chopped

2 red chillies finely chopped

2 tabs black mustard seeds

1 tabs tumeric

750ml apple cider vinegar

250g sugar

Sprinkle the marrow or squash with a tab of the salt and let it sit and draw for an hour then rinse and dry.

Put it in a preserving pan with the rest of the ingredients except the sugar and salt.

Bring to the boil and then simmer for about 25-30mins till just soft.

Add the sugar and remaining tabs of salt and stir to dissolve.

Simmer for another 1 hour or more until most of the liquid has evaporated and the chutney is thick.

Ladle into hot sterilised jars and seal.

Chutney is ready and the flavours developed in about a month.

This should keep for a couple of years and will be a great little gift to have on hand so don't forget to label them and make some pretty for giving. 

Another Good Zucchini/Courgettes Recipe

Photograph by John Bougen & Julie Le Clerc

I know you are all drowning in zucchinis by now and looking for fresh inspiration and this really hits the bill

It's a recipe from one of my favourite books

"Taking Tea in the Medina" by Julie Le Clerc.

It is an exotic exploration of the middle east with sumptuous photography.

Having said that though, it is a book I reach for often for although it is incredibly exotic, the recipes are easy and execute perfectly. I have never had a "fail to delight".

After Stephanie Alexander's Cooks Companion, this is the other book that I highly recommend.

The "Meatballs with Sour Cherry Sauce" is a firm favourite and I make sure I bottle cherries in season for just this recipe.

"Jewelled Rice" is a cacophony of colour on a plate and always makes my guests feel special.

I've already told you about the divine "Rose Petal Jam" in another post but can you imagine little "Rose Water Meringues" nestled in delicate pink rose petals and sprinkled with little jewels of pomegranate? Heavenly!

BUT....back to the zucchini...

so basically cut the zucchini on the diagonal fairly thick, about 2cm.

Using a mortar and pestle, grind 3 cloves of garlic, 3 tabs of fresh mint leaves with sea salt and ground black pepper. The recipe also called for 1 teas of dried mint which I didn't have so I substituted with dried parsley. Once you have a smooth paste blend in about a quarter of a cup of olive oil. Toss the zucchini in this mix and bake in a baking dish in the oven until tender...roughly 20 mins-ish.

The combination of mint with the zucchini....

SENSATIONAL!

and we can face them again.

Zucchini Glut - Making Soup

The zucchinis are absolutely out of control. You gardeners know exactly what I mean...

you turn your back for one day and they go from mild mannered glossy green vegetable to near matt black bazooka!

Nearly everyone is in the same boat. Foolhardy first-time gardeners have put in more than one plant and discovered their folly too late.

Offering the excess is hit and miss as neighbours and friends see you coming and dodge you like you're trying to persuade them into pyramid selling.

Everyone is making zucchini slice and bread and butter pickles like there is no tomorrow.

My favourite solution is to make soup and then freeze it for a time when this marrow madness is a distant memory.

Something amazing happens to zucchini when you simmer it and puree. It turns creamy and velvety rich.

It is super-fast.

Chop zucchini and a couple of onions and sweat off a bit in some butter. Cover only just with stock and simmer. Once tender in just a few moments, whizz it up with your stick blender and watch it whirlpool into a luscious green velvet. Done!

People often ask if I have put cream into it, but no, it's just a very simple, calorie low, nutrient high, taste sensation solution to a zucchini glut.

For another variation, I cook up some puy lentils with ground cumin, coriander, ginger, chilli and garam masala, adding enough water to cook them till tender and more like a thick pellety gravy then add a generous dollop to the soup. This gives a bigger spice hit and a bit of texture to the velvetyness.

Frozen into portion size containers, these are really appreciated on cold dark nights and are a boon when I'm running too late to pack lunch. A couple of minutes in the microwave at work and I'm enjoying a delicious low calorie lunch.