Zucchini

I bought too much zucchini at the farmers market this weekend. It was only $.75. How could I not buy three?

So before they all went bad I got creative.

First, muffins. They are really good but a tad dry. I cut five minutes off the baking time and it just wasn't enough. Maybe try baking them for 17 minutes? Don't tell Papa Bear they sucked. He still hasn't tried one.

Zucchini Muffins Recipe

For those of you who prefer to use oil over butter, be my guest (use 1 cup vegetable oil instead of the butter) but I have to tell you, I've made these both ways, and the butter version just tastes better.

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INGREDIENTS

• 3 cups grated fresh zucchini
• 2/3 cup melted unsalted butter
• 1 1/3 cup sugar
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• Pinch salt
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1 cup walnuts (optional)
• 1 cup raisins or dried cranberries (optional)

METHOD

You don't need a mixer for this recipe.

1 Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). In a large bowl combine the sugar, eggs, and vanilla. Stir in the grated zucchini and then the melted butter. In a separate bowl, mix together the flour, baking soda, nutmeg, and cinnamon. Stir these dry ingredients into the zucchini mixture. Stir in walnuts, raisins or cranberries if using.

2 Coat each muffin cup in your muffin pan with a little butter or vegetable oil spray. Use a spoon to distribute the muffin dough equally among the cups, filling the cups up completely. Bake on the middle rack until muffins are golden brown, and the top of the muffins bounce back when you press on them, about 25 to 30 minutes. Test with a long toothpick or a thin bamboo skewer to make sure the center of the muffins are done. Set on wire rack to cool for 5 minutes. Remove muffins from the tin let cool another 20 minutes.

Note, if you are including walnuts and dried fruit, you will likely have more batter than is needed for 12 muffins. I got about 14 muffins from this batch, and that included filling the muffin cups up as far as they could possibly go (above the surface of the muffin tin).

Yield: Makes 12-14 muffins

I also made some roasted veggies on the grill. I used whole carrots (cut down the tops) and quartered squash and zucchini. Toss them in some olive oil, pepper and salt. Throw them on the grill until they're at the texture you prefer. When they're done, toss them again in a lemon/garlic vinaigrette. I used two cloves of minced garlic and probably three or so tablespoons of lemon. The King and I loved them.

Summer. Yum.