Minestrone Soup

Ingredients

1 medium onion, diced
2 stalks celery, diced
3 medium carrots, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
3 cups chicken, beef or vegetable stock
15 oz canned fire roasted diced tomatoes
15 oz canned kidney beans, drained
15 oz canned chickpeas, drained
28 ounces canned crushed tomatoes
6 oz tomato paste
2 tablespoons minced basil
2 tablespoons minced oregano
2 tablespoons minced Italian parsley
2 (fresh) bay leaves
1 1/2 cups shredded cabbage
1 cup frozen or fresh green beans, diced
2 small to medium zucchini, diced
sea salt
freshly ground black pepper

8 ounces small, cooked pasta

Directions:

For the slow cooker:

Add the garlic, tomato, celery, stock, tomatoes, beans, tomato paste, and spices to a 4 quart slow cooker. Cook on low heat for 6-8 hours. Add shredded cabbage, green beans and zucchini and turn to high for the last hour. Stir in the pasta before serving.

Stovetop: Saute the onions, garlic, carrots and celery until soft. Add the remaining ingredients and heat though.

My thoughts:

Around this time of year I always get a lot of requests for healthy meals. Soup is always a great choice because it is easy to add lots of vegetables. There are a lot of different ways to make minestrone (I even posted a different one here about six years ago) but this one is I think my favorite. I like the combination of chickpeas and kidney beans and the green beans and cabbage (especially when added towards the end in the slow cooker version) really make it taste fresh. While this is a vegan soup, I like to serve with a tiny hunk of sharp, aged cheddar in the bottom of a bowl. It melts and adds a tasty ribbon of cheese to each bite.

Fresh Tomato & Zucchini Pasta Sauce

Ingredients:
1 onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 large zucchini, diced
4 cups diced roma tomatoes
1/2 cup minced prosciutto
1/2 cup minced fresh Italian parsley
salt
freshly ground black pepper
olive oil

Directions:
Heat the olive oil in a pan. Add the onion and garlic. Saute until fragrant. Add the zucchini and saute until softened. Add the tomatoes and cook through. Add the salt, pepper, parsley and prosciutto. Cook for 1-2 minutes. Serve over pasta.

My thoughts:

I am amazed and a little sad that we are already a week into September! While tomatoes, zucchini, berries and peaches are still in great supply, soon we will be solidly into winter squash, pear and apple territory and while I love them as well, they never fail to remind me that winter is just around the corner bringing with it no local fresh fruits or vegetables at all. So to cheer myself up and make the most of the truly lovely tomatoes I was finally able to procure, we made this simple sauce. It really is delicious and so fresh tasting. Just take care to use the very best and ripest vegetables you can find.

Thai Tofu on Lemongrass Skewers

Ingredients:
marinade:
1/2 cup roughly chopped Thai basil
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
1 tablespoon dark soy sauce
1 stalk lemongrass, cut into bits
2 garlic cloves, grated
2 inch knob ginger, grated
1 inch knob galanga, grated
1 Thai chile pepper, minced
1 teaspoon palm sugar
pepper
salt


to serve:
2 zucchini, sliced horizontally in 1 inch chunks
8 lemongrass stalks
shiitake or crimini mushrooms
2 lb extra firm tofu, cut horizontally into 1 1/2 inch slabs
2 medium onions, cut into wedges
olive oil

Directions:
Line a cutting board with a paper towel. Place the tofu slabs on the paper towel. Top with a second paper towel and cutting board. Place something heavy (like canned goods or a pot, I used our molcajete) on top of the second cutting board. Allow to press for 15 minutes, then cut each slab into 3 equal cubes. Pressing the tofu, while it seems sort of unnecessary, helps compact the tofu so it doesn't fall apart on the skewer and allows more of the marinade to penetrate.



Place cubes in a resealable bag along with the marinade ingredients. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour, but up to 8.

Meanwhile, remove the outer leaves of the lemongrass to reach the harder "core" and if whole, chop off the top and the bottom 4 inches or so. Cut one end into a point. Thread the tofu and the vegetables on the lemongrass. Brush with olive oil.



Place on the hottest part of the grill and cook until warmed through, making sure each side cooks evenly.


The tofu and vegetables should caramelize. Serve hot.

My thoughts:

Making lemongrass skewers was a time consuming operation, I have to admit. But! It was a worthy use of my time. They made excellent skewers which infused the tofu and vegetables with a wonderful flavor, completely destroying the myth that tofu is bland. You could make them on bambook skewers but you'd really be missing out. The lemongrass skewers really took the dish to a new level.

When you make this, take care that you place cubes of tofu and pieces of zucchini of roughly the same size together so they will cook evenly. If you are having troubles cooking the zucchini thoroughly, cover the grill for a minute or two, it is difficult to overcook the tofu.

Breakfast Quesadillas

Ingredients:
4 eggs
1 hot chile pepper*, diced
1 small potato, diced
1 small onion, diced
1 small zucchini, diced
2 tablespoons olive oil
sharp cheddar
flour tortillas**
salsa***




Directions:
Whisk together the eggs and the hot pepper. Scramble in a small pan, leaving large curds. Set aside. Meanwhile, in a small heavy pan, saute the onions, potato and zucchini together in the olive oil. Cover for a few minutes if needed to soften the potatoes and zucchini, then uncover and continue to saute until the potatoes are soft enough to eat. Heat a pan large enough for a large tortilla to lay flat. Place one tortilla in the pan and heat until warmed through and slightly browned, flipping once. Repeat. Remove from heat. Sprinkle the cheese on one half of the tortilla. Top with eggs, then a bit of salsa, then the potato mixture, then a sprinkle of cheese. Fold the plain half over to form a half moon. Cook until the cheese has melted, flipping it once, and the both sides are slightly browned, about 1-2 minutes. Remove to a plate and cut in half. Serve immediately.

*I used a green cayenne pepper fresh from our garden.
** Use 4 regular sized tortillas OR two large burrito sized
***Our favorite prepared salsa is Mrs. Renfro's Habenaro

My thoughts:

When my husband lived in Austin, TX (before he moved to the greatest city in America and met me, a period I like to think of as the dark ages) he often had something that is rather foreign to most breakfast sandwich eating East Coasters: the breakfast burrito. The idea of a breakfast burrito seemed a bit much to me and their close cousin, the breakfast taco, too unsubstantial. Then I was flipping though Isabel's Cantina: Bold Latin Flavors from the New California Kitchen by Isabel Cruz and came across a very simple recipe for breakfast quesadillas. Smaller than a burrito, but larger than a taco, it seemed perfect. Her recipe called for not much beyond salsa, eggs and a sprinkle of cheese, but it provided the inspiration I need to create my own more complex (and dare I say more tasty) breakfast quesadilla recipe. I created a quesadilla that that incorporated the potatoes Matt liked from his breakfast burrito days and homegrown zucchini and peppers. I think it would also be good with some spinach or sauteed mushrooms but I only used what is in season right now.

Speaking of my husband, he's on a quest to bring back the cocktail hour with his new blog, Five O'Clock Shakes.

Straight from the Garden Zucchini and Pepper Tomato Sauce

Ingredients:
3 pepperincini peppers, small dice
2 zucchini, chopped or diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 large shallot, small dice
1 small onion, diced
35 oz canned whole tomatoes in juice, cut up
2 tablespoons olive oil

1 lb cooked pasta

Directions:
In a large saucepan, heat the oil. Add the onion, zucchini, peppers and shallot, saute until just soft. Add the garlic and saute one additional minute. Add the tomatoes and cook through. Serve over hot pasta.

My thoughts:

One of the best things about growing your own vegetables is trying to come up with recipes to use them all up.Our tomatoes are just starting to come in, but we have already harvested several zucchini and patty pan squash. A lot of the peppers we planted are ready to pick as well, we've had a few a jalapenos and scotch bonnet peppers already and a dozen of the accidentally planted and extremely prolific peppers that appear to be pepperincinis. To use up some of the peppers and zucchini and the huge shallots I bought at the farmers market, I made this sauce, which is a variation of the eggplant marinara we made last year, which has enough peppers to keep it interesting, but not so much that the spice is the star. Always use the best quality of canned tomatoes you can, I find that organic or Italian brand tomatoes have the best flavor.

Zucchini and Rice Stuffed Eggplant

Ingredients:
2 eggplants, sliced longways
1 onion, minced
1 zucchini, chopped
1 carrot, diced
1 1/2 cup prepared rice
1 tablespoon fresh thyme
1 tablespoon olive oil
additional olive oil
salt
pepper

optional: parmesan or asiago cheese for sprinkling

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350. Using a ice cream scoop, scoop out the insides of the eggplant, leaving a 1/2 to 1/4 inch border around all edges. Discard the pulp. Sprinkle with salt and place open side down on a paper towel for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, heat the tablespoon of oil in a pan and saute the onion, carrots and zucchini. When the eggplant is ready, pat dry. Brush the skin with olive oil and broil* until just tender, about 5 minutes. Carefully remove from the broiler and place on a baking sheet or casserole. Add the thyme and the rice to the sauteed vegetables and cook 1 minute. Stuff the eggplant and top with a sprinkling of cheese (if desired). Bake for 5 minutes or until the filling has heated through.

*You could grill the eggplant instead.

My thoughts:

This really came about as a way to use up some rapidly deteriorating ingredients-leftover yellow rice from burrito making, a lone zucchini) I had in the fridge. There are a few steps that might seem silly but they are worth it. Salting and draining the eggplant keeps it from getting soggy and the quick trip to the broiler insures that the eggplant will be tender and cooked through, without having to bake the stuffed eggplant (and possibly drying the filling out in the process) for a long period of time.

Cr�pes with Steak, Onions & Zucchini

Ingredients:
1 1/3 cup milk
3/4 cup buckwheat flour
1/2 cup flour
1/4 cup butter, melted and cooled
3 eggs
1 1 lb steak (top round, hanger or flank)
1 large onion, sliced
2-4 zucchini
2 tablespoons olive oil
kosher salt
coarsely ground pepper

Directions:
In a small bowl, whisk together the butter, buckwheat flour, flour, eggs and milk. Allow to sit 30 minutes. In a pan, heat the olive oil. Add the zucchini and the onion, cook until the zucchini is soft and the onions are starting to caramelize, about 20 minutes. Meanwhile, sprinkle the steak with salt and pepper and sear on a hot pan. For a 1" thick steak, cook on high heat for 2.5 minutes on each side for rare steak. Remove steak to a pan and cover with foil. Let sit for 5 minutes and then slice thinly. Grease a cr�pe pan. Place over a medium flame and heat the pan. Add about 1/2 cup batter to the center of the pan, tilting it to cover the bottom. Cook until just browned, about 2-3 minutes, then flip. Cook until set. Repeat for remaining batter. Stack each cr�pe on a plate and cover until you are ready to serve. To serve: place some of the zucchini and onion and the steak on 1/2 half of the cr�pe. Fold it over. Serve immediately.

Yield: about 4-6 cr�pes

My thoughts:

Cr�pes are not any harder to make then regular pancakes, but they seem a little more fitting for dinner. I recently bought a crepe pan and have been wanting to try it out. These savory cr�pes are some times refered to as ""galettes" (if my high school French isn't failing me) and are slightly thicker than the white flour only dessert cr�pes.

Chocolate Zucchini Muffins

Ingredients:
2 eggs
2 cups shredded zucchini
1 3/4 cup flour
1 cup buttermilk
2/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup oil
1/2 cup cocoa
1/3 cup chopped pecans
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon cloves
1/2 teaspoon allspice


Directions:
Preheat oven to 350. Grease and flour or line* 12 wells in a muffin tin. Set aside. In a large bowl, mix together the eggs, oil and buttermilk. Add in all of the dry ingredients, including spices. Mix thoroughly. Stir in pecans and zucchini. Fill the prepared wells about 3/4 of the way. Bake 30-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the center muffin comes out mostly clean.

*On a side note, I really like a new Martha Stewart cupcake/muffin liners. You can still see the pattern of the liners even when the cake is dark unlike most Wilton liners where the pattern/design totally disappears with a dark batter.

My thoughts:

I have sort of mixed feelings about chocolate zucchini muffins. I have seen recipes for years for various incarnations with and without chips or nuts and never got around to making them. I sort of liked the idea, but it also smacked of "here's a fun way to trick your kids into eating vegetables", which I always find unappealing. Anyway, Matt was reading a cookbook the other day and they had recipe for chocolate zucchini muffins. He had never heard of them before and immediately wanted to make them, but we decided to hold off until this weekend when his parents would be in town. I am glad we did, the recipe was sort of bizarre (almost an equal amount of sugar as flour and some other oddities) so I scraped it entirely and made my own. The recipe I came up with was much less sweet, and with (I bet) a stronger chocolate flavor. I also don't like nuts in my muffins so I made two plain and stirred nuts into the rest. The muffins are very, very moist and not too sweet so you don't run into the whole "are these muffins or are these cupcakes debate".

Spring Vegetable Soup

Ingredients:
1/2 lb asparagus, cut into 1 inch pieces
1/2 lb green beans, cut into 1 inch pieces
2 carrots, cut into coins
1 zucchini, diced
1 small onion, diced
2 cups corn
2 cups broth*
14 oz nonfat evaporated milk
1 tablespoon olive oil
pepper

Directions:
In a medium saucepan, heat the oil. Add the onions and carrots and saute. When just softened, add the asparagus, green beans and zucchini and cook 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add corn, evaporated milk, pepper and broth and simmer covered for 15-20 minutes or until heated through. Serve hot.


*I made this soup using some broth leftover from making stuffed peppers. This gave it a slightly spicy edge that regular chicken stock doesn't have so feel free to add any spices you'd like.

My thoughts:

This such a simple soup that is great for using up leftover odds and ends of vegetables. You can use pretty much anything. I like to make it with fresh corn or barring that, corn I froze myself at the height of corn season. The evaporated milk gives it a creaminess with out it being too heavy -the flavors of the vegetables shine through.

Poblano Peppers Stuffed with Chicken, Zucchini and Spinach

Ingredients:
4 large, fresh poblano (sometimes labeled as pasilla) peppers
4 cloves garlic, smashed
3 dried chipotle peppers
28 canned whole tomatoes in juice, pureed
2 medium sized onions
1/2 lb boneless, skinless chicken breast
1 medium zucchini, cubed
1 cup corn kernels
1 cup cooked spinach*
1 cup chicken stock
4 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon cider vinegar
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
salt
pepper
juice from 1 lime
shredded cheddar cheese (for sprinkling)

Directions:
In a medium saucepan, add the chicken breast, broth, garlic, lime juice, cumin, salt, ground pepper, one onion (quartered) and the dried chipolte peppers. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer about 20 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through and is easily shredded with a fork. Remove the breast from the broth and set aside. Strain the broth, and puree the solids. Reserve the broth. Shred the chicken and mix it with the onion/pepper puree. Set aside. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, heat 3 tablespoon olive oil, add the remaining onion (diced) and cook until golden brown. Add the tomato puree, 1/4 cup reserved broth** salt, ground pepper and cinnamon. Cook until the sauce has reduced to form a thick sauce, about 20-25 minutes. In a medium saucepan, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil, add the zucchini and cook over high heat until the zucchini starts to brown. Add half of the tomato sauce, corn and reduce heat to medium. Cook an additional 15 minutes until thickened. Remove from heat, stir in the chicken mixture, spinach and salt to taste. Place the poblano chiles in a heat safe dish and broil 5 minutes on each side. Remove to a towel and allow to cool, five minutes. Gently use the towel to remove the skins from the chiles, using a circular motion. Preheat oven to 375. Cut a slit down one side of each chile (or in the middle, if a split formed while removing the skin) and remove the seeds with as spoon. Discard the seeds. In a shallow baking pan, spread 1/2 of the remaining sauce along the bottom. Place the chiles slit side up and carefully fill with the chicken mixture.Do not over fill, the chile should be able to "close" when filled. Repeat for each chile and reposition them so the slit side is directly on the bottom of the pan. Distribute the remaining sauce over the peppers and sprinkle with cheese. Bake for 15-20 minutes. Serve hot.





*if frozen, defrost and drain thoroughly.
**use any leftover broth instead of regular chicken broth in another recipe.

My thoughts:

This is a colorful dish that is sort of a reinvention of the dish chile rellano (which literally means "stuffed chile" but generally refers to poblano peppers that have been stuffed with cheese and then deep fried) but is much healthier and in my opinion, tastes even better. Poblano peppers are on the mild side and surprisingly sturdy which makes them great candidates for stuffing despite their long and sort of pinched shape. Rather than just filling them with cheese, we combined chicken, zucchini, corn and spinach for a really fresh tasting and light filling. The poaching with the chile and onion adds great flavor the chicken, but if you were short on time, you could just shred leftover roasted or rotisserie chicken and use that instead. Rather than add the cheese to the filling, we sprinkled it on top for a little extra flavor. These were great for a meal, and any leftover filling you have makes yummy tacos or burritos.

Chunky Vegetable Chili

Ingredients:
1 habenero pepper, minced

1 large onion, diced

2 stalks celery, diced

2 carrots, diced

2 shallots, minced

3 cloves garlic, minced

3 Japanese eggplants, chopped

3 zucchini, chopped

32 oz canned whole tomatoes, cut up

15 oz canned pinto beans, drained

15 oz canned dark red kidney beans, drained

3 tablespoons vegetable oil

2 tablespoons chili powder

2 tablespoons red pepper flakes

2 teaspoons cumin

1 teaspoon hot paprika

1 teaspoon cayenne

Directions:

In a large pot, heat the oil. When hot, add the red pepper flakes, garlic, onions, shallots, carrots and celery. Cook, stirring occasionally, for about 10 minutes or until things begin to soften. Add the eggplant and half of the zucchini. Continue to cook, about 10 minutes or until the eggplant begins to soften. Add the tomatoes, cumin, paprika, chili powder, habenaro, and cayenne and continue to cook. After about 5 minutes, add the remaining zucchini and then continue to cook, stirring occasionally, for about 10 more minutes. Add the kidney and pinto beans, stir and return to heat, about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. If you want a thinner, soupier texture leave the lid on, if you want it thicker, leave the lid off. Serve hot.

My thoughts:

I have had a craving for a good vegetable chili for a while now. I used to get a good bowl at a restaurant that has since closed but had never made it myself before. Anyway, I think this recipe is a pretty good alternative, I made the decision to add half of the zucchini later to give it more of a texture contrast but you could add it all in the beginning and it would be fine. We served with corn muffins and when I eat some leftovers tomorrow, I think I might ladle it over rice.

Zucchini Parmesan Bread

Ingredients:

2 3/4 cups flour

2 cups zucchini, grated, excess water removed

1 cup buttermilk

1/3 cup Parmesan, grated

1/3 cup butter, melted and cooled

2 eggs

3 tablespoons sugar

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

pepper

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350. Grease and flour or spray with baking spray with flour two loaf pans. In a large bowl mix together zucchini, flour, sugar, salt, pepper, baking soda, baking powder and Parmesan. In a small bowl or measuring cup whisk together eggs, buttermilk and butter. Pour over zucchini mixture and mix thoroughly. Divide into loaf pans and bake 45-55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle of the loaf comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack 10 minutes then remove from pan and either serve warm or continue to cool.

My thoughts:

Another week, another zucchini bread recipe. I wanted to try my hand at a more savory zucchini bread than is typicaly made. I made this using heirloom Black Beauty zucchini from my garden. It has a whiter flesh and darker skin than more common zucchini varieties. It is very tasty and maintains a good flavor when baked. It also leaves pretty dark green flecks in the bread. Which I enjoy, of course, if you want a more pure white bread, just peel the zucchini before grating.

Zucchini au Gratin

Ingredients:

2 cups zucchini, sliced thinly
1 large onion, sliced thinly
3/4 cup sour cream*
3/4 cup white extra sharp cheddar, shredded
1/2 cup milk
salt
pepper

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350. Meanwhile, in a large pot, boil zucchini and onion until tender. Drain thoroughly and arrange in a medium sized casserole dish. Mix together sour cream and milk and sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste. Pour over zucchini and onions. Sprinkle with cheese and bake uncovered about 20 minutes until bubbly and hot. Serve hot by removing the zucchini and onions with a slotted spoon, it is quite saucy, in bowls.




*low fat or even fat free is fine.

My thoughts:

This was one of my most favorite foods when I was little and I still enjoy it made with fresh from the garden zucchini. We actually just called it "zucchini with sour cream" but zucchini au gratin makes the recipe seem more legitimate, don't you think?

Carrot Zucchini Bread

Ingredients:
3 eggs
2 cups sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
2 cups grated, raw zucchini
1 cup carrot, grated
3 teaspoons vanilla
3 cups flour or 1 1/2 cups AP flour and 1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cloves
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon cardamom
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
3 teaspoons cinnamon
1 cup coarsely chopped walnuts*

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350. Butter and flour or spray with cooking spray with flour two loaf pans. In a large bowl, beat the eggs until light and fluffy. Add sugar, oil, zucchini, carrot and vanilla. Mix well. In a small bowl, whisk together dry ingredients. Add to zucchini/carrot mixture. Mix until well combined then fold in walnuts. Pour into prepared pans and bake for 1 hour. Cool on rack for 10 minutes then remove from pan. Delicious warm or at room temperature.

*optional, I personally enjoy my bread walnut free. In baked goods, walnuts kind of remind me of baby teeth.

My thoughts:

If zucchini bread is good, then carrot zucchini bread is even better. Just as moist but with pretty orange flecks and hint of sweetness. Very good spread with cream cheese.

Stuffed Pattypan Squash

Ingredients:

6 small pattypan squash
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 small onion, minced
1/2 cup dry bread crumbs or matzo meal
1/4 cup grated Romano* cheese
2 tablespoons oregano
salt

freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350. Lightly grease or spray one 8 inch square baking dish. Using a knife cut off the stem end of the squash. Insert a small spoon or melon baler and scoop out pulp, leaving a 3/8-inch deep shell. Reserve pulp. Bring 4 cups of salted water to a full boil. Add the squash shells and parboil 2 minutes. Remove and drain. Set aside. Mince pulp. In a skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat. Saute the onion and chopped squash until tender, about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from the heat and in a small bowl, combine with the cheese, bread crumbs, oregano and salt and pepper to taste. Use a small spoon to fill the shells completely. Place in prepared baking dish. Bake about 15 - 20 minutes, or until heated through.

*Parmesan would make an excellent substitute for Romano.

My thoughts:

I originally came up with this recipe some years back when I wanted to stuff some 8 ball zucchini** I picked up at a farmer's market. I liked the results then and when I saw some tiny pattypan squash at my favorite produce stand I thought an adaptation was in order. Since the flesh of pattypan squash is rather dense you have to be a little aggressive scooping the pulp out but it isn't difficult, especially if you have a sharp melon baller or a pointy spoon. A major plus is that pattypan is a much easier variety of squash to find than 8 ball zucchini. Plus "pattypan" is a fun word to say.


**8 ball zucchini is a small round variety of zucchini. You can follow this same recipe with great success, but since 8 ball zucchini is round, you will want to knick a little bit off the bottoms of each zucchini so they don't roll around in the pan.

Minestrone Soup

Ingredients:

64 oz vegetable broth
24 oz crushed tomatoes
14 oz kidney beans, drained
1 cup onions, chopped
1 medium eggplant, chopped
2 small zucchini, chopped
4 carrots, cut into coins
4 stalks of celery, chopped
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 cup fresh basil
1/2 cup fresh spinach
1/2 cup frozen peas
1/2 cup frozen green beans
1/2 lb ditalini pasta (or other small pasta)

Directions:

In a large pot with a cover, bring vegetable broth, onions, garlic, celery and carrots to boil. Add tomatoes, zucchini, peas, green beans, kidney beans and eggplant and cook through. Cover and return to boil. Add pasta and cook 10 minutes. Add spinach and basil. Stir through and serve.

the Boyfriend's Zucchini Bread Recipe

Ingredients:

3 eggs

2 cups sugar

1 cup vegetable oil

2 cups grated, raw zucchini

3 teaspoons vanilla

3 cups flour or 1 1/2 cups AP flour and 1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon cloves

1 teaspoon nutmeg

1 teaspoon cardamom

3/4 teaspoon baking powder

3 teaspoons cinnamon

1 cup coarsely chopped walnuts



Directions:

Preheat oven to 350. Beat the eggs until light and fluffy. Add sugar, oil, zucchini and vanilla. Mix well. In another bowl, combine dry ingredients. Add to zucchini mixture. Stir until blended, add nuts. Stir. Pour into greased loaf pans. Should make 2. Bake for 1 hour. Cool on rack.



Suggestions:

This keeps really well, if kept frozen up to about 3 months or about a week if refrigerated. My boyfriend likes it toasted with cream cheese. I like it untoasted plain or with cream cheese. Or fresh and hot out of the oven with butter. I normally use this recipe to make zucchini bread, but this one is just as good, if not better.

Zucchini Bread/Muffins

3 cups flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. cinnamon

1/4 tsp. baking powder

3 eggs, room temperature

1 1/2 cups sugar

1/2 cup oil

2 cups shredded zucchini

2 tsp. vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Stir flour, baking soda, baking powder, and cinnamon in a large bowl. Beat eggs separately and add sugar until fluffy. Add egg/sugar mixture to dry ingredients and mix. Add oil, shredded zucchini and vanilla. Mix thoroughly. Variation: Zucchini Muffins. Pour into lined muffin pans. Bake for about 15-20 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Cool on rack. Good warm with butter. Variation: Zucchini bread. Divide batter into two greased loaf pans. Bake for 1 hour, 15 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Cool on rack, then remove from pan and continue cooling on rack.



A suggestion: shredded too much zucchini? Saut� it with some chopped onion and some cherry tomatoes for a summery side dish.