Okay! Okay! Zucchini.....zeppelins....whatever!

They're big! They're green! They're everywhere! It's like WWII zeppelins, except these are edible. I got a lot of great "feed" back on the zucchini Parmesan. I must admit it was good. But....there is so much MORE!

Have you ever had stuffed zucchini? The way MiMi did it was very yummy and I've served it to many a vegetarian who loved it.

I have stuffed zucchini with chicken and sausage and ground beef, but this is so good with a hunk of Italian bread or a side of spaghetti.

I remember one time in the 70's, my girlfriend and I decide to go to Endicott for a weekend. She was "seeing" some guy from Ithaca, so we made arrangements for the two of them to go out Saturday and I would stay at my grandmother's, looking so sad and pathetic that Marsha's son (who was about seven) hugged me and offered to take me to McDonald's. Cute.....but not the same as an evening with a hot guy at The Vineyard. Is that still opened? They had great eggplant Parmesan.

But I digress (is that the word?).....Anyway....MiMi made stuffed zucchini. After Gina got back from her date, she and I stayed up late that night watching my very favorite movie, "To Kill A Mockingbird", and eating cold leftover stuffed zucchini. Even cold, it was great!

Stuffed Zucchini

2 medium large zucchinis

2 cups seasoned breadcrumbs

1 1/4 cups grated Parmesan or Romano cheese

Your own homemade or a large jar of Prego Spaghetti sauce

mozzarella (optional)

Enough eggs to moisten the stuffing (have a dozen handy just in case)

garlic or garlic powder - to taste

black pepper - to taste

salt - to taste

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

Rinse your zucchinis well. Cut off the stem end and then cut them length wise in half. Cut out the seeds and meat from the center of the zucchini, leaving enough meat so that the zucchini will hold it's form. Separate the seeds and the zucchini meat. Throw away the seeds and chop up the zucchini meat left over into small chunks and set aside.

In a large bowl add bread crumbs, cheese, seasonings (to taste), zucchini chunks and baking powder. Blend well. Begin to add your eggs. Start with three, mix. Continue to add one egg at a time, mixing afterwards until stuffing is the same consistency as meatballs or meatloaf (able to hold in your hand and mold).

You could either spray your pans or put just a little water in the bottom of them. They should be long enough for zucchinis and deep enough for the sauce. Place your hollowed out zucchini halves in two large pans hollow side up. Stuff them with stuffing, allowing a small mound on top. Place in a 350 oven on the center rack and allow them to bake until they are golden brown. Cover them. Uncover them when toothpick inserted into the center of the stuffing comes out dry and let them bake another five to ten minutes until they brown. Take them out of the oven and pour the sauce over them. As much as you like without completely covering them. Cover your pan with foil or lid and bake until sauce is hot and bubbly, basting them with the sauce periodically. Uncover and if you like, add mozzarella to taste on top and bake until the mozzarella is a little golden.

This serves a whole bunch of people and can be eaten as a side dish or as a main course with a side of spaghetti. The leftovers are even good.

Zucchini Parmesan Revisions & Fun

My last post was about zucchini parmesan. I have some revisions. I made it Sunday and Tuesday for a Vision Team meeting and discovered that if you are using a regular size 9 x 13 pan, you will probably only be able to fit two layers. A deeper pan may fit three. I also did something different that I never did before. I added a layer of ricotta cheese in between the two layers. I mixed a 16 oz. container with one egg, parmesan cheese, garlic salt, and black pepper and spreaded (is that a word) over the first layer of zucchini before I added the sauce and mozzarella and parmesan. It made this dish even more rich and yummy. Chel, I hope you could figure out how to do it lactose free. I'm thinking about it. I had vegetable lasagne once with tofu instead of cheese and it wasn't bad, I actually liked it.

Also, for those of you who are just dying to hear or see how I grew up, here is a video on u-tube that talks about American Italians in the 50's and 60's that is frighteningly familiar. Click here: YouTube - Our Contributions: The Italians in America My cousin Marsha sent this to me when I first started this blog, but the audio was bad. My friend Sondra sent it to me yesterday and with the audio it was so much better. I swear that those big hairy arms carving the Thanksgiving turkey are my Dad's and that my grandmother went around the country cutting all the little girls' hair with the same bowl. They are So much like my family's home movies that I kept looking for myself. Even the bushes in front of the house look like the same ones in front of my grandmother's neighbor's house in Endicott. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

The zucchini's are growing and I plan on adding more recipes in the next few days. Stuffed zucchini, zucchini soup, grilled zucchini, zucchini stew.....holy zucchini Batman!

When In Doubt....Give them Away!

I now have seven zucchinis sitting on my kitchen table waiting to either be useful here or waiting for a new home. Unfortunately we let a couple of them get large. I will see if anyone wants them.

But what about recipes? Almost everything I know needs baked and it's just too hot to turn on the oven. I am not of that lucky breed of people that has air conditioning.

Oh well, I will begin with my all time favorite. Zucchini Parmesan. When we were growing up my Grandma Civ made eggplant parmesan. I find that I like zucchini better. Sometimes eggplant tends to get bitter. Zucchini is almost sweet.

I have made this a couple of ways. One is high in fat, the other not so much.

Zucchini Parmesan

The FAT way:

I begin by deepfrying my zucchini. I take three to four medium sized zucchini and slice them about 1/4 to 1/8 inch. Then I dip them in egg, and dredge them through seasoned breadcrumbs. I drop them in a pan of hot oil.

**Here's how I check to see if my oil is hot. I break off a small piece of bread and drop it in the oil. When the bread begins to bubble on the sides, the oil is ready.**

Make sure there is enough oil so that the zucchini doesn't stick. When it is just golden, take it out of the oil and place it on paper bags (to soak up the grease).

The NOT-SO-FAT way:

I do the egg drop and breadcrumb dredge. Instead of frying in oil, I place the zucchini on a stone or cookie sheet and bake it in the oven. When they are golden I take them out of the oven and they are ready to layer for the parmesan part.

THE PARM PART:

1 Large jar of Tomato sauce

Grated parmesan cheese

three cups of shredded mozzarella

the star: The Zucchini

Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees. Use a 9 x 13 pan (or a similar size). Begin with a thin layer of sauce on the bottom of the pan. Just enough to coat the bottom so that nothing sticks. Put a layer of your fried zucchini (1/3 of your zucchini), close together. Cover it with sauce, sprinkle of parm and 1/3 of mozzarella. Repeat until you have three layers. You may want to place your pan on top of a cookie sheet for bubbling over messes. Cover with tin foil, but not too tight. You don't want the cheese to stick to the foil. Check after 20 minutes. After that check every 15 minutes, until it's hot and bubbly. Take the foil off and let it bake another five minutes until the cheese is golden.

This stuff is great! Everyone who eats it can't believe it's a vegetable. It looks and tastes like lasagne without all the carbs! Yum! Yum!

Introducing....The Flying Zucchinis!

In about a week or so, our garden will be overwhelmed with zucchinis. I find it hard to keep up with them. My husband and I have a yearly feud concerning them. He feels if you pick it....you eat it....NOW! With zucchinis, if they get too big they become dry and bitter tasting. So while I'm picking them and letting them sit, he's wanting to let them stay on the vine and soon we have WWII, with these giant zeppelins rising out of our backyard. It's crazy! Anyway, soon I will be posting recipes with zucchini. I have some great ones.

Hey do you guys remember the TV show "The Muppets"? Remember the "Flying Zucchinis"? They were a trapeze act and usually ended up in a heap on the ground.

LOVED THE MUPPETS!