Zucchini Fritters

"In mid-summer if zucchini do not surreptitiously appear on your front porch in the hours between dusk and dawn, you have no friends." Anon

Apparently, we have many friends or the few who love us have green thumbs indeed. One shelf of our refrigerator is devoted to zucchini. We've done the zucchini bread, and we have eaten zucchini in soup, salads, and vegetable trays.

Today, in the midst of summer, I made zucchini fritters. However, if you find this hub in winter, spring, or autumn, you can still make this recipe. Zucchini is always available at the market. If you like this recipe as much as did we, you can make it any time of year.

Photo courtesy https://www.eatwell101.com/zucchini-fritters-recipe

 

Zucchini Fritters (makes 4 servings)

Ingredients

• 2 cups grated zucchini, (see note below)
• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 2 tablespoons flat-leaf parsley, finely minced
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 2 teaspoon olive oil

NOTE—When grating the zucchini for this recipe, I suggest that you remove and discard the seeds. That seedy interior part of the squash is very wet.

Instructions

1. First, prepare your zucchini--cut the stem and blossom end off of your zucchini. Slice horizontally into two halves. Scoop out the seeds with a spoon and discard the seeds.
2. Shred the remaining zucchini—one large squash should yield about 2 cups.
3. Place the grated zucchini in a bowl. Add the eggs, Parmesan, parsley, flour, salt, and pepper. Stir to combine.
4. Heat oil in a large sauté pan over medium heat. Spoon zucchini batter into pan (about 1/4 cup for each fritter). Sauté for about 5 minutes. Carefully turn over and continue cooking over medium heat for about another 5 minutes or until the centers are cooked through and the edges are crispy.

What makes this recipe work?

• Parmesan cheese adds a creamy richness as it melts, and binds everything together. If you don't like Parmesan, another melting cheese would do--Cheddar, Swiss, etc.
• Zucchini is rather bland. Flat-leaf parsley provides a green herbal note.
• If you want to turn this into a meal, stir in 1 cup of minced cooked ham. I prepare the ham by pulsing it a few times in a food processor.

Homemade Vegetable Soup

I woke up this morning craving the vegetable soup of my childhood.

It was the 1950s. We lived frugally, but I don't think we ever considered ourselves poor. We had a house and clothes to wear. Daddy had a car, and we had nourishing food every evening. Our meals weren't gourmet—they were frugal, but they were homemade and cooked with love. Back then there was no "Hamburger Helper", we hadn't heard of McDonald's, and frozen dinners were still relatively new--and a luxury we really couldn't afford. 

Mom never measured her ingredients, so there's no written recipe. But in the afternoon, when I got home from school, I usually sat at the kitchen table puzzling over homework while the evening meal was prepared. I was an inquisitive little kid and liked to observe what was going on in the kitchen.

As I think back to those days I am amazed at how well Mom did with so little. A pound of beef for stew (which is a cheap, tough cut of meat) was stretched to make several meals for a family of four. Dried beans were a blessing—a one-pound sack of beans today costs only $2.00 (and it was much cheaper 60 years ago). Two pounds of dried beans equal about 2 cups uncooked but expand to 6 cups!

I'm proud of my Mom—her frugal nature gave us wholesome, healthy, natural food to eat and saved us countless dollars.

(Photo credit: Image by Lori Dunn from Pixabay)

Homemade Vegetable Soup (makes 6 servings)

Ingredients

• 1 pound beef for stew
• 2 teaspoon olive oil
• 1/2 cup dry navy or white beans
• 1/2 cup dry red kidney (brown) beans
• 6 cups water
• 1/2 cup dry lentils
• 1 medium (about 1 cup) onion, finely chopped
• 1 small stalk of celery (no tops), finely chopped
• 1 large carrot, peeled and finely chopped
• 1 cup chopped cabbage or kale, optional
• 3 vegetable bouillon cubes
• 1 8-ounce can of tomato sauce
• 1 medium (about 1 cup) potato, diced
• salt and pepper, to taste

Instructions

1. In a large stockpot sauté the beef in olive oil over medium heat, stirring occasionally until browned on all sides. Remove from pot and set aside.
2. In the same pot add white and brown beans and 6 cups of water. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to low. Return sauteed beef to pot. Cover and simmer for about 2 hours or until beans and beef are tender.
3. Add lentils, onions, carrots, celery, cabbage or kale, bouillon cubes, tomato sauce, and potatoes.
4. Cover and simmer until vegetables and lentils are tender (about 20 minutes). Add salt and pepper to taste.

Photo Credit: Image by Matthias Lipinski from Pixabay 

Easy Cake-Mix Kuchen

Weekends are made for a leisurely breakfast. I could do pancakes, waffles, muffins, or even a batch of scones. But I'm in the mood for something different today. With just one hour and a little help from my best friend (Betty Crocker), I can make an amazing fruit kuchen. I like this recipe because it is so adaptable--you can use just about whatever kind of cake mix/fruit combination you have on hand.

(Photo Credit: Arkansas Democratic Gazette)

Easy Cake Mix Fruit Kuchen

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup butter
• 1 package cake mix, any flavor you want (I used yellow)
• 1/2 cup flaked coconut
• *2 1/2 cups fresh or canned fruit or 1 can of fruit pie filling (I used Granny Smith apples)
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 cup sour cream (OK to use low- or non-fat)
• 1 large egg

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Place butter, cake mix (dry), and coconut in a large mixing bowl. Cut butter into dry cake mix until it appears like fine crumbs. Reserve 3/4 cup of the mixture. Pat the remaining cake mix/coconut into the bottom of an ungreased 9x13-inch pan, building up the edges slightly. Bake in preheated oven for 10 minutes.
3. Arrange prepared fruit on the warm crust. Mix sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle evenly over the fruit.
4. Combine sour cream and egg. Drizzle over fruit. Crumble reserved cake mix/coconut mixture over the top. Bake for 20-25 minutes. Serve warm.

* If using fresh apples or pears pare, core, and slice. If using peaches, apricots, cherries, nectarines, or plums, remove the pit and slice.



Suggested combinations:
Chocolate cake - pears, strawberries, blackberries, cherries
Spice cake - peaches, apples, nectarines
Carrot cake - pineapple, apricots
Yellow or white cake - any fruit of your choosing