This June, my husband Tim and I had the amazing opportunity to work in a brewery for a day. Head brewer Vince at Iron Hill North Wales graciously showed us the ropes, and we were extremely grateful for the chance to come in and live the dream! [...]

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Another zucchini recipe from my archives… Simple, yet effective. And really, I love any vegetable that’s roasted with Parmesan!

2 medium zucchini (about 1 pound total)
1 tbsp olive oil
¼ cup freshly grated Parmesan
¼ cup plain dry bread crumbs
Salt and pepper

Slice the zucchini into ¼-inch thick rounds. Sprinkle with salt and let sit until much of the water has been pulled out. Blot with a paper towel.

Preheat the oven to 450° F. Lightly coat a baking sheet with cooking spray or a little olive oil.

In a medium bowl, toss the zucchini with the oil. In a small bowl, combine the Parmesan, bread crumbs, and pepper. Dip each round into the Parmesan mixture, coating it evenly on both sides, pressing the coating on so it sticks, and place in a single layer on the prepared baking sheet.

Bake the zucchini rounds until browned and crisp, 25-30 minutes. Remove with a spatula. Serve immediately.

It’s almost Labor Day, and we’re getting down to the wire now with these zucchini recipes… Only a couple more in my pocket now!

Here’s a recipe I came up with a couple years ago for a zucchini/herb bread. Zucchini bread can be savory too, ya know! I made this in my bread maker some time ago. It had a light, fluffy texture and fresh flavor. You can sub in any kind of herbs you want, and even add more than just 1 tbsp. Yum!

½ cup water
¾ cup grated zucchini
1 tbsp vegetable oil
2 tsp honey
1 tbsp chopped fresh basil
2 tsp sesame seeds
1 tsp salt
¾ cup whole wheat flour
2 cups bread flour
1 ½ tsp active dry yeast

Add all the ingredients to the bread maker. Use the 1-lb loaf setting. If the dough looks dry during mixing, add up to ¼ cup water until the dough comes together.

Chocolate? Zucchini? For serious?

I came across this recipe in my zucchini travels, and I was very, very curious to try it out. Turns out, zucchini can do wonders for the texture of chocolate cake. Weird, right?

I actually made the “cake” in two bread pans and passed it off as chocolate zucchini “bread.” Amazing how the perception of “bread” can actually convince people to eat cake for breakfast!

Anyway, here’s the recipe.

¾ cup softened butter, more for greasing the pan
2 cups sugar
3 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
2 tsp grated orange peel
2 cups coarsely shredded zucchini
2 ½ cups regular all-purpose flour, unsifted
½ cup cocoa
2 ½ tsp baking powder
1 ½ tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
½ cup milk
1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
Glaze (directions follow)

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease a 10-inch tube or bundt pan or (two bread pans), and dust with flour.

Beat together the butter and the sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs. Stir in the vanilla, orange peel, and zucchini.

Combine the flour, cocoa, baking powder, soda, salt, and cinnamon in a separate bowl. Gradually stir the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, alternating with additions of the milk. Stir in the nuts.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for about 50 minutes or until a wooden toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in the pan for 15 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

If you want to add the glaze, the recipe says to mix together 2 cups powdered sugar, 3 tbsp milk, and 1 tsp vanilla, whisk until smooth, and drizzle over the cake. I didn’t use the glaze since I was passing it off as bread, but the glaze would add a nice touch to a cake!

I really liked how moist this cake came out. I would probably add more orange zest and cinnamon next time. And maybe grind the nuts finely to not upset the smooth, rich texture. Mmm…

I recently paid a visit to Weyerbacher Brewing Company in Easton, PA to check out their brewery tour. I was very pleasantly surprised to find out that they give out free samples of their beer on Saturdays 12-3pm! Sweet! [...]

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As the end of August draws near, I find myself shocked that zucchini season is almost over! (At least, that’s what the garden seems to be telling me. Our poor zucchini plants seem to be getting less and less abundant as the summer comes to a close.)

But I’m not done yet! I give you — Zucchini risotto.

I love this dish. It uses up a ton of zucchini in a very sneaky way. I won’t give an exact list of ingredients for this one, because it varies every time I make it based on what I have in the house. But here’s a general list of what you’ll need, and the risotto method.

You will need:
Zucchini or yellow squash
Other veggies (preferably including onions and garlic)
Oil/butter
Arborio rice
White wine (optional)
Chicken broth (I’ve done this with just water as well and it turned out great)
Grated cheese (optional)
Fresh herbs (optional)

First, chop up some veggies and sauté in a little oil and/or butter until lightly browned. Here I used yellow squash, red bell pepper, onions, and garlic.

Sauté chopped veggies

Then add arborio rice to the pan. I use about 2 cups. Stir it around until the edges of the rice begin to appear translucent, 1-2 minutes.

Add the arborio rice

Pour in about a cup of white wine and cook for just a minute. Then (and here’s the sneaky part) add shredded zucchini (or in this case, yellow squash). You can add an awful lot. It breaks down along with the rice as the risotto cooks, and it adds a wonderful creamy texture to the dish. I’d say 1-2 cups should do it.

Add white wine, then stir in shredded zucchini

Add enough hot chicken broth (keep a pot of hot broth on the stove while you’re cooking the risotto) to just cover the rice. Bring it to a boil, and adjust the heat to a nice simmer. Stir frequently. Once the broth is absorbed, add another bit of hot broth (say ½-1 cup). Repeat for about 20-25 minutes, until the rice is tender. The risotto will be nice and creamy.

Continually add broth for 20-25 minutes

Remove from the heat, stir in some grated Parmesan and fresh basil (or whatever cheese and herbs you desire), season to taste with salt and pepper, and bam! Risotto.

Stir in cheese and herbs, season, eat

See how easy that was? All that grated zucchini just kind of disappears into the risotto, but it adds a wonderful texture. Hidden vegetables! Might be a great thing to feed kids.

You can really go wild with what you add to this dish. Try steeping some dried mushrooms in the broth for an extra punch of earthy flavor. Experiment with different vegetables, herbs, and cheeses. Add some ground meat or sausage. Heck, substitute corn for the zucchini (I’ve done this, and it is amazingly delicious). That’s what I love about risotto. Simple yet versatile, and always impressive. Enjoy!

Zucchini cookies… Who’da thunk?

These cookies are really cakey, kinda spongy. Really different, and quite tasty!

½ cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 ½ cups shredded zucchini
2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
¼ tsp nutmeg
¼ tsp allspice
½ cup golden raisins
½ dried cranberries

Preheat the oven to 350° F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Or, if you ran out of parchment paper like I did… Grease two baking sheets.

Cream the butter and sugar in a large bowl until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg. Gently mix in the shredded zucchini.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice. Gradually add the flour mixture to the zucchini mixture, beating slowly with the mixer. Stir in the golden raisins and dried cranberries.

Scoop rounded tablespoons of cookie dough onto the prepared baking sheets at least 1 inch apart.

Bake for 12-14 minutes, or until the cookies are lightly golden brown around the edges. Remove from the oven and transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Simple, lightly spiced cookies. The shredded zucchini adds a nice texture. Easy to eat too many of!

The final leg of our road trip through North Carolina included a stopover at Front Street Brewery, located in historic downtown Wilmington, right next to the beautiful Cape Fear River. [...]

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