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Post by Gianna on Jul 28, 2019 20:46:33 GMT -5
This year I've let some get large on purpose. Just picked 10 of them today. Earlier in the year I cut them thin (lengthwise) and dehydrated them for future use as fake noodles. But I'm looking for other ideas.
Today I made zucchini fritters by peeling, grating, adding flavorings, etc, egg, and frying. Pretty good.
I also made faux apples. This was surprisingly good. Peel including all the green tint, remove all seeds and soft stuff, slice firm flesh into apple-sized slices. Nuke in microwave covered container, drain and cool. This is the same texture of cooked apples. Then mix with cinnamon, sweetener of your choice, vanilla, and some melted butter. A bit of fresh lemon zest would be good too. Top with sliced almonds or similar. This would be good with icecream, as a pie filling, or just served plain or with cream.
1 down, 9 to go.
How do you prepare these large zukes?
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Post by mgulfcoastguy on Jul 28, 2019 21:25:30 GMT -5
Cut them in half lengthwise, scoop the seeds out, stuff with sausage or meatloaf mix or like stuffed peppers and then bake. The big seeds are the problem. I remember a recipe that used shredded zucchini in meatballs.
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Post by octave1 on Jul 28, 2019 22:38:33 GMT -5
I don't let my zucchini get large. When overgrown zucchini become watery and seedy, which translates into "hardly edible" to me. Unfortunately sometime one of them escapes hiding under a leaf, and I only find it when it's about the size of a small soda bottle. That zucchini becomes zucchini bread/muffins, after it gets shredded and most of the water is squeezed out.
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Post by pepperhead212 on Jul 29, 2019 0:14:34 GMT -5
Of course, there is always zucchini bread!
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Post by brownrexx on Jul 29, 2019 5:43:37 GMT -5
I don't usually have too many big ones but I would just remove the seeds and use it in something grated like zucchini bread. I make that once a year in zucchini season and freeze one loaf and eat the other right away. Zucchini bread is NOT a healthy option since each slice is 225 calories but it does taste good.
I also use zucchini cut into small pieces in meatloaf and it would be good for that.
I could also remove the seeds and cut it into small chunks and saute it in olive oil either alone or with the addition of other veggies like onions, celery, carrots, okra or bell pepper strips.
Hint: I discovered that it is super easy to remove seeds from squash and cucumbers with a melon baller. I just drag it down the length of the item and the seeds roll right out. Next step - feed to chickens.
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Post by Gianna on Jul 29, 2019 14:15:02 GMT -5
This is the first time I've let them get large on purpose. Yes, when smaller, they do make a better fresh vegetable, but large they have their uses too - and that's what I'm interested in investigating.
The texture and relative lack of flavor makes it a good vehicle for other things. (That's what they say about tofu too, lol.) I was thinking of all the new uses cauliflower. It has more moisture, but why not zucchini too? Noodles, in breads (yum!), zucchini boats for meat and/or cheese, in fritters and meatloaf. And using them sliced long in roasted veg, or as BR suggests, sauteed with others.
A good neutral filler. And the price is right. And the large ones keep quite well without refrigeration.
It would take a long time for me to use up the ones I now have, so I most likely will dehydrate these too. Already have enough dry for noodles, but I think I'm going to grate, nuke, and dry some. And peel, slice into apple-like slices and dry. And perhaps peel, slice long, nuke and dry. I think the dehydrated slices keep better after cooking/nuking/blanching.
As for the seeds, If you can remove them before they get hard seed coats, I like them cooked as 'zucchini caviar'. In butter. But once the seed coats develop, too late. I use a large, 'sharp' spoon to remove them. That works probably like a melon baller.
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Post by ladymarmalade on Jul 29, 2019 16:03:04 GMT -5
I have frozen zucchini chunks from large zucchini before. Scoop seeds, cut into 1-inch chunks, blanch for 2 minutes and then dry and pack in freezer bags.
I loved adding them to soups and stews all winter.
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Post by brownrexx on Jul 29, 2019 16:59:55 GMT -5
Gianna, I forgot to mention that I love zucchini fritters too. I made them last year and froze some extras. They were good. Not as crispy as the freshly made ones but still good. I need to make some of those soon.
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Post by bluelacedredhead on Jul 29, 2019 17:34:04 GMT -5
Zucchini relish. Spiralized noodles.
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Post by Gianna on Jul 30, 2019 0:11:23 GMT -5
I forgot to mention that I love zucchini fritters too. I'm going to make more of these tomorrow. Quite good, and easy too. Zucchini relish. ..................................... Gianna said: That sounds interesting. What's in it? My words are trapped in this quote box....
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Post by bluelacedredhead on Jul 30, 2019 4:47:07 GMT -5
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Post by Gianna on Jul 30, 2019 8:57:41 GMT -5
Thanks, that relish sounds good. I could use some of all the peppers I'm growing too. Would have to tinker with the sugar.
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Post by Gianna on Jul 30, 2019 19:27:11 GMT -5
I'm very pleased using these big old things. Who knew? To think in the past I mostly just tossed them as being 'unusable'.
Zucchini fritters again tonight.
I do find peeling them improves the quality greatly. But peeling can be a chore, especially if they are quite old and the skin on the tough side. I've discovered that if I cut them into rings of about 2 to 3 inches long, then use a sharp knife on a cutting board and just cut down along the outside, removing the skin, is easiest. STandard peelers just dont work as well on the first pass. Then I'll use a peeler on the softer inside layer to remove more residual green if desired.
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Post by brownrexx on Jul 31, 2019 7:14:51 GMT -5
I don't usually get too many big ones because I check the plants every day but if I get a big one I usually just cut it down the middle and feed it to the chickens. They LOVE those seeds. I gave them a huge cucumber last week and they loved that too.
I have only found a few things that they don't like and they are lettuce, celery and Colorado Potato Beetle larvae. They do love Japanese Beetles though.
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Post by Gianna on Jul 31, 2019 13:53:02 GMT -5
if I get a big one I usually just cut it down the middle and feed it to the chickens. They LOVE those seeds. I gave them a huge cucumber last week and they loved that too. I used to have koi. When I would get one of those large zukes (that I now value, lol), I would cut it into very large chunks, nuke it, then after it had cooked, feed it to the fish. They just loved that, but without beaks, it needed to be softened. They loved melons too, esp watermelon.
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Post by Gianna on Jul 31, 2019 13:53:30 GMT -5
duplicate.
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Post by Gianna on Aug 3, 2019 17:40:13 GMT -5
Today I'm dehydrating the remaining large zucchini. There are 7 or 8 of them.
I found the shredding disc for the food processor, and it's going well since the flesh is not that hard. First I cut into rounds 2-3 inches long, peel, then de-seed, then cut into smaller sections to fit the food chute, then grate. Then spread on the dehydrator trays. These can be used for fritters, various quick breads, maybe soups, or ?
I also want to dehydrate some as small pieces that look similar to apple slices for future 'faux apple' confections. Maybe some mixed with dehydrated, unsweetened cranberries.
It's taking quite a bit of time, but the work is pleasant enough, and I'll have some nice dried raw materials to squirrel away for the winter.
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Post by mgulfcoastguy on Aug 3, 2019 18:24:04 GMT -5
Anybody picture giant squirrel shaped pjs?
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Post by Gianna on Aug 4, 2019 11:29:05 GMT -5
I ended up dehydrating 8 large, very mature zucchini. I found working with the most mature was the easiest, and gave the best results. How exciting. I'm planning to go out, fertilize and water the zuke mother plants and try to get another round of these lovelies this season. They fortunately dont have to mature at the same time since like other mature squash types, they keep quite well not refrigerated.
It's amazing how much less mass these had after drying. I always want to weigh the squash before processing, and after, but have forgotten yet again. Also, I'd guess that the waste from peeling and de-seeding is about 1/3 the original weight.
I found that layering thick the shredded squash was easier to get off the mesh than the thinner layers, and thicker layers dried just fine. And cutting into 'chips' was easier than shredding, even using the food processor to grate.
The 'chips' - the pieces cut to resemble apples or other sliced fruits - dried very nicely. I prefer to dry at lower temps (from about 105 to 115) but these I dried at about 120-125 because the 'chips' were a bit thicker and I thought it would dry more efficiently, which they did. Less than 24 hours.
I dried 4 trays of 'chips' and 5 of grated flesh. I like that the product is relatively flavorless. The goal is to make a benign carrier for more intense flavors.
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Post by bestofour on Aug 4, 2019 22:33:36 GMT -5
One of my daughters always cuts her length wise and roasts with olive oil then adds cheese. Doesn't eat it any other way.
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Post by Gianna on Aug 20, 2019 21:45:49 GMT -5
This morning I harvested 7 more large, fully mature zucchini. Another batch for the dehydrator, but I'm not yet sure how I'll do them. Not sure which I'll get more use from. Probably the grated ones for soups and mock pasta. Thank heavens for the food processor. It has a cutting wheel that appears to make little square cuts - like long and thin, but square in cross section. Might try that one.
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Post by brownrexx on Aug 21, 2019 8:05:47 GMT -5
It has a cutting wheel that appears to make little square cuts - like long and thin, but square in cross section. Might try that one. I think that is the one that I tried for French fries a few days ago. It made some squares that were OK but it cuts so fast that I got a lot of little pieces and broken chunks.
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