ORANGE ZUCCHINI BREAD, LEMON ZUCCHINI BREAD, OR KEY LIME ZUCCHINI BREAD PLUS HOW TO PRESERVE ZUCCHINI FOR WINTER BAKING

It's zucchini time.  Zucchini Bread is a perennial favorite to make with all the zucchini which grows in gardens or finds its way to Farmer's Markets this time of year.  This orange zucchini bread is a fantastic way to use zucchini.  With its flecks of the green zucchini skin, it is a pretty bread too.  If you don't like the flavor of orange, try the lemon or Key lime variations.

ORANGE ZUCCHINI BREAD

So pretty and so good.

 

 

 

PRESERVING ZUCCHINI FOR WINTER BAKING

This time of year, my friend Nelda in Maine grates the excess zucchini from her garden with her food processor (I use a box grater because my kitchen is so small).  She puts the grated zucchini in one-cup measurements into plastic freezer bags and places the bags in the freezer.  She, then, has zucchini to make bread the rest of the year.  There is no need to blanch the zucchini.  It can go directly into the freezer bag.  I put the small bags of zucchini into a large freezer bag so I can find them in my freezer.  Little bags tend to get lost.  Am I the only person with lost items in their freezers?

 

 

 

With a food processor or box grater, grate the zucchini after removing the very top and bottom of the vegetable.

 

 



Put one cup of the grated zucchini into a small freezer bag.

 

 



 Seal the small bag and put all the small bags of zucchini into a large freezer bag.  Freeze the zucchini for later use.

ORANGE ZUCCHINI BREAD WITH GLAZE OR LEMON OR KEY LIME

Cousin Martha said, "OMG is this bread good!!" when she tried her first piece of this bread.  The loaves disappeared very quickly.  For lemon or Key lime bread, substitute lemon or lime for the orange juice and rind.  Like most quick breads, this bread is better if it is made the day before serving.

 

2 c flour

2 t baking powder

½ t salt

2 eggs

½ c vegetable oil OR ¼ c oil and ¼ c applesauce

2/3 c sugar

½ c buttermilk OR milk with a little vinegar or lemon juice added

2 T orange juice

Zest of 2 oranges

1 c zucchini, grated

ORANGE GLAZE

1 c powdered sugar

2 T orange juice

 

Ingredients for bread:  Flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, vegetable oil, buttermilk, eggs, orange, and zucchini.

 

Ingredients for glaze:  Powdered sugar and orange juice.  I used the rind off this orange for the bread.

 

In a large mixing bowl, put flour, baking powder and salt.  Mix well and set aside.  In another bowl with an electric mixer, beat eggs until a lemony color.  Add oil and sugar to egg mixture.  Beat well until fluffy.  Then add buttermilk, orange zest and orange juice to egg mixture.  Stir well with a rubber spatula otherwise the zest might all be caught on mixer blades.  Gently fold with rubber spatula, the zucchini into the egg mixture.  Add egg mixture to dry ingredients.  Mix gently until flour is moistened.  Do not over mix.  Put batter into 2 (3-1/2 x 7-inch loaf pans) or one larger pan.  I like to use the smaller pans for quick breads so I can give a loaf to a friend plus the smaller pans bake quicker so there is not as thick a crust as in bigger pans.  Bake the 2 pans in a preheated 350 degree F. oven for approximately 35 to 40 minutes.  Bread will be done when bread pulls slightly away from the sides of the pans and a toothpick inserted in middle comes out clean.  Remove pans from oven and allow bread to set for 10 minutes on a rack, then remove bread from pans.  When loaves are cool, glaze with orange glaze.

Grate the rind from the oranges and juice the oranges.

 



In a large mixing bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, and salt.

 

 

 



In another bowl, beat the eggs together with an electric mixer.  Beat well.

 

 

 



To the beaten eggs, add oil and sugar.  Beat well.

 

 



Add buttermilk and rind to egg mixture.  Mix well with a rubber spatula.

 

 



Add the zucchini to the egg mixture.

 

 

 



Gently mix in the zucchini with a rubber spatula until the flour mixture is just moistened.  Do not over mix.

 

 

 

 

 Spray two 3-1/2 x 7-inch loaf pans with non-stick cooking spray.

 

 

 

Add batter to loaf pans.  Put in a preheated 350 degree F. oven for 35 to 40 minutes.  Bread is done when the sides of the bread pull slightly away from the pans and a toothpick inserted in middle of loaf comes out clean.

 

 



Cool bread in pans on a rack for 10 minutes until the bread sets.

 

 

 



Remove bread from pans and let continue to cool.

 

 



TO MAKE THE GLAZE



Put the powdered sugar in a bowl and add orange juice.

 

 

 

 



One cup powdered sugar makes more glaze than you need so you could half the recipe.  However, serving the glaze on the side for a party makes the bread even more luscious.

 

 

 

Glaze cooled bread.  Bread is better if it is made a day ahead of serving.

 

 



Ready to serve, cut bread with a serrated knife.  The knife was my Mom's and Grandma's.

 

 

 



So pretty,

 

 

 

 

So good!!!!

 

 

The extra glaze can be served on the side.

 



 ENJOY, ENJOY, ENJOY!!!!

 

 

THREE MELON SALAD WITH FETA CHEESE



Watermelon/Feta salads seems to be taking over the summer recipes.  I had never thought they sound too appealing, especially the ones that have glug, glugs of olive oil poured over them. 

 

 

 

 

I really like watermelon and wanted to try to make what I think is a more appealing salad.  This time of year the Farmer's Markets are starting to have beautiful melons so I decided to use a trio of melons for different textures and tastes. 

 

 

 

 THREE MELON SALAD WITH FETA CHEESE

 

 

 

For my Mexican Watermelon Salad and for how to tell if a Honeydew Melon is ripe go to:  http://michigancottagecook.blogspot.com/2012/08/mexican-watermelon-and-honeydew-melon.html 





THREE MELON SALAD WITH FETA CHEESE

I really like this salad especially on a hot, humid day.  The salad, with its sweet melon, pungent cheese, citrusy flavor, and with its lovely different textures all highlighted with fresh herbs, is delightful.

Watermelon, cut from the rind, seeded, and cubed

Honeydew melon, cut from the rind, seeded, and cubed

Cantaloupe melon, cut from the rind, seeded and cubed

Feta cheese, crumbled

Fresh lime juice

Fresh basil, finely chopped

Fresh mint, finely chopped

 

Ingredients:  Watermelon, honeydew melon, cantaloupe, lime, Feta cheese, mint and basil.

I cheated and bought my watermelon and honeydew melon already cut-up.  Remove melon from rind and cut into bite-sized pieces.

 

 

 

Put  melon chunks in a bowl and gently mix together.  Squeeze the juice from a fresh lime.  Add lime juice to taste to the melons.

 

 

 

Finely chop the mint leaves with a knife or chopper.

 

 

 



 

Add mint to the salad.

 

 



 

Remove leaves from the stem and finely chop fresh basil.

 

 

 

 



Add fresh basil to salad.

Add crumbled cheese to salad.

 

 

 



Gently mix all the ingredients together.  Refrigerate until salad is well chilled and flavors have melded. 

 

 



Enjoy,

 



Enjoy,

 

 



Enjoy!!!

YELLOW BEETS, GERMAN BUTTERBALL POTAOTES AND ONIONS ROAST

From left to right:  Red beets, yellow beets, and carrots.

Yellow beets are never going to win a beauty contest at the Farmer's Market.  I had never tried them, but I had heard they were sweeter than the red beets.

Roasting beets has become my favorite way to cook them.  My post:  http://michigancottagecook.blogspot.com/2011/07/roasted-beets-with-carrots-potatoes-and.html  has been very popular since last summer.  With roasting, the beets cook much faster than other methods and you don't have to peel them.  My Mother always said that all the vitamins were right beneath the skin so she didn't peel anything she didn't have to peel to eat.

I decided with the yellow beets, I would make a yellow roast, the beets, German Butterball potatoes (Yukon Gold would work well), and some onions for extra flavor.

I don't know if I would say the yellow beets were sweeter.  I would say they are delicious.  This yellow roast is a good way to introduce children to beets as they blend with the potatoes and you have to really look to spot the difference.  There is a nice texture difference between the beets and the potatoes.  Cousin Martha didn't believe me when I said there were beets in with the potatoes!


YELLOW BEETS, GERMAN BUTTERBALL POTATOES, AND ONIONS ROASTED

 

Ingredients:  Yellow beet, German Butterball potatoes, onion, salt, pepper, and olive oil. (The new Dutch salt and pepper shakers were given to me by my Daughter Dede.)

Slice the onion.

Place the onions on a cookie sheet with sides.

Remove the top and bottom from the beet.  Slice in half and then cut into thin slices.

Add the beets to the onions.

Quarter the small potatoes.  Slice larger potatoes like the beets.

Add the potatoes to the beets and onions.

Drizzle with olive oil. 

Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Toss vegetables to coat with oil and seasonings.

Bake in a 425 degree F. oven for 10 minutes.  Turn the vegetables over and bake an additional 10 minutes.

 

Delicious!

Serve with my broiled Polish Sausage from Frank's in Grand Haven.

 Or serve with Martha's steak.  Either way the yellow beets and potatoes are a lovely compliment.

Enjoy, enjoy, enjoy!!!