Zucchini Overload

Editor's Note: Mary submitted this column on Aug. 25.

It has been many years since I planted zucchini, and so I forgot how prolific they can be. Luckily, a small section of my brain flashed a warning so I only put in one plant. That single plant is doing its best to out-produce every other plant in my garden. I haven't foisted any onto friends (yet!), nor have I dropped any onto neighbors doorsteps or into unlocked cars on Front Street. I'm not saying that couldn't happen...

This past week I made sweets using my zucchini largesse. There were brownies and chocolate cake and a lemon loaf. Some of these went to the men's golf league (if you didn't come in to dine after golfing, you missed out on some great food). And some went into the freezer to be pulled out as needed during our wheat harvest.

I'm sharing the recipe for the lemon loaf this week. This dessert is light and airy. It's fairly easy to make, as well. The hard part, to me, was lining the loaf pan with parchment paper. I cut a strip to fit the length of the pan, up the ends, with a couple inches extra off both ends. Then I cut another strip to fit the width of the pan, again up the sides with a couple extra inches on each side. I sprayed the pan with no-stick spray (the paper didn't fully cover the corners), then put the parchment on top of that. It made it easy to pull the loaf out of the pan to finish cooling. And after glazing, it was easy to lift it into the Tupperware loaf saver container.

Lemon/Zucchini Loaf

8 1/2" x 4 1/4" loaf pan

2 large lemons (1 Tbl zest plus 4 Tbl juice)

1 C white sugar

1 large egg, beaten

1/3 C EVOO

1 tsp vanilla

3/4 C milk

2 C zucchini, shredded and squeezed dry

2 C flour

1 Tbl baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

Glaze: combine 3/4 C powdered sugar, 1 Tbl lemon juice, and 2 1/4 tsp milk

Oven at 350°. Line pan with parchment. Stir the zest into the sugar. Let set while beating the egg, so the sugar absorbs the lemon flavor. Add sugar to egg. Whisk in the oil and vanilla. Whisk the juice into the milk, then into the egg/sugar mix. Mix the dry ingredients together, then blend fully into the egg mix. Fold in the zucchini. Pour into pan. Bake 50-55 minutes, until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool in pan, on wire rack at least 15 minutes. Remove from pan to cool completely. Drizzle glaze on top. Let set 30 minutes before slicing.

I found I had more than enough zest and juice from two lemons, so I froze the excess. Zucchini does not need to be pared before shredding (just slice off both ends). There are a lot of good nutrients in and right under the skin. But you will want to squeeze the grated mass (for this recipe anyway) to remove as much moisture as possible. I pressed it between layers of paper toweling to get out even more liquid. And pack it down in the measuring cup. My loaf took about 10 minutes longer than this said, so be sure to do the toothpick test. You don't want a gooey center. And I probably should have added more powdered sugar to my glaze: it was a bit too runny. I'll probably add a half teaspoon of zest next time, too, for more lemony flavor.

My other recipe offering this week is a side dish, although if you don't need meat with every meal, this could serve as your main dish. I used sharp cheddar, but may try other varieties next time. I'm thinking pepper jack and/or muenster. I might sprinkle freshly grated Romano or parmesan on top.

Rice with

Cheese and Tomatoes

3 Tbl EVOO

1 onion, chopped

3 stalks celery, chopped

1 green pepper, chopped

2 C tomatoes, cooked

1 C rice ( OR 3 cooked)

1 tsp salt

Dash pepper

Sauté veggies in oil while rice cooks. Add tomatoes to veggies. Add rice and cheese. Season to taste. Cover and simmer until cheese melts.

I rushed through this recipe, and skimmed right over the part about sauteeing the veggies. I chopped all of those from my garden (chopped the green tops along with the onions, and the leaves along with the celery, and my pepper was Hungarian, so yellow, not green) while I cooked the rice. I added some chicken bouillon to the rice water for more flavor, so didn't add any salt. My tomatoes (from last summer) came out of the freezer. I ran them under hot water to remove the skins, then tossed them into the pot with the simmering rice. Then I threw in my veggies with the cheese, so my veggies remained crunchier, which I liked. So I didn't use any oil, but added a pat of butter to the rice. Maybe I'll follow directions next time. Cooking doesn't need to be rigid.

After the winds this weekend (we had very little rain and no hail) I'll be again picking up more downed tree limbs from our lawn. I still need to run the pile of them through the chipper. We'd run to Billings just so Dennis wouldn't be tempted to combine a truckload of too-wet wheat. We came home to find a few of my outdoor flowerpots toppled. The ceramic drip tray under one jade tree was shattered while the pot stayed intact. The pearl of Opar pot landed completely upside down, crushing the plant. Another couple of succulents (those pots were already on the ground) were knocked onto their sides but the plants weren't hurt. They will need a small addition of soil though. Things could certainly have been worse. And what's more Montana than to have wind?