A New Zucchini Growing in the Garden!
Since I had a bunch, I decided to have a complete zucchini dinner. Our first annual Zucchini Festival. Some friends were stopping by so the timing was perfect! I was ready for something new. Not your average one – no bread or fried zucchini. How about some recent recipes I had found: Zucchini Soup, Zucchini Fritters with Feta Cheese and Zucchini Lasagna!
The first course was Zucchini Soup (recipe from Skinnytaste) and this is definitely a Zen Meal:
• 1/2 small onion, quartered
• 2 cloves garlic
• 3 small zucchini skin on cut in large chunks
• 32 oz fat free chicken stock
• 2 tbsp reduced fat sour cream
• salt
• pepper
Put all the first 4 ingredients in a pot and simmer for 20 minutes.
All Ingredients simmering for the Zucchini Soup
Blend and add the sour cream, salt and pepper last.
Zucchini Soup in the Blender
It’s very elegant tasting and so, so easy to make!!
Zucchini Soup
Next up, Zucchini Fritters from Cook Your Dream:
Mix together:
• 2 cups of shredded zucchini (make sure you salt it for 20 minutes and squeeze out the water first)
• 1 cup of feta cheese
• 2 garlic cloves
• a shallot (or red onion if you don’t have a shallot)
• 5 tablespoons of flour (I add an extra one)
• an egg
• salt and pepper
• olive oil to fry them
Mix the ingredients and fry them up in olive oil. It’s very easy to make! I made a simple sour cream/mayonaise sauce (with salt, pepper, parmesean, shallots sometimes garlic and lemon juice to taste)
Zucchini fritters mix
Zucchini Fritters
These were my best bunch I’ve made because I made them smaller and crispier. Yum!!
The Zucchini Lasagna is to die for (also from Skinnytaste) not as easy to make but not hard either. Some short cuts would be don’t make your own sauce and buy grated cheese. Click here to go to the recipe. I’ll show my pictures anyway. I made the tomato sauce. It was worth it!
Tomato Sauce for the Zucchini Lasagna
sliced zucchini for the Lasagna
The side view of the Lasagna with ricotta, parmesan and mozzarella filling.
The finished product! So beautiful!
The Lasagna was easy to make and to just to die for!
Please visit Unknown Mami and see more photography from around the world in her fun photography series, Sunday’s In My City. CLick on the picture below.
My diet is mostly gluten free so the zucchini lasagna is my go to Italian dish. You can also slice the zucchini very small with a peeler, sauté them, and have excellent “noodles” good for any sauce or topping.
Dan Garner
ZenPresence.com
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Betsy Reply:
October 1st, 2012 at 6:52 am
Dan,
The Lasagna was incredibly good! And much easier to make than regular lasagna and I never got full. I’ll definitely try them with a different topping. Thanks for the suggestion!
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Mmm, this sounds really good! I will try it this week…
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Betsy Reply:
September 30th, 2012 at 2:42 pm
Erica,
Each of these recipes is incredibly good. Just had the left overs of the soup and lasagna (no fritter left overs ever!). You’ll love it. And the soup is ready so quickly with little mess or cutting. I’m making it again this week with a salad.
Thanks for the comment!
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I don’t cook however the food looks delicious and sounds tasty.
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Betsy Reply:
October 1st, 2012 at 6:51 am
That’s what’s amazing about the soup recipe! It’s not even cooking. It’s just boiling up and blending. And it’s so gourmet tasting. The other two do require a little cooking.
Thanks for commenting Judy!
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Looks absolutely delicious and reminds me that I said I would blog about my food truck! Part of the problem is that I have to remember to take pics when the steam table and grill are full . . . . the problem is I HAVE TO REMEMBER. I’ll see what I can do within the next couple of weeks. Thanks for the great ideas
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Betsy Reply:
October 1st, 2012 at 7:05 am
Pat,
Everything is absolutely delicious and so simple. I wish I could head down to Florida to take your pictures for you!! Looking forward to your post… but take you’re time. Don’t make it stressful!!
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I love your blogs as much as I love zucchini! (That’s alot)
This blog is practical and very timely, too, as have been on the search for good healthy foods for my kids (that sort of disguise vegetables (-; ) Am imagining that some of the recipes could be replaced with eggplant too. Yum!!
Thanks and looking forward to more Zen Mama wisdom!
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Betsy Reply:
October 1st, 2012 at 7:08 am
Thanks Alexandra! Your comment inspires me to keep writing! Nothing works with my youngest and disguises… sigh. But he’s also my healthiest so I let that go! And yes, I’ll bet eggplant would work. Just make sure you salt it for 20 minutes or so to get out the extra liquid. Looking forward to your next comment!!
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Betsy,
You must love to cook! It looks like a lot of work to me. What time can my lazy butt stop by for your next festival. LOL xo
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Betsy Reply:
October 1st, 2012 at 9:23 pm
Thank Tess! I do love to cook but the first two recipes are not difficult at all! Esp. the zucchini soup. It’s cut, boil and blend. Not even cut very much… you’ve got to try the soup and let me know what you think!!
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Love your recipes and pics Betsy. Like Dan I’m GF and so love many of your recipes and can alter the ones with flour. I’ve always loved courgette (as I call it) fritters.
How on earth do you find the time to do all this kiddo? I’m really, really impressed.
Love Elle
xoxo
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Betsy Reply:
October 1st, 2012 at 9:25 pm
Thank you Elle! Check out Skinnytaste.com. It has all sorts of great recipes and many are GF but it’s all about taste! I find the time for cooking because it’s a creative outlet… but I promise these don’t take anytime at all, especially the soup. Try it and let me know what you think!
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Betsy,
OMG! It all looks scrumptious! You’re speaking my language with the “feta cheese!” lol
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Betsy Reply:
October 1st, 2012 at 9:27 pm
Angela,
I’ve seen recipes for them that are very Greek. These feta/zucchini fritters would be great with the greek/cucumber sauce tzatziki. Let me know if you ever try them. The fritters are easy to make and taste amazing!
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These look awesome! And if my zucchini don’t get eaten by nasty little pests next year, I’ll come back and visit this post to make good use of mine!
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Betsy Reply:
October 1st, 2012 at 9:27 pm
Everything was amazing! Great recipes. Even your zucchini got eaten? That’s always the one thing I can count on. These recipes are worth buying zucchini at the store!!
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Betsy- Zucchini does reap bountiful harvests BUT I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone who has created a multi-course Zen zucchini dinner. How scrumptious – you are one creative woman! Fran
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Zucchini is truly versatile vegetable. I like the menu you’ve created here. But now I’m craving my favourite fritters!
Never tried to make lasagne with zucchini, thank you for inspiration.
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Betsy Reply:
October 10th, 2012 at 5:44 pm
Sarka,
I’ve so enjoyed your fritters this summer! And you will love the lasagna, too. Thank you for the inspiration!
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Sounds wonderful Betsy. I will save these for future reference. Have a great rest of your week and thanks for sharing.
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Betsy Reply:
October 10th, 2012 at 5:44 pm
I think you will enjoy them all!! Thanks Cathy!
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Love zucchinis and love your recipes! Over the water we call them ‘courgettes’ but zucchini sounds much more exciting!
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Betsy Reply:
October 10th, 2012 at 5:45 pm
Courgette sounds more elegant. I believe that the name zucchini came across with Italian immigrants to the US. Thanks for the comment Carolyn!
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My stomach started growling as I was reading this and looking at those photos! Those fritters look especially tasty and I love homemade soup. Yum. Now I have to go find something to eat!
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Betsy Reply:
October 10th, 2012 at 5:46 pm
It’s hard to chose between the fritters and the soup! It’s nice that both are easy to make… but the soup is the easiest!
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I love zucchini. My husband recently started making zucchini fritters and they are so scrumptious.
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Betsy Reply:
October 10th, 2012 at 5:48 pm
Aren’t they good? I really like the feta cheese that this recipe calls for. And how nice of your husband to make them for you!
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Can’t wait to try the lasagna, sounds delicious!
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Betsy Reply:
October 10th, 2012 at 5:48 pm
Let me know how you like it Jenny! I dream of eating it again soon.
Thanks for your comment!
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