Chocolate Zucchini Cake

I was given this recipe years ago when my boys were young.  It was a new way to use up some zucchini.  I was very moist and tasty and I made it every year when the zucchini took over the world.

Ingredients

1/4 c butter or marg
1/2 c oil
1 3/4 c sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 c sour milk
2 1/2 c flour
4 Tbsp cocoa
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp cloves
2 c grated zucchini
1/2 c chocolate chips


Grate enough zucchini to make 2 cups.  I use unpeeled but know of some people who peel their zucchini to hide it from others eating the cake. 
 

 

Combine oil, eggs and butter.  Mix in sugar and vanilla. 

 

Combine all dry ingredients in a separate bowl. 

 

Mix well. 

 

Add dry ingredients, alternating with sour milk. 

 

Add chocolate chips and zucchini. 

 

Stir well. 

 

 Pour into greased and floured 9" by 13" pan.  Bake in preheated oven at 325°F for 45 minutes or until toothpick inserted comes out clean.

 

 I don't bother to frost the cake because it is so moist.  Enjoy!  ;)

 

 



Martian Cookies

Since I have a number of large zucchini that I plan to use for Zucchini Candy  http://mountaingardengleanings.blogspot.ca/2010/10/zucchini-candy.html , I decided to spare one to bake with.  It was a cooler day here, so I didn't mind using the oven and I had a hankering for homemade cookies.

I got the recipe for Martian Cookies years ago from Better Homes and Gardens - Cookies for Kids cookbook.  My boys loved the cookies so I made it whenever I had zucchini.  I had lost the cookbook through moves, etc. and finally ran across it again at a charity book sale a few years ago.

Ingredients

1/2 c butter or marg
3/4 c sugar
1 egg
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 c flour
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 c quick oats
1 c grated unpeeled zucchini
1 c chopped walnuts
1/2 c chocolate chips
1/2 c butterscotch chips


I like to use my food processor instead of my grater to grate the zucchini - it is SO much easier.

 

Cream together butter and sugar.  Add egg and vanilla at beat again.

 

In another bowl, combine flour, cinnamon, and soda.  Add to the butter mixture, beating until well mixed.

 

Add the rest of the ingredients.

 

Stir until well mixed.

 

Drop by teaspoonful onto ungreased cookie sheets.  Bake at 350°F for about 10 minutes until cookies are golden.

 

 

Cool on rack.  Makes 4 dozen cookies.  Enjoy!  ;)

 

 

 

Faux Pineapple or Zucchini Pineapple

Two years ago I found this recipe and made some Faux Pineapple.  I got the recipe from the following link. http://www.food.com/recipe/zucchini-pineapple-faux-pineapple-u-s-d-a-376373

I shredded the zucchini but found it wasn't close enough to crushed pineapple for my liking.  This year I tried it again with several changes and I am much happier with it.
Ingredients
16+ c packed zucchini  (either chopped or cut into 1/2-inch cubes)
1 liter unsweetened pineapple juice
1 1/2 c lemon juice
3 c sugar

I had a large zucchini that I used for this recipe.  First peel and remove the seeds and innards.  This zucchini was very hard skinned and I needed to use a knife instead of a peeler.



Now I wanted crushed pineapple so I decided to try the food processor.  If you want pineapple tidbits, cut the zucchini into small cubes.

I then cut the zucchini into pieces to fit into the food processor.

I am holding several of the chunks so you get an idea of the size I used.

I processed the zucchini until it was chopped fairly fine.  This zucchini was not too juicy so it didn't turn to mush.  If you have a softer zucchini try pulse so you don't over process it.

Measure about 16 cups and add to your heavy canning pot.

Add one liter of pineapple juice.  The original recipe asked for 46 oz but I found it a little too runny.  So I decided to only add a liter (which is about 33 oz).

Add lemon juice.

Add sugar and stir together.

Bring to a boil and then reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes.  Stir to keep from sticking to the pot and burning.

Fill sterilized jars leaving 1/2" to 1" head space.  Wipe jars and tighten tops.  Process in hot water bath for 15 minutes.  Makes around 11 pints.  I probably had closer to 18 cups of zucchini so you probably would get 9 or 10 pints.

Some recipes call for yellow food colouring but I never use the stuff.  I think it looks close enough to crushed pineapple without the food colouring anyway.  Enjoy!  ;)

Follow up: I would have liked it to have a bit more juice so would add a bit more next time.  The last time I made it, it might have been runny because I didn't add extra zucchini and it was probably a softer one so it turned juicier. 



Zucchini Candy

Everyone knows that you need to keep an eye on your zucchini patch to prevent it from taking over your yard and producing canoe size zucchini. Okay, okay, I'm exaggerating slightly but zucchini growers know what I'm talking about.

Everyone has their favorite zucchini recipes for loaves, muffins, chocolate cake, etc., etc., etc.

Well I found a recipe on the following link for Zucchini Candy.  http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/harvest/msg090227378092.html?21
Yes, you read correctly - candy.  It is supposed to taste similar to gumdrops or fruit snacks. 

Since I didn't grow any zucchini this year but didn't want to wait until next year to try this recipe out, I placed a request for large zucchini on my local Freecycle Network.  And yes there were a few lurking around out there.

First, I peeled and seeded the zucchini.

 Next, cut into bite-sized cubes or pieces.  Remember that the pieces shrink upon drying.

You can also cut the zucchini into strips or worms.  Remember that they may take longer to dry.

I used my handy french fry cutter with the 1/2" squares instead of 1/4".

It made the job so much easier and quicker.

I made 1/2 batches using 1 1/2 cups water, 1 1/4 cups sugar and one package of Koolaid.  I found a smaller deeper pot worked better than a larger one.  I added between 6 to 8 cups of zucchini making sure all zucchini was covered with liquid.  Below I used Cherry Koolaid.

Simmer for 25 minutes and then drain.  Below is Raspberry-Lemonade Koolaid flavour.

Place on dehydrator trays and dry. I dried mine for longer than the 18 hours but the humidity was high and I know that makes a difference in my drying times. 

I did not turn the pieces but I rotate my trays because I use 8 trays instead of 4.

For this batch I added 2 TBSP of cinnamon and 2 TBSP lemon juice instead of Koolaid.  I decided not to add any food colouring as was suggested in the original recipe.

Here I used 2 TSP of Watkins Anise Flavouring.

This shows how much the pieces dry out so you don't want them too small to start with or they will fall through the holes in the trays.

The recipe suggested shaking them in sugar but I found they sugar did not stick.  I tried some in icing sugar and it worked better.  Looking back at the recipe, it suggests shaking them in sugar before they have finished drying.  I may try that next time.



I used the two large zucchini and made four 1/2 batches.  The flavours were all fairly mild and the candy was nice and chewy.  The Raspberry-Lemonade was my least favourite as it tasted only slightly lemony with no raspberry flavour.  I thought the anise would be very licoricy because of how strong it smelled while cooking and drying but that wasn't so.  Next time I may add more anise because I love licorice.  The cinnamon tasted like apple cinnamon fruit snacks. 

I will make these again but need to check out Koolaid flavours in the summer as they were quite limited now.  I may also check out the baking section of the grocery store or my Watkins dealer for different extracts to try.  I'm thinking a mint may be nice.