Cheesy Zucchini Patties

 Wow!  In spite of three out of four people in our family hating zucchini, we all enjoyed this.  Even the kids gobbled them up.

I served them with marinara sauce on the side.

2 cups grated zucchini
2 eggs, beaten
1/4 cup onion
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup fresh grated parmesan
1/2 cup grated cheese (I used gouda)
1/2 tsp salt, or to taste
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp italian seasoning
2 Tbsp olive oil


 1.) Grate zucchini and squeeze out excess water.
2.) In medium sized bowl, combine zucchini, eggs, onion, flour, cheeses, salt, garlic powder, and italian seasoning.
3.) Heat a small amount of oil over medium high heat.  Drop zucchini mixture by heaping tablespoons and cook for a few minutes on each side until golden.

Whole Wheat Zucchini Pecan Bread

I know, I know, enough with the zucchini recipes, already!   All I can say is that desperate times call for desperate measures!  If you have a zucchini in your garden I'm sure that you too, feel my pain.

3 cups soft whole wheat flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
3 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
3 eggs
1/2 cup extra light olive oil
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 cup white sugar
1 cup brown sugar
3 tsp vanilla
3 cups grated zucchini
1 cup chopped pecans


Directions:

1.) Grease and flour two 8 x 4 inch pans.  Preheat oven to 325 F (165 C).

2.)  Combine flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a bowl.

3.)  Beat eggs, oil, applesauce, sugars and vanilla in a large bowl.  I used a stand mixer.  Stir in zucchini and pecans until well combined.  Pour into prepared pans.

4.)  Bake for 40 to 60 minutes or until toothpick inserted into centre comes out clean.  Cool in pan on rack for 20 minutes.  Remove bread from pan and completely cool.

Cooking as Meditation and Healing

When I'm feeling bored or sad or just out of sorts, somehow if I cook or bake I feel happy again and it's like everything is okay.

I don't necessarily need to even eat the food.  The process of making it is just so relaxing and makes me happy.  Except the times when something goes wrong, of course.  One Christmas Eve I was trying to make a pie crust for the first time (note to self:  do not make something new, time consuming or stressful on Christmas Eve) and when it kept falling apart I pretty much had a nervous breakdown.

Other than *that* little incident though, usually it's kind of a Zen process for me.

I first discovered the power of baking as healing when my grandfather died.  For a variety of reasons I was not able to make it to the funeral.  I cried and baked and cried and baked.  I had a shocking amount of Christmas cookies in my freezer that year (he died in November).  I didn't eat many of them myself but the process of baking them, and even just their presence in the freezer, knowing they were there to share as gifts, gave me a sense of peace and calm.  In spite of my grief and the lack of support from others who were similarly grieving, by the end of the evening I was sad but okay.

Chocolate Zucchini Cake with a Peanut Butter Glaze

Yummy!  Moist and chocolaty.  I made this last night and it actually is better today.  Not that I had a slice for breakfast.  No, not me.  :)

Make sure it's cooled enough before inverting the pan.  A chunk came off the top of mine.  I plunked it back on for the photo...minus the bits that fell on the floor and the dog scarfed down.  Maggie gives it two paws up!

Chocolate Zucchini Cake:

1 cup soft whole wheat flour
1 cup wheat flour
2 cups white sugar
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tsps baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon
4 eggs
3/4 cup extra light olive oil (or other vegetable oil)
3/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
3 cups grated zucchini
3/4 cup dark or semi sweet chocolate chips

1.) Preheat oven to 350 F (175 C).  Grease and flour a 9 x 13 pan or bundt pan.

2.) Combine flours, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon.  Add eggs, oil and applesauce and mix well.  Fold in zucchini and chocolate chips.  Pour into the prepared pan.

3.) Bake for 50 to 60 minutes in the preheated oven, or until a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean.

Peanut Butter Glaze:

4 tsp water or milk
2/3 cup icing sugar
1 Tbsp creamy peanut butter
1/2 tsp vanilla

1.) Stir together the water or milk, icing sugar, and peanut butter until smooth.  Add more water or more icing sugar to bring it to desired consistency, if necessary.

Slow Cooker Wild Mushroom Risotto

Risotto can be made so easily in the crockpot.  None of that pesky stirring.  I just assembled this, threw it in the crockpot and went out with my husband for coffee.   When we came home we had a delicious creamy risotto that was ready to eat.  This recipe is one I modified from:
Fresh from the Vegetarian Slow Cooker: 200 Recipes for Healthy and Hearty One-Pot Meals That Are Ready When You Are

Ingredients:

3 Tbsp olive oil
2 shallots, minced
1 large garlic clove, minced
1 1/4 cups arborio rice
2 cups chopped cremini mushrooms
1/2 cup chopped porcini mushrooms (or other wild mushrooms)
3 cups vegetable stock
1/4 cup white wine
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp salt (depending on the saltiness of your stock you may want to add less and then adjust if needed, after cooking)
1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan
1 Tbsp minced fresh parsley
Freshly ground pepper

Directions

1.) Wash and chop mushrooms (I used a food processor).  Set aside.

2.) In a medium sized skillet, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the shallots and garlic and cook until fragrant and slightly softened, about one minute.

3.) Transfer the shallots and garlic to a 3.5 - 4 quart slow cooker.  Add the rice, stirring to coat with oil.  Stir in all the mushrooms, stock, wine, thyme and salt.  Cover and cook on high for about 2 hours, until all liquid is absorbed.

4.) About 5 minutes before the risotto is finished, stir in the parmesan and parsley and season with pepper.  Spoon into bowls and serve hot.

Notes

To my surprise, we all liked this.  Both kids ate it, even my son who is a self proclaimed mushroom hater!  I don't think it was my kids' favourite thing ever but they found it edible which was far more than I was expecting.  I enjoyed it quite a bit and will definitely make it again.

It's definitely not much to look at, maybe it would look nicer if I'd left some mushroom pieces larger, but it is good creamy comfort food.

Slow Cooker Boston Brown Bread

Bread in the slow cooker? You bet! It comes out very moist and doesn't heat up the kitchen.

Boston Brown Bread is a slightly sweet, dark and rich quick bread. Don't expect sandwich bread as it isn't that. It is, however, completely delicious.

Ingredients

1 1/4 cups milk (I used skim)
1 1/2 Tbsp cider vinegar (or other vinegar)
2 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 cup cornmeal
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
3/4 cup dark unsulfured molasses

1. Lightly oil or spray a baking pan that fits inside your slow cooker. I just used a corning ware dish, but you can use a coffee can with one end cut off, or a bread pan that fits, or whatever works for you.

2.) In a small mixing bowl or measuring cup, combine the milk and vinegar and set aside.

3.) In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, cornmeal, salt, and baking soda. Mix well. Add the molasses and milk mixture and stir until the batter is just mixed.

4.) Transfer the batter to the prepared pan. Place the pan inside the slow cooker (if you have a trivet you can place this inside the slow cooker before the pan. I don't have one and it works fine without it). Cover and cook on high until firm and a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out dry, 3.5 - 4 hours. In my crockpot it was 3.5 hours.

5.) Let cool in the pan for 10 minutes before slicing. Excellent served warm, with butter. Make a great accompaniment for baked beans. Leftovers are also good spread with cream cheese.

Notes:

All of us loved this. My husband Kevin said he'd made boston brown bread one time many years ago, expecting sandwich bread and he was completely disappointed at the time as it was not what he was expecting (hence my note, above!). This time though, he didn't seem too disappointed - he had seconds the first night and has been enjoying the leftovers.

I have seen various ways of making bread and/or cake (yes, cake!) in the crockpot. Some have a water bath, some have trivets and other pans inserted. Some have you place foil over the bread, and some have you vent the cover.

I didn't do anything with this other than use a different pan inserted into the crockpot. The only reason I did that was because I felt the bread would end up too large and thin if I didn't use a smaller pan inside (I was using a 5.5 quart crockpot). If I used my 3.5 quart crockpot, I may not have used a pan inserted and suspect it would still be fine. My 3.5 quart crockpot had baked beans cooking in it at the time I was making the bread, however. It was a great dinner!

Whole Wheat Zucchini Blueberry Raspberry Muffins

Muffins:

3 eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/2 cup olive oil
3 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 cup white sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
3 cups shredded zucchini
3 cups soft whole wheat flour (ww pastry flour)
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 Tbsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 pint fresh or frozen blueberries
1/2 pint fresh or frozen raspberries

Streusel Topping:

1/2 cup flour
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
2 Tbsp rolled oats
2 Tbsp softened butter

1.) Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease and flour two muffin pans, or line with muffin papers.

2.) In a large bowl, beat together the eggs, applesauce, oil, vanilla, and sugars. In a separate bowl combine the flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Stir in the zucchini. Gently fold in the blueberries and raspberries. Transfer to the prepared pans.

3.) Combine topping dry ingredients well. Add butter and mix until crumble. Sprinkle topping over the tops of the uncooked muffins.

4.) Bake 18-20 minutes in the preheated oven, or until lightly browned and a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes in the pans, then turn out onto wire racks to cool completely.

5.) Scarf one down while it's still warm from the oven. Yum!

Notes:

Our whole family loved these! The muffins would be great even without the streusel, but with it they are completely over the top yummy.

If you can't find whole wheat pastry flour (also known as soft whole wheat flour) check a bulk food store. I've never seen it in a grocery story though I have sometimes seen it in health food stores. I buy mine at Bulk Barn. You can also substitute regular whole wheat flour but the muffins will be a little heavier. Or, you can use a combination of white flour and whole wheat. You can even just use white flour though your muffins won't be as healthy. They'll still be yummy though.

You may well be saying to yourself "olive oil"??!! Yes, olive oil. It's a healthy fat and preferrable to most others. Olive oil can have a distinctive taste when consumed by itself but in muffins you can not taste it. I've used it in pancakes with excellent results! If you are worried about it, you can use the extra light tasting olive oil which is virtually flavourless.