Thursday, August 11, 2011

Do I HAVE to "Go Green"?




By this time of year, using up a stockpile of zucchini is like trying to enjoy dandelions in your green salad after weeding your yard.  I’m weary of pulling out my grater every time I want to use (yet another) zucchini.  I went out on a limb and experimented using zucchini PUREE instead of grated zucchini.  Here’s the verdict...


Why do we do this to ourselves?  (Plant zucchini)  Must be the lack of sun and thirst for warmth after a long winter.  We do have to pay upwards of $1.99/lb until July, you know!  I didn’t plant any this year, and my neighbors have been more than happy to supply me with materials for experimentation.

The purpose of this post is to share with you what I hoped would be a time-saving idea for using zucchini.  I would say that it was 50% successful.  Here’s what I did.

Since zucchini is loaded with moisture, I thought I’d try pureeing it in my blender instead of grating it in a few new recipes I adapted.  I really dislike having zucchini shreds getting tangled in my beaters or spatulas.  And the blender is so FAST.  Wouldn’t it be genius if it worked?

Yes, that would be true.  And it does work about half the time.  Here’s what I found.  If you are using zucchini in a recipe that has DARK ingredients (chocolate, cocoa, or dark spices such as cinnamon, nutmeg, etc...) that will conceal the bright green color you see in the chocolate chip bars here - go for it.  You will hardly notice it. 


However - if the base of the batter is light in color - resist the urge.  A color blind person will not have a problem with it, but for those of us that eat with our eyes - I wouldn’t recommend it.  


I took these to share with my Conference Center shift today - and guess which were gone in a flash?  (Do I need to say “frosting”?) 


These green ALIEN bars were eaten, but it took much longer.  You could serve these for St. Patrick’s Day (or April Fools?) and you would be a hero.  (Thanks to my Conference Center friends for being completely honest - they didn’t even complain!)  I’m including both recipes - just in case you want to get a reaction from somebody...

For both of these recipes - and a tutorial on how to make 'zucchini puree' - go to:

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