On the Studio5 morning show on September 7, I taught a short segment on things to do with your summer squash, including a better way to freeze it.  Here's a link to the Studio 5 video and the recipe that was shared-- 

Glazed Lemon Poppyseed Surprise Muffins
Makes 12-15

Muffins:
1 pound yellow summer squash (to make 2 cups puree)
Zest of one lemon*
¾ c. sugar
1 egg
¼ c. vegetable oil or melted butter
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 tsp. almond extract
2 c. flour
½ tsp. salt
1 Tbsp. baking powder
1 Tbsp. poppy seeds

Glaze:
Juice of 1 lemon
Sugar

Preheat the oven to 375°. Lightly coat the inside of 12-15 muffin cups with cooking spray. Wash and trim the summer squash; cut into 1” chunks. Place in blender or food processor along with lemon zest, sugar, egg, oil or butter, and extracts. Puree until smooth. In a medium-sized bowl, combine flour, salt, baking powder, and poppy seeds. Stir until seeds are evenly distributed. Pour lemon-squash mixture over top; stir until just combined and there are no flour pockets left. Divide between muffin cups, and bake for about 20 minutes, until lightly browned and top springs back when lightly pressed.

While muffins are baking, make the glaze: measure your lemon juice, put it in a microwave-safe cup, mug, or small bowl, and add double that amount of sugar. For instance, if you have 3 Tbsp. juice, add 6 Tbsp. sugar. Stir. Heat in the microwave until it just comes to a boil, and stir again. Set aside to cool until the muffins are done.

When the muffins are baked and still hot, pour or brush the lemon glaze over top. Use it all up!

*If you don’t have a fresh lemon, instead of the fresh zest, use any of these instead: ½ tsp. lemon extract, 2 tsp. dried zest, or 12 drops food-grade lemon essential oil.

Your weekly assignment is B4-3. Did you do your nonfood inventory last week? If not, now is a great time.  

My dehydrator has been running nearly nonstop for a couple weeks now, with a couple of batches of canning interspersed.  I much prefer dehydrating whenever it's an option.  (But I will bottle a whole number of other things-- meat for quick meals, jam/jelly, juices, syrups, ghee, peaches, ...)  Peaches are better canned, but apricots?  They must be an acquired taste-- I acquired it years ago, but my kids haven't.  So we bottle peaches, and dry apricots.  Mostly we turn the apricots into fruit leather.  With the bumper crop we've had this year on our THREE mature apricot trees, that's a whole lot of leather, despite our best efforts to give away as many apricots as possible.  

But that's not all the dehydrator has been used for these last weeks. Dried cherry tomatoes are practically candy... but we've kept up on eating them fresh, with some sharing, so I haven't dried any yet this year.  What I have done is the full 12+ trays loaded with sliced yellow summer squash. It doesn't matter which one.  This year it's a combination of yellow zucchini, yellow straightneck squash, and pattypan squash that got just a little too big.

What do I do with summer squash powder?  Everything I do with the shredded or pureed fresh ones, plus some extras.  Zucchini bread. Zucchini brownies.  Smoothies. Chili, where it's great to help thicken it-- especially if I'm also using tomato powder and onion powder! Soups, where using a little becomes invisible and without any telltale flavor.  Added to regular wheat bread dough. Or muffins. Or pancakes.  

Tomato powder is even better.  I use it in place of tomato sauce, tomato paste, tomato juice, diced tomatoes. Here is a chart that tells you how much tomato powder to use in place of each of those. Tonight I added a bunch to a batch of too-runny salsa. It makes a wonderful base for marinara sauce or pizza sauce, and is used in making my own taco seasoning.  And when added to bread dough along with spices, it makes the bread taste like pizza. 

Pumpkin powder is also great.  It makes pumpkin pie, pumpkin shake, pumpkin roll... anything that you'd use pureed pumpkin in.  And again, I throw it in soup and chili to thicken them and add nutrition, and add to bread to help it stay moist longer.

I once made banana powder out of commercially-dried bananas; a neighbor had bought a 5-lb bag, found that nobody at home would eat them, and brought them to me to see if I could find a use for them.  (The powder was good in banana muffins, banana bread, and smoothies.)

​I've also made mushroom powder, carrot powder, beet powder, and dried crumbled greens. (The greens were a freebie in my yard, an edible weed known as 'redroot pigweed'. A very nutritious member of the amaranth family.) Mushroom powder adds a savory, almost meaty flavor to soups and sauces.  (I made the mushroom powder by starting with a big bag of dried mushrooms found at a Asian market.  If you're local, the place is Ocean Mart in Sandy.) The beet powder is the perfect thing to make from beets that got too big and tough for good eating.  And my favorite use for it is as a natural food color-- though it is also good in smoothies and recovery drinks. (Read what I have on beet powder, near the end of this post.)

All of these powders are made pretty much the same way.  You clean the vegetable,  (Pumpkin is steamed first. The others are handled raw.) slice it an even thickness (1/4- 3/8" is ideal), and dry until crispy.  Add them to a blender or food processor, and run until powdery.  Store airtight; even better if you can remove oxygen and seal the jar or other container.

Are you intrigued?  You can read more about each other these here, along with some recipes and tips:

Zucchini

Summer squash (Ok, zucchini is also a summer squash)

Tomato

Pumpkin

​What will you try?  

Can you tell it's zucchini and tomato season?  I've wondered before why so many recipes combine those two vegetables.  I now suspect that it's partly because the plain zucchini excels at tasting like whatever you cook it with, and very few things can top a fresh garden tomato in the flavor department.  This recipe also uses any mellow white fish, probably for the same reason.  The other ingredients both perk up and round out the flavor.  This one's a keeper.

Baked Fish and Vegetables

4 Tbsp. butter, softened
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 Tbsp. lemon juice
1 tsp. grated lemon zest or 2-3 drops lemon essential oil
1 lb. zucchini or summer squash,sliced 1/4" thick
1 lb. tomatoes (3 medium), sliced thin, OR cherry tomatoes, halved
1/2 c. minced fresh basil or 1 drop basil oil
salt and pepper
1 1/2 lbs. mild white fish 
2 Tbsp. white balsamic vinegar*

Preheat oven to 450 F and move an oven rack to the lowest position.  Mix together the butter, minced garlic, lemon juice, and zest.  If using basil oil, add it to this mixture.  Rub a little of the butter mixture on the bottom of a 9x13 pan.

Put the zucchini slices in the bottom of the 9x13 pan; add the tomatoes in a second layer.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper and with half of the basil (unless you used basil oil).  Pat the fish dry with paper towels, then place the fish on top of the tomatoes.  Dot the butter over the top, add the rest of the basil, and drizzle with the vinegar*.  Cover tightly with foil; bake about 20 minutes, or until the fish flakes when you twist a fork in it.  Serve immediately.

Serve over rice to pasta to soak up the delicious sauce!

*The original recipe, from America's Test Kitchen, calls for 1/4 cup dry white wine.  I don't cook with wine, so the white balsamic is what I found in my pantry to add the savory flavor.  Since it's strong, I used only half as much (2 Tbsp. instead of 1/4 c.).  If you have neither, chicken broth and a splash of soy sauce would give a similar depth.

Everyone knows you can make bread with zucchini- but what if you have a giant yellow summer squash hiding in the garden?

Both zucchini and yellow squash-- either straightneck or crookneck-- are summer squash, with a similar flavor and texture, and CAN be interchanged in recipes.

My family's favorite quickbread is Lemon Zucchini Bread- so today we got Lemon-SummerSquash Bread.  I no longer shred zucchini -or this squash- for recipes, but puree it instead.  No more strings.  As a bonus, if I'm freezing some for later use, the texture does not change when thawed, unlike shredded squash.  

AND, if you're pureeing it, you can have the blender (or food processor) mix all the wet ingredients for you.

This bread is great for breakfast.

The recipe is found over here, though the blender method is below. 

Do you have too much zucchini?  

You could give it away.  Or shred and freeze it.  Or puree it and then freeze.  (I prefer pureeing & freezing because it maintains the same texture when thawed. It hides better in zucchini bread and soup, too.)

OR....

dehydrate it and turn it to powder.  

It takes very little space to store it this way, and it's easy to use.  Mix 2-3 Tbsp. of powder with enough hot water to equal one cup- for one cup (8 oz.) of puree.

Try it in Lemon-Zucchini Bread or Curried Zucchini Bisque (creamy soup).  Mmm.

See this post for how to best store the powder.

(originally from 8/5/10)
Do you have garden produce yet?  Or are you seeing it at farmers' markets?  We got the first yellow summer squash of the year yesterday.  This is exciting!  Unfortunately, we don’t have zucchini at all because one of my little people stepped on the plants just as they were coming up.  I replanted, but didn’t water well enough that first week…

Fortunately, I still have frozen zucchini from last year.  I used to shred it and freeze it in quart bags, which was the proper amount for a double batch of my zucchini bread, but didn’t like how it thawed.  It separated into water and strings of fiber.  That’s kind of baffling to cook with.  There’s a much better way-  puree it! Chop the zucchini into chunks small enough to fit down your blender, and buzz until smooth.  A bonus is that the texture of your baked goods will be smoother. 

Our favorite recipe to use it is Lemon Zucchini Bread.  It has a little more flavor if you use fresh lemons, but is still good using bottled lemon juice and dried lemon zest.  Or use your lemon-zest-sugar, (find it in the archives under 'homemade orange seasoning', in the Spices or Seasonings category, right. And FYI, Zucchini bread, since it’s a ‘quick bread’, is simply a variation on the muffin recipe.   To see for yourself, go look at the 'Anything-Goes' Muffin recipe.                                          

 *  *  *  *  * 
Now, for the thought of the week- a First Presidency message from 1984, reprinted in the Ensign last year as one of the ‘classics’- “The Celestial Nature of Self-Reliance”.  Or, ‘what does self-reliance have to do with eternal life’? Think about it: Is food/money/water storage a suggestion or a commandment?  This article has something for any of us to work on- whether you haven’t started, are a little ways into it, making a lot of progress, or have built up all your reserves.  I HIGHLY recommend re-reading the whole article, below is a condensed piece of it:

 “Since the beginning of time man has been counseled to earn his own way, thereby becoming self-reliant. It is easy to understand the reason the Lord places so much emphasis on this principle when we come to understand that it is tied very closely to freedom itself.

Now, I wish to speak of a very important truth: self-reliance is not the end, but a means to an end.

Doctrine and Covenants 29:34–35 tells us there is no such thing as a temporal commandment, that all commandments are spiritual. It also tells us that man is to be “an agent unto himself.” Man cannot be an agent unto himself if he is not self-reliant. Herein we see that independence and self-reliance are critical keys to our spiritual growth.  Whenever we get into a situation which threatens our self-reliance, we will find our freedom threatened as well.  If we increase our dependence, we will find an immediate decrease in our freedom to act.

The key to making self-reliance spiritual is in using the freedom to comply with God’s commandments.”

For the whole article, which I know can bless everyone’s life,  go to The Celestial Nature of Self-Reliance at lds.org.

If using fresh lemons for this recipe, you'll need two. 

Lemon-Zucchini Bread

1 lb. zucchini or other summer squash (4 c. loosely packed, or 2 cups pureed)
¼ c. lemon juice*
2 Tbsp. fresh lemon zest, OR ½ tsp. lemon extract, OR 1/8 tsp (16 drops)    lemon essential oil
2 c. sugar
½ c. oil
3 eggs
3 c. flour
1 Tbsp. baking powder
1 c. chopped walnuts, optional

Place lemon juice, zest, sugar, and oil in a bowl and beat.  Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each.  Stir in flour and baking powder, then add zucchini and nuts.  Pour into two greased and floured 9x5 loaf pans.   Or use three 8x4 pans.  Bake at 375 degrees about 50 minutes (40 for 8x4 pans) or until a toothpick inserted near center comes out clean.  Let cool in pans for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a cooling rack. Wrap or bag when completely cool. The flavor is even better the next day.


See the blender-mixing-method here.  

 *An acceptable substitute for lemon juice in this recipe is 1/4 cup vinegar (apple cider vinegar is better but not necessary) and a little bit extra lemon zest, extract, or essential oil.

 

 How about another zucchini recipe?  Any summer squash can be used in the recipe.  Since I don’t have zucchini this year, (the seedlings were stepped on...) I’ve been making my lemon-zucchini bread with yellow summer squash, too. “Bisque” usually means a thick, creamy soup thickened by pureeing it, instead of by adding flour.  We made some yesterday using an immature Hubbard squash (picked by an enthusiastic child…), and it was delicious. The recipe came from the Ukraine; my sister ate it- and loved it- there on her mission.   In the bisque, the curry powder is great, but you can also  try other spices you like-   using basil or ground coriander  to taste, or a half packet of ranch dressing mix powder (Remember dressing mix is salty, so leave out the salt in the recipe).  The soup really shines when served with “Best Drop Biscuits” (archived under Quick Breads) or homemade French bread; something with some crunch to contrast with the silkiness of the soup. 

Here’s a video on YouTube about food storage, a lady from Arizona… this segment is “top 10 reasons for not starting food storage”: here if the link didn't work.  The sound doesn't work really well, but it's still worth watching!   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HhGaTlwYs-s      I thought it was pretty funny, but it makes you think.  Just remember that when she says ‘year’s supply’, that you don’t worry about that part until you reach Step 4 from the All Is Safely Gathered In booklet on providentliving.org. How much you store, on that step, is up to you to study and pray about.  Here are the four:

1. Gradually build a small supply of food that is part of your normal, daily diet until it is sufficient for three months.

2. Store drinking water.

3. Establish a financial reserve by setting aside a little money each week, and gradually increase it to a reasonable amount.

 4. Once families have achieved the first three objectives, they are counseled to expand their efforts, as circumstances allow, into a supply of long-term basic foods such as grains, legumes, and other staples.

 Happy storing! 
-Rhonda

 
Curried Zucchini Bisque
2 Tbsp. butter
2-4 tsp. curry powder- or use other spices you like
1 medium onion, chopped
¼ tsp. black pepper
3 c. chicken broth, or 3 c. water and 1 ½ tsp. chicken bouillon
1 (7-8 oz.) potato, cut in ½” cubes
1-1 ½ lbs. zucchini, trimmed and cubed
½ tsp. salt
1 ½ c. cream or evaporated milk (12 oz. can)  or a 12-oz. can of coconut milk

            Combine butter, curry powder, onion, and pepper in a medium saucepan.  Cook, stirring, for 2-3 minutes on medium-high heat.  Add broth, potato, zucchini, and salt.  Simmer 20 minutes or until potato is tender.  Add cream and puree the soup until smooth.         Serve garnished with croutons if you like.  Cubed chicken is also good in this. 

 

I love these powders!  Left to right: tomato powder, pumpkin powder, yellow summer squash powder, dried crumbled greens to put in soups in the winter.  (These greens are pigweed leaves- one of the wild edible weeds in my yard.)

Hot, fresh pancakes are simple to make. 

Cook pancakes on high heat, either on a greased or nonstick surface.  When the bubbles around the edges stay 'popped' and the edges are not runny, flip the pancake.

Cook until the other side is golden as well.  The pancake will puff up when you first flip it, and then it will stop rising.  If you're not sure if it's done, poke one in the center.  It shouldn't be runny.  If you flip the pancakes a second time, they will deflate and be more dense and flat.

  This week has been an exciting one for our end of the Salt Lake valley, with the large fire in Herriman and the evacuations there.   It really makes us stop and think about what we would do if a catastrophe occurred in our own homes.   (Nice timing, September is National Preparedness Month.) 

Could you grab all your important documents if you only had five minutes?  Could you list, at the drop of a hat, what physical things are most important to you?   I recommend spending some time making a list of what to grab if you only have a few minutes.  What would you get if you had an hour or two?  It’s better to figure it out ahead of time and never actually have that emergency, than to forget something in your rush.

 I dropped in at the Red Cross evacuation center (an LDS stake center), and learned a couple things.  When I was there on Tuesday, one family had been there since Sunday.  They’d gone three days without a shower or a change of clothes, and the children were expected to be back in school.   I rounded up clothes for the family (thanks to those who donated!), which they appreciated.  The thing that really surprised me, though, was what I brought that they got EXCITED about….    The 8-yr-old was ecstatic about having pajamas to wear at bedtime, but the mom and 11-yr-old  were happiest about Chapstick, fingernail clippers, and hair elastics.   Those are such simple, inexpensive things.  

 Do you have extras of these in your home storage? Would you be ‘up a creek’ if you couldn’t get to a store?  Think about what little things would make a difference to you, and store some.  A great inventory list to help you expand your storage, if you’re at the year’s supply stage, is found in the back of the  Church booklet, “Essentials of Home Production and Storage”. If you’re not that far yet, that’s okay, keep moving toward it.

 “Maintain a year's supply. The Lord has urged that his people save for the rainy days, prepare for the difficult times, and put away for emergencies, a year's supply or more of bare necessities so that when comes the flood, the earthquake, the famine, the hurricane, the storms of life, our families can be sustained through the dark days. How many of us have complied with this? We strive with the Lord, finding many excuses: We do not have room for storage. The food spoils. We do not have the funds to do it. We do not like these common foods. It is not needed -- there will always be someone to help in trouble. The government will come to the rescue. And some intend to obey but procrastinate.” -The Teachings of Spencer W. Kimball, p.375


Now the recipes- dinner and dessert, all using zucchini.  One of the beauties of zucchini is that it doesn’t really taste like anything.  This means you can put it in recipes and taste the OTHER ingredients instead of the squash.  The zucchini pizza may sound strange, but my mom (who invented this recipe) fed it to 150 college students recently, and all but one liked it a lot.  Pretty good odds.  My kids and husband liked it, too.  The photos above show the finished pizza and the just-cooked crust before adding toppings.  I used yellow squash in mine.


Zucchini Pizza

3 eggs
3 cups shredded zucchini or yellow squash
1 cup biscuit mix (or pancake mix or flour with 1 1/2 tsp baking powder mixed in)
1/4 cup of chopped onion (or more if you like onion a lot)
salt and pepper to taste-few sprinkles of each

 Mix the biscuit mix into the shredded zucchini and chopped onion. Beat the eggs in a separate bowl with the salt and pepper, then mix into the zucchini.  Spread batter onto a 12 inch pizza pan that has been sprayed with vegetable oil spray.  Bake at 375 until edges are slightly brown and center is firm and springs back nicely. Spread about 8 ounces of pizza sauce on top, then top with favorite cheese and meat, just like any pizza.  For pizza sauce, I use a can of tomato sauce and add a little each of: garlic, pepper, oregano, basil, and thyme.
It does still stick a bit to the pizza pan,unless you use a pizza stone or parchment, but it's allright if you use a pancake turner and are careful.

 

ZUCCHINI CREAM PIE

 1 ½ cups peeled, seeded and grated zucchini (yellow squash works too)
1 can (12 oz) evaporated milk
¾ cup – 1 cup sugar (adjust to taste)
2 eggs
3 T. flour
1t. vanilla extract
1/8 t. salt
2-4 Tbsp. butter, optional.
1 unbaked 9 – 10" pie crust
½ t. ground cinnamon
½ t. ground nutmeg

 Steam or microwave grated zucchini on a microwave safe dish until very soft,
about 2-3 minutes. Drain off any excess liquid and cool. Preheat the oven to 425
F. Place the evaporated milk, sugar, eggs, flour, vanilla and salt in a
blender and blend, adding the butter if you’re using it.  Add the cooled zucchini and blend again until smooth. Pour custard into unbaked pie crust and sprinkle with cinnamon and nutmeg. Place on
a baking sheet and bake for 5 minutes. Reduce the heat to 325 F. and bake for
another 30 minutes or until a sharp knife inserted into the center comes out clean.

Makes 8 servings.