healthy snacks

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ZUCCHINI HUMMUS: Another Use For Zucchini!!!

It all started with a giant zucchini I found in my garden. One of the highlights of my summer days is to check what’s ready to be picked. Somehow I neglected to notice this huge zucchini skulking at the base of the plant. As a woman who hates waste, I put on my thinking cap to come up with something to do with this monster – preferably something that can be frozen – I AM self-proclaimed Queen Of Freeze, after all. Since I had just made hummus, it occurred to me I could make a zucchini based hummus. Success!

My Zucchini Hummus can be used as a dip or spread. (It makes a delicious sandwich in pita bread with Muenster cheese, tomatoes, cucumber, and arugula.) Best of all, it freezes well!

NOTE: If you’re using this as a spread (which is thicker), decrease the amount of zucchini to about 840g (1/4 lb).

Zucchini Hummus:

  • 939g (2 lbs) zucchini, shredded
  • 150g (5 oz) onion, chopped
  • 1.5 T garlic, minced
  • 45g (1/2 cup) olive oil
  • 28g (2 T) tomato paste
  • 2 tsp table salt
  • 1 tsp dried Korean style red pepper (Gochugaru)
  • 1 tsp smoked paprika
  • 1.5 tsp paprika
  • 1/4 tsp turmeric
  • 1/2 tsp coriander
  • 1/2 tsp cumin
  • 28g (2 T) tahini
  • 252g (1 cup) hummus ( either homemade – my recipe or purchased)
  • 1 bay leaf

Preheat oven to 400°F (204°C)

First thing to do is extract as much water from the zucchini as you can. Place a handful of shredded zucchini into the center of a tea towel. The amount of a handful is determined by the size of your hand. Don’t use more thinking you’ll get it done faster – it’s hard work for your hand. Wrap the towel around the zucchini ball, twist, and squeeze. Discard liquid. Repeat until all shredded zucchini is squeezed.

Place squeezed zucchini in a Dutch oven.

Into the Dutch oven add the onion, garlic olive oil, tomato paste, table salt, ground Korean style red pepper spice, smoked paprika, regular paprika, turmeric, coriander, cumin, tahini, and hummus.

Saute 5-7 minutes on stove top over medium-high heat.

Add in bay leaf and bury it. You don’t want to stir mixture with the bay leaf in it – some bay leafs are brittle and you don’t want shards of bay leaf in your mixture. Make sure you note where you put it – you’ll need to remove it later. Cover pot and bake in preheated 400°F (204°C) for 30 minutes.

After 30 minutes, move bay leaf out of the way and stir zucchini mixture. Bury bay leaf again, cover pot, and continue to bake at 400°F (104°C) for another 45 minutes.

After 45 minutes, remove and discard bay leaf.

Add in soy sauce.

Cool mixture about 20 minutes, then mix in a blender, food processor, or use an immersion blender (my preference). Adjust seasoning, if needed.

Excellent as a dip or filling in pita bread.

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ZUCCHINI-DATE-APRICOT MUFFINS: No Added Sugar!

They say necessity is the mother of invention. With my bounty of zucchini from 2 plants, I needed to come up with ideas to use these growing beauties (one can eat only so much stir-fried zucchini!). I thought it would be nice to make something that could be made in bulk and frozen for future use. (I AM the self-proclaimed Queen Of Freeze, after all!)

Putting on my thinking cap, I decided to make a zucchini muffin that was tasty but with no added sugar or egg yolks. It took MANY tries until I finally came up with my Zucchini-Date-Apricot Muffin recipe. For the record, in my early trials, I added a mixture of brans and wheat germ to the dry ingredients. While these may have made the muffins healthier, they yielded a cardboard texture. NOT an enticement for adults, let alone children. I eventually whittled these add-ins down to zero – if no one eats them, what’s the point.

NOTE: Again as self-proclaimed Queen Of Freeze, I discovered you can successfully freeze shredded zucchini for these muffins. I’ve only tried freezing the shreds AFTER lightly squeezing out some of the water. I’m not sure if it would be successful simply freezing the shreds prior to squeezing and then squeezing after thawing. Freeze in portion sizes and make sure you mark how much is in the container.

ZUCCHINI-DATE -APRICOT MUFFINS – (Makes 6-9 muffins, depending on size.)

IMPORTANT NOTE: ALL INGREDIENTS SHOULD BE AT ROOM TEMPERATURE!!!!

Wet ingredients

  • 115g (about 19) pitted dried dates
  • 32g (5 dried) apricots
  • 2 egg whites, room temperature
  • 68g (1/4 cup) honey
  • 16g (2 T) olive oil
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 300g (2 cups) zucchini, shredded

Dry Ingredients

  • 102g (1/2 + 1/3 cups total) all-purpose (plain) flour
  • 29g (1/4 cup) whole wheat flour
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 2 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp cardamom
  • 1/4 tsp nutmeg
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda

PREHEAT OVEN TO 375°F (190°C)

You’ll need 2 bowls: a small cereal sized for the dry ingredients, and a medium mixing bowl for the wet.

Into the medium sized bowl, put the egg whites and beat with a fork to break them up and they become foamy.

Chop the dates and apricots into small pieces. Add them to the bowl with the egg whites.

Shred, then chop the zucchini. (I chop the shreds so the muffins don’t have long zucchini strings.)

Into a clean tea towel, place tennis ball sized bundles of the shredded-chopped zucchini, one at a time. Wrap the tea towel around the bundles and twist over a container to extrude the liquid. You don’t need to squeeze out every drop of liquid – just a firm twist. NOTE: If you want to be very precise, you will probably squeeze out about a total of 40g (3+ tablespoons). Discard this liquid. Place squeezed zucchini into the bowl with the egg whites.

Add in the honey, olive oil, and vanilla.

Into the smaller bowl, stir together the all-purpose (plain) flour, whole wheat flour, salt, cinnamon, cardamom, nutmeg, baking powder, and baking soda.

Pour the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and gently blend until the flour is just incorporated. Don’t over mix or you will produce a tougher muffin.

Into a very lightly oiled muffin tin, fill the cups. (If you have an ice cream scoop, use that – it makes the task much easier.)

The batter will make 6- 9 muffins, depending on size. I find making 9 produces shorter muffins which is more manageable for young children’s hands and mouths, or if you just want a small snack.

Bake in preheated 375°F (190°) for 18-21 minutes – until lightly browned and top springs back when pressed. Let set in tin for 15 minutes. Then run a rounded-tip knife around the sides, Go around again, gently lifting up the bottoms until muffin is freed. Remove to wire rack to completely cool.