Zucchini Pancakes for Breakfast, Lunch or Dinner

Patties of shredded zucchini topped with buttery spread and cheese. Make these small for hors d'oeuvres or large for a side dish/vegetarian meal. A terrific way to eat an abundant vegetable.

I've been eating zucchini pancakes for over 30 years. Whoa. That's a long time for a staple dish like this. High time I put it on the blog.

Growing up, my folks gradually turned our backyard into an edible space. The old small in-ground pool was filled in and used for rhubarb and other perennials, and I distinctly recall having the responsibility of a hammer (!) to break up the concrete patio that became a strawberry patch. My dad grew up on a farm and with his skills we grew beans, corn, chard, squash and tomatoes. In addition to the strawberries we had cherry and apple trees. Urban homesteading before it was hip.

Although we grew up with a glut of vegetables at different times of the growing season, I don't recall my mom stuffing zucchini into endless loaves of zucchini bread. Perhaps like me she hadn't wanted to turn on the oven. She made these savory pancakes instead. In Mom's curling cookbook, where I found this recipe by Lois Robertson of the City View Curling Club in Ottawa, ON, the title is Zucchini Crepes but we always call them zucchini pancakes. These are similar in preparation/use to my Turnip Fritters and to Meghan's Kohlrabi Fritters. 

Use any summer squash you choose--just shred them as fine as your technology allows you and squeeze as much liquid out as you can. You can also freeze shredded squash for out-of-season pancakes. Freezing the squash breaks the cell walls so that when thawed the liquid seeps out and you get a nice dry squash. Since you lose more moisture after thawing, I generally freeze 1½ times the amount of zucchini that I'll want to use after thawing.

For more recipes using zucchini all day long, please see my Zucchini Recipes Collection, part of the Visual Recipe Index by Ingredient. I've also got a Summer Squash Recipes Collection in case you've got a mixed bunch of summer squash and don't know what to do with it. I pin squash recipes of all seasons to my Squash Pinterest board, and share seasonal recipes and round ups from around the web on my FB page. For info on how to use this blog, click here.

Grilled Kohlrabi Leaf Chips on a Stick

Kohlrabi leaves, massaged with oil and seasoned with salt then grilled until crispy. You can eat these.

If you like kale chips and you've got kohlrabi, you should like this.

I'd been thinking that kohlrabi leaves could be grilled and eaten like a kale chip and I tested the concept last week. It works. Don't eat the 'stick'.

Yes, I also grilled the kohlrabi chunks. This bowl made quick work of the leaves.

I feel like that's a no-brainer, but my spouse missed the pre-dinner briefing [why yes, we are a military family, why do you ask?] and manfully chewed through his kohlrabi stems before I noticed.

Don't do like he did. Compost the stem instead. Or feed it to the dog. He may puke it out later.

Just nibble on the leaves while holding onto the stem.

It's like when you're at a summer festival in Japan and you get squid on a stick.
Manfully chew through the squid and leave the stick uneaten.
Don't ask me how I know.

Perhaps obesity in America would be helped by replacing chocolate-covered deep-fried twinkies on a stick with . . . squid. Or kohlrabi.

Beet Hummus--and an improved Beet Recipes Collection of the Visual Recipe Index by Ingredient

Steamed beets + chick peas and tahini make a tasty, pretty, pale pink hummus.

I'm still waiting to find the beet recipe that I will adore. The beet recipe that is the last way I'll ever want to prepare beets. The beet recipe that makes me look forward to beets in the Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farm share box with antici . . . [say it] . . . pation.

I've found that recipe for beet greens. I love them for breakfast or brunch, prepared this way. I could happily eat beet greens like this for the rest of my life. My family doesn't share the beet greens love, so I keep sharing new beet greens recipes on the blog.

In my summer project to transform my little blog Visual Recipe Index by Ingredient into a resource for folks eating from the farm share, I reached out to other bloggers for their beet and beet greens recipes. I'm delighted to show off the fruits of our combined labors [their recipes and my recall of my ABCs] in this post. I've got over 50 recipes to date and more coming!

The beets I used to make this hummus did not come from my farm share. During the window of time between the last Fall share delivery and the first pick up of the 2015 season, the generous folks from Melissa's Produce sent me a lovely cookbook and some packages of steamed beets. If you don't have access to fresh farm share beets, this product would be a good substitute. The beets are small enough to pickle or use as a side dish, and peeled/cooked ready to use. I used mine in hummus, and other I was not required to write nor compensated for this post [other than the beets + the cookbook].

As you can tell from the start of this post, I still haven't found the beet recipe. But this one ain't half bad. It's cute with carrot slices for dipping, it's pretty used as a spread inside wraps, and it tastes great with pretzel thins. Adding chick peas and tahini tones down the vibrant color to a pleasing pink.

Why yes, a kohlrabi leaf does provide a pop of color to your appetizer spread.

For more recipe suggestions to help you find YOUR BEET RECIPE, please see my newly-expanded Beet Recipes Collection, part of the Visual Recipe Index by Ingredient. I'm sharing additional vegetable appetizers on my Awesome Veggie Apps and Snacks Pinterest board and on my FB page. Need help using this blog? Click here.