How does your garden grow?

I wish I had a garden...but alas, the bunnies and 'Chuck' ( our resident woodchuck ) make it nearly impossible. Sooo, I must rely on the kindness of friends, local produce markets, and Debbie Meyer GreenBags.

I found a couple of easy, quick, and good recipes for some of that bumper crop of zucchini you're going to be staring at soon.... they are low fat AND low cal, go figure. Never fear, I also have some lovely bread recipes I will share so you can hide the beast from non-zucchini lovers and catch them unaware :p



ZUCCHINI LATKES ? servings

4 cups shredded zucchini
1/4 tsp. salt
1 cup snipped fresh parsley
2 slightly beaten eggs
1/3 cup matzo meal
1 tsp lemon-pepper seasoning

cooking oil
low fat sour cream ( optional )

1) In a large bowl, combine zucchini and salt; let stand for 30 minutes. Strain excess liquid from zucchini.

2) return zucchini to bowl..add parsley, eggs, matzo meal, and lemon-pepper seasoning; mix until combined.

3) In a large skillet heat a little cooking oil. Drop zucchini mixture by tablespoons into the hot oil to form 3 inch latkes. cook over medium heat for 2-3 minutes per side or until golden brown, turning once. Remove and keep warm. Repeat with remaining mixture, serve warm w/ sour cream if so desired. I eat mine w/salsa, but I am weird lol

Feel free to tweak seasonings to your own taste if you find these too bland. :)


Make a head directions: Prepare latkes as directed; cool. Place on a baking sheet in a single layer, freeze until firm. Place frozen latkes in a freezer bag/container, seal. Freeze up to 4 weeks. To serve, place on a baking sheet, heat in a 450 degree oven for 7-10 minutes.

18 calories, 1 gram fat (0 sat)



ZUCCHINI A LA ROMANO 6 servings

2 gloves garlic
2 tsp olive oil
4 cups sliced zucchini ( 4-5 small..1 honking )
1 TBS. snipped fresh mint OR basil ( or 1 tsp of either/or of the dried )
1/4 tsp salt
2 TBS. finely shredded Romano cheese ( can substitute parmesan )

1) In a large skillet, cook the whole garlic cloves in hot oil until light brown, then discard garlic. Add zucchini, basil ( or mint ), salt to the oil in the skillet.
2) Cook, uncovered, over meduim heat about 5 minutes or until zucchini is crisp-tender, stirring occasionally. To serve, sprinkle with the cheese.

35 cals, 2 grams fat

Scallops

This recipe is for my husband...I don't do scallops, crab, mussels,clams, oysters, or squid..EVER. But, alas, he does; he is having these for Mother's Day dinner...I am making margaritas and lounging on the couch in new jammies. 16 medium diver scallops, cleaned 1/8 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for searing 2 teaspoons minced garlic 1 tablespoon finely chopped thyme 1 teaspoon kosher salt 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper In a medium bowl, marinate the scallops with olive oil, garlic, thyme, salt, and pepper. Let them marinate for 20 minutes. ETA..cook time should be adjusted to suit size of scallops; the scallops we bought were med-large and needed more time per side. He said they were excellent, btw. Recipe compliments of Food Network and Cat Cora..love the network...her, not so much.

EWWWWWW Raccoon Stew

Holy Mother of God...I actually found recipes..yes, as in more than one..for raccoon stew. I am horrified...who eats this? Never mind, I really do not want to know.

Be forewarned..I will not be testing, tasting, or making this recipe..you're on your own with this one, Skippy.


Raccoon Stew

Ingredients:

1 Raccoon, cleaned

4 Carrots, chopped

3 Potatoes, chopped

2 Stalks of celery, chopped

1 Bag of frozen mixed vegetables

1 16 oz. can stewed tomatoes

Your favorite stew seasonings

Directions:

Remove glands and as much fat as you can from raccoon. Parboil until done, skimming fat off water as it rises to the top. Remove raccoon and let cool. De-bone meat and hold aside.

Add carrots, potatoes, celery, mixed vegetables and canned tomatoes to the pot. Add meat to pot. Add seasonings. Keep at a low simmer until ready to serve. For a thicker stew, add flour mix with cold water before serving, stir until thickened.

Serves 4

recipe comes from wisconsinhunter.com...a place I shall never visit again. lol

Soon..Raccoon Stew for You!

Soon to be made into a tasty stew...., hat, and antenna thingy.

(trust me when I say he earned it..and that you do not want to know how, when, or why...)

A Dire Warning

Audrey says:

Never substitute rice flour
for regular, in any proportion
in a chocolate chip cookie.

yuk.



Thats all for today.

An Ode to Tilapia

Our meat market carries it...not that unusual...but they have it encrusted in various flavors. OMG...it is to die for. The fish is mild..not fishy in the least. The toppings aren't thick or heavy...but they are wonderful. Friday night we had Tortilla encrusted; tonight, Coconut. 15 minutes in the oven, 5 minutes under the broiler. I found some frozen brown rice (by Bird'sEye), threw the fillets on top, baked it...heaven. Tonight, I am using rice pilaf. The fish is low calorie, the toppings add minimal cals and by baking...no added fat is used.

I had all but stopped eating fish when my husband gave up fishing for other, more stupid, hobbies, *rolling my eyes* but I am happy to have found Tilapia..thanks to my brother Jim, and SIL, Becky :)

Try it, you'll like it!

Dip for Fresh Fruit

Kids are here for the night, this is their snack today. And yes..you can use the light sour cream, light cool whip without any problem...infact, it is how I make it most of the time. 8 oz. sour cream 8 oz. Cool whip 5 tbs. brown sugar 2-3 tbs. Almond flavoring For adults..2-3 tbs. amaretto Add brown sugar to sour cream, mix well. Let sit in fridge for 15 minutes to allow the brown sugar to begin breaking down. Stir well, fold in Cool whip. Add almond/amaretto, stir, refrigerate. Serve with fresh fruit of your choice..and watch it disappear.