Chocolate Chip Zucchini Cookies

My son and I love these cookies. It is based on this recipe from Two Peas & Their Pod, a beautiful and inspiring blog. I like to substitute apple sauce for oils, so this is how I make them. We made a batch this morning, using some tired zucchini I found on clearance at Kroger (I make a point of seeing what's on $0.99 produce clearance whenever I go. There are some great deals to be found!). Today I added white chips as well as semi-sweet chocolate ones; it was a nice change. I don't like zucchini in general, but in baked goods it is magical, and makes us think that we are eating "healthy."

Ingredients: 1 cup unbleached self rising flour (I like White Lily) 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/2 cup applesauce (or 1 single serve cup) 1/2 cup dark brown sugar 1/4 cup granulated sugar 1 large egg 1 teaspoon vanilla 1 cup shredded zucchini (More works as well. Today I used 3 small zucchinis; about 1 1/2 cups) 2 cups old fashioned oats 1/2 cup sweetened coconut flakes 3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips (Dark chocolate chips are lovely; toss in extra white chips if you like them!) 1 cup walnut pieces (or almonds, pecans, whatever nuts you have)

Directions: 1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray baking sheets with nonstick spray. 2. Beat together sugars, eggs, vanilla, and applesauce. 3. Add flour and oats until well mixed. Stir in zucchini, chips, coconut, and nuts until combined. 4. Drop cookie dough by heaping tablespoonfuls, 2 inches apart, onto prepared baking sheet. 5. Bake for 10-15 minutes or until cookies are slightly golden around the edges and set. (Increasing the amount of zucchini may extend baking time to 15-20 minutes.) 6. Remove cookies from pans; cool completely on wire racks.

Overnight Yeast Adventures

Thank you, Jim Lahey, for the "daily bread" recipe that nourishes our bodies and spirits. I stumbled across the NYT article several months ago in the course of researching perfect pizza crusts (that's another story!). I'd been feeling sorry for myself in the months following herniated cervical disks and ruminating too much on what I could no longer do, when along came no knead bread. Minimal effort, patience, and we are graced with the comforting aroma and reward of fresh baked bread.  It's cheaper to make bread than to buy it, and this makes great toast and special sandwiches. We use this basic dough for bread, pizza crusts, cinnamon rolls, even doughnuts! I stopped measuring after the first few attempts and it works well every time.  If we're planning to make pizzas, I sometimes add a splash of olive oil with the water on the first night.

4 cups unbleached flour
1 tsp (big pinch) salt
1/4 tsp (pinch) yeast
1-2 c water

Combine dry ingredients in large bowl. Add water and stir well (enough to moisten and make a shaggy dough).  Cover and rest on countertop overnight.

Sometime the next day... The dough should have risen in the bowl, smell deliciously yeasty, and be full of holes. Generously flour a clean cloth. Pour the wet dough onto the flour and liberally dust more flour over the top. Use your hands or a dough scraper to fold the dough several times until no longer sticky.  At this point, I usually divide in half and let one section rise in a greased bread pan until it reaches the edge of the pan.  To bake loaf bread, place the dough in a cold oven. Set at 400 F for 15 minutes, then reduce heat to 375 F and bake 25 minutes. Cool on rack.

For cinnamon rolls, roll out the other half of the dough on the floured cloth. spread with about 1/4 c softened butter and generously sprinkle with a mixture of sugar (I don't measure, so approximately 1/3 c), cinnamon (1 tbs), and ground nuts (1/2 c).  Roll dough into log and cut into 1 inch slices. Place on cut sides in greased 9 inch pan until at least double. In a small bowl combine 4 tbs soft butter, 1/4 c flour, 1/4 c brown sugar, 2 tsp cinnamon and sprinkle over top of rolls. Bake at 350 F for 25-30 minutes until brown and hollow sounding when tapped.

For pizza, sprinkle pizza pan with cornmeal. Stretch dough into pan and let rest 5-10 minutes. Top with tomato sauce, grated cheese, herbs and toppings of choice. Bake in preheated 450 F for 15-20 minutes.

My daughter wanted doughnuts last weekend, so on a whim we took spoonfuls of the wet dough and rolled in a small bowl of flour until dry. Each ball was rolled flat and dropped into an inch of oil heated to about 350 F. They browned nicely and puffed up beautifully. We drained on paper towels, dusted with powdered sugar, and made a teenager smile.

Zucchini and Carrot Cake

I picked up a mixed bundle of sad-looking organic veggies for $0.99 at Kroger a few days ago.  Mr. C grilled the yellow squash that night with chicken and peppers as kabobs but the children turned their noses up at the zucchini which languished in the fridge until they needed to be disguised.  We finished our Easter feast with this colorful and delicious cake. Our son declared this "the least offensive way to serve zucchini!"  I think it will be nice for breakfast tomorrow. This recipe is a keeper.

3 zucchini

2 carrots

3 eggs

2/3 c brown sugar

1/3 c white sugar

1 c apple sauce

1/4 c oil

1 tsp vanilla

1 tbs (3tsp) cinnamon

1 tsp ginger

1 tsp allspice

1 tsp mace (I was out of nutmeg)

1 tsp salt

3 c White Lily Self Rising Flour (Miss Jerry of Jerry's Country Kitchen in Carrollton, GA told me years ago to use no other brand to make her signature biscuits! I love it for its fool-proof ease.) 

optional: raisins, walnuts, pecans

Preheat oven to 350 F.  Grate zucchini and carrots; set aside. Cream eggs and sugars together. Add applesauce and oil; mix well. Add next 6 ingredients; combine. Stir in flour. Stir in grated vegetables and raisins or nuts, if desired. Pour into greased and floured bundt pan. Bake 80 minutes or until toothpick inserted into cake comes out clean.