Zucchini Bake

Around the second week in August, may of us have waaayyy more zucchini than needed. It has been building up for weeks and now it is getting out of hand. Thank goodness, there are options for all that prosperity and protection.

Usually, I will wash and then grate the zucchini with the peel on but if you have family members who don’t think zucchini is something they like, try peeling the outer green skin before grating. I highly doubt they will know what they are eating once everything comes together. This was one of those open fridge and use what is handy recipes. In the fridge was cottage cheese, Parmesan and smoked salmon. If there is sharp cheddar or something similar in your fridge that is always a substitution option. (I might leave out the smoked salmon if there is a lot of flavour in the cheese.)

You will need:

3 zucchini ( I used a seven inch piece that was tapered but started out about 3.75 inches wide )

1 large onion

3 rashers of bacon

1/2 cup olive oil

5 eggs

3/4 cup flour

1 tsp. baking powder

1/2 cup smoked salmon ( optional but suggested )

1/2 cup cottage cheese

3/4 Parmesan cheese, grated

salt and paper to taste

It is fitting that zucchini is connected to prosperity as they have such a reputation for abundance, over abundance actually. A little like Mickey Mouse in the Sorcerer’s Apprentice. So before things get out of hand. Let’s start. Center yourself, find a place of gratitude for all the blessings of the harvest and the bounty you get to share with family and friends. While washing your hands, see all your nigglies, those irksome thoughts of what went wrong today and whatever else is bothering you, dropping of your hands and circling down the drain, returning to the ocean. Take a deep breath and release anything leftover before you begin.

Grease an 8 x 8 or 9 x9 in pan and put aside. Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees F.Grate the zucchini and put aside to drip while the other ingredients are combined. There were about 3 1/2 cups of grated zucchini but if you end up with 4, don’t worry, just carry on.Combine the cheeses, oil and eggs. Mix well.

Combine the salt & pepper, flour and baking powder.

Finely chop the onion and the bacon. If you adore bacon, frying it first and adding the cooked bacon and the liquid fat into the mix would probably be a first choice. If you do this, reduce the amount of olive oil by the amount of your cooled, liquid bacon fat.

Squeeze out the extra moisture from the zucchini and add it to the egg mixture. If the zucchini are young squeezing out the zucchini and saving the liquid for the mix is a good idea. Simply place a bowl under the sieve. Older zucchini have less liquid and you may not get more than a few tablespoons.

Combine the egg mixture, dry ingredients, onions, bacon and grated zucchini and stir together well. Transfer to the greased pan.

There was a little smoked salmon in the fridge and it was time to use it up. The challenge is that I am the only one in the house who likes salmon so I placed it on only one side and left the other side salmon free. If that is not an issue in your house, mixing the salmon throughout the entire bake is a better choice. I placed half the mixture in the glass form, sprinkled the salmon, and filled the last half of the mixture into the pan. Bake for 50 minutes and test the middle when taking from the oven. If it is still jiggling return and bake for another 10-15 minutes.

This dish, with salmon, is actually better the second day, after the flavours have mixed and mingled. It can be served at room temperature or warmed up again. Combine with any variety of fresh vegetables or salad and enjoy!

Zucchini Bake from My Kitchen Wand