Low-carb Savory Zucchini Bread

 We usually go for the "normal" zucchini bread, dark and spicy with raisins, etc., almost like my mom's old "fishing trip cake."  But I've been exploring other options for low carb bread--Joseph is big on that--and I love any way to get additional vegetables into us, so I was pleased to find a recipe that I could adapt, from Kelley Herring's Keto Breads cookbook.  This one uses coconut flour, too, rather than almond flour--I'm allergic to the latter and usually have to substitute something or other...

We're not doing Keto, per se, but we're okay with saving carbs and using them where they count--like chocolate!

This recipe is also pretty easy and fast, unlike some rather complex Keto breads.

Grate about 1 1/2 cups of zucchini, skin on...dump into a clean cloth and squeeze to get excess liquid out...or you can just drain for a few hours in a colander, but squeezing's quicker and oddly satisfying!

Ingredients:

1 C. coconut flour (though I'll admit next time I plan to use 3/4 C. and 1/4 C. of cassava flour...coconut flour is WEIRD.  It'll have a few more carbs but maybe be less...odd.  Tastes fine, but funny texture.)

1 t. baking powder

1/2 t. sea salt

1-1/2 C. grated zucchini, drained

6 eggs  (Yes, 6.  That's what I thought!)

1/2 C. coconut oil, melted, olive or other oil.  Or like I did use bacon grease because we have a LOT.

1 T. apple cider vinegar

1 t. lemon juice 

(No, I don't know why those last two.  But what the heck...)

I'm betting it would be good with herbs or a half cup of grated cheddar, too...next time...

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Grease a bread pan well with coconut oil, butter, whatever, then make a sling of parchment paper for the bottom and sides.  

Mix dry ingredients in a medium bowl

 Mix eggs, oil, zucchini, etc. in a larger one, then combine well.

At this point I had to taste the batter. Yum.  Probably the bacon grease!

Plop the batter into the prepared pan, and level the top somewhat

Bake at 350 degrees for about 55 minutes, check for doneness with the point of a knife--it should come out clean.  Let the bread cool before slicing (if you can!) (okay, mostly cool...) and enjoy.  

Because of the coconut flour, it has a kind of coarse texture, almost like cornbread...as I said, next time a bit of cassava flour, or if you're not allergic, you could try almond flour.  

I liked it with butter and honey (so much for low carb, right?  Hush!) and it makes wonderful skillet toast.  It's a bit tender, so I'm not sure how it would work for sandwiches.

DO store in an airtight container, for only a few days.  If you can't eat it all up within 3-4 days, slice and freeze for later...it tends to get moldy fairly fast, especially in warm damp weather.

Baked Zucchini "Fries"

Baked zucchini "fries" for dinner last night...tasty!

It's zucchini season, and we're all delighted with a new way to prepare this lovely vegetable (especially if you find yourself inundated with 'em!) 

We discovered this recipe last year at this time, and we loved it!  (Okay, what's not to like?  Fried crispiness!)

Ingredients

Fresh zucchini*

1 egg, beaten

1/3 c. cassava or coconut flour**

1/3 C. arrowroot flour***

salt

pepper

herbs to taste--I ofte use garlic and Italian mix, but it would be good with curry or Mexican spices, too

How-to

Mix flours, salt, pepper, and herbs or spices.  Cut Zucchini in spears.  Dip in egg wash then roll in flour mixture.

Heat oven to 410 degrees, oil the cookie sheet generously and put fries on it in a single layer, bake for 15 minutes, turn, bake for another 15, and that's that! 

Bet you won't have leftovers...

*Note...this would be fine with yellow summer squash as well.  Or with carrots, or...

** Note #2...Cassava flour is more like normal wheat flour to work with.  Coconut flour is odd stuff, and sometimes soaks up too much liquid. 

This is a gluten free recipe...if you don't have a problem, wheat flour is acceptable

Sweet Pickle Relish

We had plenty to choose from..this is the tip of the zucchini iceberg, from our garden!  Of course we had to buy the onions and bell peppers, but we have a great farmers market nearby...

Kate advised me that I have not, in fact, posted my recipe for sweet relish. So that's something we shall have to remedy then, isn't it? (Yes, Braveheart is a favorite of both of ours. Why do you ask?)

Anyway, I originally came up with this as a means to deal with a HUGE zucchini, but it will work with just about any kind of squash and also with cucumbers. Since this uses sugar it is NOT strictly Paleo/Primal, but bear in mind - it's a condiment, not a food.

In making this over the years, for some reason I tended to make (repeatedly) some pretty simple mistakes. To publish it here, I've had to clean up the subtle little reminders I use to help prevent these mistakes.

Zucchini or Cucumber Sweet Relish

WE’RE GOING TO REMEMBER TO MAKE THE F*****G SYRUP BEFORE ADDING THE F*****G VEGETABLES THIS TIME, OKAY?!!

Step One

12 C chopped zucchini or cucumbers, unpeeled
5 medium onions, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
5 tablespoons salt

Combine the onions and peppers. Stir in zucchini or cucumbers and salt.

Cover and allow to sit for 3 hours. Drain and rinse well.

Step Two

NOW you can make the f*****g syrup BUT DON’T ADD THE F*****G VEGETABLES UNTIL THEY’VE BEEN DRAINED FOR THREE HOURS!

2 1/2 cups cider vinegar
3 cups organic cane sugar
2 T corn or tapioca starch
2 T celery seeds
1 t mustard seed
1 t turmeric

Combine to make a syrup, boiling until sugar dissolves and mixture has thickened.

DON’T FORGET TO RINSE THE F*****G VEGETABLES BEFORE YOU ADD THEM TO THE SYRUP!!

Add vegetables to syrup and cook for 20 minutes.

Ladle into hot canning jars, adjust seals. Process in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes.

What to Do with that HUGE Zucchini?

You know - the one you missed picking and it got so big that you know it will be way too tough and seedy to do anything with? Of course, being Primal/Paleo, zucchini bread is right out, so what else can you do?

Well, a few years ago I figured out that it will make just fine pickle relish. I prefer sweet relish, the recipe for which I’ve already posted (I think) but I have no doubt that it would make fine dill relish as well.

However, I already have a gallon or so of pickle relish on the shelf, so now what?

How about zucchini pancakes?

I do wish I’d taken the time to measure and take pictures, but it’s not exactly a finicky recipe to begin with - basically it’s just like potato pancakes only with zucchini. Just slice your monster zucchini in about 3-4" sections, then quarter each section. Then slice each quarter section in half to allow you to cut off the majority of the seeds. Discard the seeds or save them for next year. Run the sections through a food processor or chop them as fine as you can by hand if you don’t have one. Also finely chop an onion and a bell pepper.

Put the whole mess in a colander and allow to drain for at least two hours. This is important, because your pancakes will form poorly if your veggies are too wet. Oddly enough, up to this point, these are exactly the opening steps for making pickle relish, though the ratio of onion & pepper to zucchini is much higher here.

Now unless you’re feeding quite a few people, this will be way too much to prepare at a single sitting. I’m keeping the rest in the fridge for now but I’m pretty sure I’ll try freezing some of the excess. I’ll report later on how well that works if I do.  But for now, I used about a quarter of the chopped veggies for two people and that would have been too much if we had been eating anything else.

Anyway, to every two cups of your veggie mixture, add about one egg, a quarter cup of your chosen thickener (I used equal parts cashew flour and chia flour), and maybe a half teaspoon each of salt & pepper. (I used a teaspoon of Pepperman.)

Grease up your skillet and fry away whatever size pancakes you like until firm and brown. They’re close enough to hash browns that I like them with crushed red pepper and ketchup. But they’re fine with just a little salt & pepper and maybe a little butter, which is how Kate likes them.

*Note:  Actually, Joseph posted this--his recipe, his idea!