National Zucchini Bread Day

There appears to be a bit of mystery surrounding National Zucchini Bread Day.

While some online sources state that it is observed on April 23, others report that National Zucchini Bread Day is actually observed on April 25.

Personally I can't help but wonder why National Zucchini Bread Day is celebrated at a time of year when most of the nation is not able to harvest fresh zucchinis from their home gardens. But I only wonder that for a moment because the truth is I would happily celebrate National Zucchini Bread Day any day of the year!I preserve pint jars of shredded zucchini in the summer when the zucchini is bountiful so I can make zucchini bread throughout the year.

This is an old recipe. I don't remember how I originally came across it, but I have seen it reincarnated many times in cyberspace. You can visit one of its reincarnations here.

ZUCCHINI IN PINEAPPLE JUICE

4 qt. cubed or shredded zucchini
46 oz. canned unsweetened pineapple juice
1-1/2 cups bottled lemon juice
3 cups sugar

YIELD: About 8 to 9 pints

PROCEDURE: Peel zucchini and either cut into one half inch cubes or shred. Mix zucchini with other ingredients in a large saucepan and bring to a boil. Simmer 20 minutes. Fill hot jars with hot mixture and cooking liquid, leaving one half inch head space. Adjust lids and process in a boiling water canner.

Process as recommended by altitude:
Up to 1000 feet process for 15 minutes
1001-6000 feet process for 20 minutes
Over 6000 feet process for 25 minutes
To make the zucchini bread first whisk together some flour, salt, baking powder, and spices.In a separate bowl combine eggs, oil, sugar, and vanilla.Blend it with a hand mixer until it's foamy looking. Stir in a jar of Zucchini in Pineapple.

Gently stir the wet and dry ingredients together. Add some dried fruit and nuts. Pour into two well greased 9x5 loaf pans and bake!ZUCCHINI BREAD

3 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
3 eggs
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 cup sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 pint Zucchini in Pineapple juice
1 cup walnuts (You might like to use some black walnuts!)
1 cup raisins or chopped dates

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease two 9x5 loaf pans. Whisk the flour, salt, baking powder, cinnamon, and nutmeg together. Set aside. In a separate bowl combine eggs, oil, sugar, and vanilla. Beat with a hand mixer for a few minutes until mixture becomes foamy looking. Stir in Zucchini in Pineapple Juice. Gently stir dry ingredients into wet ingredients. Stir in nuts and raisins. Pour into prepared loaf pans. Place in 350 degree oven and bake for about an hour, until the bread begins to pull away from the sides of the pan and a knife inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool bead in pan for 10 minutes before removing bread to a wire cooling rack.

Parmesan Baked Butternut Squash

I love this!

It bakes up into a bubbling creamy casserole reminiscent of baked macaroni and cheese, but with the sweet nutty taste of butternut squash and the warm taste of sage.

If you grow your own sage, use just one dried leaf and rub it gently in between your fingers to crush it into little fuzzy bits just before you add it to the rest of the ingredients. For the best flavor, harvest your sage just before the plant begins to flower. I like to cut my herbs in the morning, as soon as the dew has evaporated. I tie a few sprigs together and then I tie them loosely in the opening of a paper bag. I hang the bag in a clean, dry, dark place for a couple of weeks, until the leaves dry. Then I store those dry leaves in a little jar in my spice drawer.

I realize, however, that sage is a love it or hate it kind of herb. Some people really like it... others, not so much. That's okay! Omit the sage, if you wish. This dish is also nicely flavored by the minced garlic simmering and caramelizing in the cheesy sauce... you do like garlic, don't you???PARMESAN BAKED BUTTERNUT SQUASH

4 cups butternut squash, cut into 1/2" cubes
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup finely shredded parmesan cheese
1 cup evaporated milk (or use cream!)
a pinch of crushed dry sage (optional)
a pinch of salt
a pinch of black pepper

For the topping:
1/3 cup bread crumbs seasoned with a pinch of salt and pepper
2 tablespoons melted butter

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix butternut squash, garlic, parmesan cheese, evaporated milk, sage, salt, and pepper together in a bowl. Pour into a well buttered 2 quart size baking dish. Stir bread crumbs and melted butter together and sprinkle over top of butternut. Bake for about an hour, until bubbling and golden on top. Let sit 5 minutes before serving.

Butternut Lentil Soup

True Story: One time someone gave me a baggie of ground dehydrated hot peppers. I promptly stuck my nose in the bag and took a big whiff. I thought I was going to die. End of story.

I obviously lived to tell of it. But my advice to you is this: If someone gives you a baggie of ground up dehydrated hot peppers, don't put your nose in there and smell it.

It's like being sprayed with mace. (Not that anyone has ever had to spray mace at me.) (Really.) (Please believe me.) (I'm serious.)Let's get back to these peppers...

I carefully poured these ground peppers into a spice jar with a nice fitting lid and labeled them "HOT."

I use them all the time.

To make your own "HOT," grow a variety of hot peppers, dehydrate them in a dehydrator, grind them up, then put them in a baggie and give them to an unsuspecting countrygirl who you know will stick her nose in there and smell it.And please try not to laugh.

Cumin is another spice you can grow yourself, even in chilly climates. (I'm in zone 5 and I grow it.) But the slightest frost will kill a cumin plant, so wait until all threat of frost is gone before planting seeds. Let the plant grow all summer until it goes to seed. Let the seeds dry on the plant. Then just pick them off and put them in a jar before they drop off the plant. I keep those seeds in my pantry and smash them up with a mortar and pestle just before I use them. It doesn't take very many freshly smashed seeds to make something taste like cumin. (Don't forget to save some seeds to plant more cumin the next summer!)Now use cumin and something "hot" to make this delicious soup! BUTTERNUT LENTIL SOUP

1 cup diced onion
2-4 cloves garlic, chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 teaspoon cumin seeds, freshly smashed (increase to 1/2 teaspoon if using a jar of store bought ground cumin)
1/2 teaspoon ground "hot" spice of your choice (chipolte powder, cayenne pepper, crushed red pepper flakes, or chili powder... although you may want to reduce the amount of cumin if using chili powder since chili powder usually has cumin in it)
1 quart vegetable stock (instructions for making your own here)
2 cups any color of dry lentils
2 cups finely diced or shredded carrots (easy winter carrot storage system here)
4 cups finely diced or shredded butternut squash
8-10 frozen roma tomatoes (may substitute with 1 quart or 1 large can of tomatoes, undrained)
1 (1 to 2 ounce) parmesan cheese rind (optional)
1/4 teaspoon salt (wait and add later, if using vegetable stock with added salt)
1/4 teaspoon pepper

Saute diced onion in olive oil in a large soup pot for about 10 minutes until onion begins to soften. Add garlic, ground cumin, and "hot" spice. Stir and saute for a few more minutes, just until garlic and spices become fragrant.

Pour in vegetable stock. Add lentils, carrots, butternut squash, tomatoes, and parmesan rind.

Cover pot and simmer over very low heat for a few hours until lentils and vegetables are soft. Stir occasionally to keep from burning and to help break up tomatoes. Add salt and pepper after lentils and vegetables have cooked.

Remove a few cups of soup, let cool slightly, puree in blender until smooth, then stir pureed soup back into the pot of un-pureed soup. (Options: Add more vegetable stock at this time, if you'd like a "soupier" soup... or add a can of evaporated milk at this time, if you'd like a creamier soup.) Adjust seasonings to taste.

Grate a bit of parmesan cheese over top when serving.

Roasted Butternut Squash Soup

Plant your butternut squash seeds in the summer and harvest the squash in the fall. Wait for a dry sunny day after they have fully matured. Break them off of the vine, leaving one to two inches of the stem intact. Put them in a cool, dry place, preferably a root cellar, if you have one (I don't).

I keep my winter squash in a wooden crate that Countryboy built for me. I line it with clean straw and place the squash between more layers of straw. This works like a charm.

Do this, and you can enjoy butternut squash for months. (Some other winter squash, like Delicata, also last a long time when stored like this.)

But nothing lasts forever. By March I usually see a few dark spots on any remaining squash. At this time I roast the squash in the oven, scoop out that pretty orange flesh into plastic bags and freeze it.

Roast whole squash in a 400 degree oven for 1-2 hours, until a knife inserted into the fleshy top part pushes in without resistance. Remove, cool, and scoop out the flesh, discarding the seeds and fiborous bits from the middle of the bulb end. If you have a vacuum sealer you may want to use it to package your roasted squash, but this isn't necessary unless you plan to store it in the freezer for a long time. I usually just scoop mine out into ordinary resealable freezer bags. I like to freeze foods in amounts that I will use them. In this case I usually put about 4 cups of butternut in each freezer bag because that is the amount I use when I make this smooth, rich, delicious Roasted Butternut Squash Soup...

ROASTED BUTTERNUT SQUASH SOUP

4 cups roasted butternut squash
1 quart canned carrots, drained*
1 quart seasonal stock
1 (12 oz.) can evaporated milk
4 tablespoons butter (Leave this out or reduce the amount if you must, but using it really brings out the rich, sweet taste of the squash.)
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon white pepper
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon salt (Seasonal Stock contains no added salt. If you are substituting purchased vegetable broth or chicken stock that contains salt you might want to add less salt)

*Although I have previously advocated against canning carrots, I do can some for use in some recipes. Using your frozen squash and canned carrots makes throwing this soup together a snap! Seriously, you can make this soup in less than 15 minutes. But you could roast fresh butternut and fresh carrots if you wanted to do everything the long way around.

Speaking of carrots, I have a handful of last summer's carrots remaining in storage and they are still nice and crisp, even though it is now April! You can read about my fabulous carrot storage system here.

Use a blender to puree roasted butternut, drained carrots, stock, and evaporated milk together in batches. Pour each batch into a large saucepot. Stir well to incorporate all batches of puree. Add butter and seasonings. Heat to a gentle simmer. Sprinkle some crumbled bacon, fresh grated parmesan cheese, or cracked pepper into each bowl. Serve with crusty bread or garlic toast.