Zucchini (and lots of other stuff) Muffins

This year is the first (in many) that my family put a garden in our yard. As a kid, I always remember having one. It was enormous and a mainstay for our summer table. For some reason many of my vivid memories of childhood stem from that garden; I feel like I was forced to pick green beans for hours every day though looking back that may be a bit of an exaggeration. But when we moved about ten years ago, the gardening stopped. Our house now is built on what used to be an old junkyard and we just happened to be a bit dubious about planting our vegetables in a sea of broken windshield glass and car battery acid. I guess we put caution to the wind this year when we planted a boatload in our little garden plot and watched as it very quickly became a miniature jungle out there.

Our garden, in only the past few weeks, has absolutely flourished. The size of the plants dwarfs those of the neighbors. We harvest about 10 zucchini a night only to find 5 more the next day that seem to have popped up in the matter of a few hours. It’s kind of ridiculous. I think the real reason for this is the fact that my mom sprayed the dirt with Miraclegrow. So…technically our garden is on steroids, the products of performance enhancing drugs. Now we couldn’t enter anything into the biggest vegetable contest at the county fair if we wanted to (actually I’m not sure if that sort of contest even exists) for fear of an embarrassing disqualification.

The only problem with an overwhelmingly flourishing garden is a sudden lack of refrigerator space and mouths in the household to eat everything. It has come to the point where only about a third of the produce stays in our home and the rest is placed into the hands of anyone who will take it. Strangely, it’s been hard to give away the Swiss chard. No one seems to know what to do with it, which is a shame. Obviously all they have to do is go on this blog and look here, or here. Problem solved. I’ve also been getting creative with the zucchini. The other day I made a Mexican vegetable and tortilla “lasagna”. My agenda today includes some pickle production. And Monday I whipped up a batch of these super-healthy zucchini muffins.

Despite their uber-grungy-hippie façade, these are not your classic crumbly and dry health muffins. They are also not cupcakes in disguise. Sweetened with only a little sugar, moistened with canola oil rather than butter, and absolutely chockfull of tasty mix-ins and, of course, zucchini, these are wonderfully filling and even delightful. They are heaven when eaten warm with a schmear of peanut butter and cream cheese. They are also perfect for adaptation. You really can adjust the nut and dried fruit types to your preferences. Want sunflower seeds, pepitas, millet? Go for it. Hate coconut (shame on you)? Leave it out. You could definitely also throw in a handful of grated carrot for good measure, if you’re so inclined. So if you find yourself the receiver of someone’s superfluous zucchini crop, make these.

Zucchini (and lots of other stuff) muffins
adapted very slightly from Joanne Chang’s Flour cookbook
makes about 15 muffins

Ingredients
½ cup oats, ground into coarse powder with a food processor
½ cup hot water
1 medium zucchini
¼ cup dried cranberries
¼ cup golden raisins
¼ cup toasted chopped walnuts
¼ cup toasted chopped pecans
½ cup sweetened flaked coconut
½ apple, peeled, cored, and chopped into ¼ into cubes
2/3 cup light brown sugar
3 eggs
¾ cup canola oil
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1½ cups all-purpose flour
¾ cup whole old-fashioned oats
2 tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. salt
½ tsp. ground cinnamon
¼ tsp freshly grated nutmeg

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Put muffin paper liners in about 15 slots in some muffin tins.

In a medium bowl, stir together the ground oats with the hot water until it forms a paste. Set aside. Grate the zucchini into a strainer or colander.  Press on the zucchini to release some of the excess liquid. Measure out 1½ cups of the grated zucchini. Add the zucchini, cranberries, raisins, walnuts, pecans, coconut, and apple pieces to the wet oat mixture and stir to coat. Set aside.

Using a stand mixer with they whisk attachment, whip the three eggs and the brown sugar together on medium speed for 4 minutes until lighter in color and slightly frothy. Add the vanilla and then slowly pour in the canola oil in a steady drizzle. Remove the bowl from the mixer and set aside. Combine the flour, whole oats, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a medium bowl and stir to evenly combine. Pour the dry mixture into the mixing bowl with the egg and oil and quickly fold together until just mixed. Add in the zucchini mixture and gently fold into the rest of the batter.

Spoon the batter into the muffin tins. They will not rise very much so you can fill each almost to the top. Bake for 35 to 40 minute until just lightly browned on the top. These are best eaten within the first 24 hours they are made. For any extra, they keep for about 3 days at room temperature. They also freeze well, wrapped tightly in plastic or foil. Let them defrost in the refrigerator, at room temperature, or reheat in a 300-degree oven. I’ll admit, I actually heated them for 20 seconds in the microwave…you won’t want to wait for the oven to warm up, trust me.

Spanish Style Turkey Meatballs with Almond Sauce

I’ve been meaning to write about this one for a really long time. I just never really knew what to say about it exactly.

It’s a wonderful dish, full of savory Spanish style flavors and aromatic with the scent of lemon and fruity wine. It uses ground turkey too so I guess it’s a bit healthier without screaming “diet-food” in the least bit. And of course it’s convenient because the meatballs are baked rather than pan-fried so there is no need to worry about an overcrowded pan of half burnt meatballs falling apart every time you try to flip them over. The meatballs with the almond sauce are perfectly fine on their own but are even better with a nice wedge of crusty bread to mop up the juices and something fresh and green to dip in the remaining sauce.  I ate it for four days straight without getting tired of it and I think it’s a really great way to change up an ordinary weeknight meal.

So why had its image been sitting unused in my iPhoto gallery for the past two months? It just really had no story. It’s not passed down, not traditional to my heritage or upbringing or reminiscent of anything from my childhood. The recipe just sort of came out of nowhere and happened to turn out really quite well. It still has no story and I have yet to recreate it for my family. I’m the only one who has tasted this gem, which is why I’m now suddenly itching to release this dish to the world instead of hoarding it to myself until I think of what to say about it. Enjoy.

Spanish Style Turkey Meatballs with Almond Sauce
serves 4

meatballs are original and sauce is adapted from this

This would be a perfect thing to bring to a potluck/tapas sort of party if you make the meatballs smaller and serve with toothpicks in a pool of the sauce. It would be nice on cooler pre-summer nights accompanied by a glass of the leftover wine used to make the dish. Of course you can certainly try it with other sides like sautéed greens or asparagus rather than the French beans if you’re going for a more seasonal thing too.

Ingredients
2 Tbs. olive oil
½ of an onion, diced
1 cup cremini mushrooms, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
1/3 cup chopped roasted red peppers either jarred or homemade (instructions here)
2 Tbs. minced parsley
1 tsp. dried oregano
1 tsp. paprika
2 slices white bread, crusts removed
1¼ cups chicken or vegetable stock
1 cup plus 2 Tbs. Pinot Grigio or another fruity, dry white wine
1 lb ground turkey
zest of 1 lemon
2 tsp. sugar
¼ cup blanched almonds
salt and pepper to taste
a loaf of crusty white bread and greens to serve (optional)

For the meatballs, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the onion, mushrooms, garlic and salt and pepper to taste and sauté for about 5-7 minutes until tender. Transfer to a large bowl to cool slightly and set aside. Tear up one piece of the bread into a bowl and pour over ¼ cup of the stock and 2 tablespoons of the wine and mash with a fork until the bread is completely saturated. Set aside for 5 minutes.  Add the roasted red pepper, parsley, oregano, paprika, and soaked bread with liquid to the onion and mushroom mixture and stir to combine. Add the turkey to the mixture and mix until just combined evenly. Diving into 16 balls space them evenly on a parchment lined baking sheet. Bake for 25-30 minutes until golden and cooked through.

While the meatballs bake, make the almond sauce. In a large skillet, bring the remaining stock and remaining wine to a boil. Add the lemon zest and sugar and reduce to a simmer. Meanwhile, in another skillet, heat the other tablespoon of oil over medium high. Tear up the other piece of bread into the skillet along with the almonds and fry until the bread and almonds are golden. Set aside to cool slightly and then whiz them in a food processer until you have a fine powder. Add the almond and bread powder to the simmering stock and stir. Simmer over low heat, stirring occasionally, for about 10 minutes adding additional liquid as needed.

Serve the meatballs with the sauce with a wedge of a rustic country loaf and greens of your choice.