COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL • JULY 18, 2018 • 3A
Betty Kaiser’s Cook's Corner: Zucchini anyone?
Betty Kaiser
T
his week’s column is
all about zucchini.
My husband has al-
ready walked in the house
multiple times this month
announcing that “Zucchini
man is here!”
All winter long I yearn
for fresh zucchini and now
I’m overwhelmed! It is in full
swing so it’s time to dig out
my recipes and decide how
many ways we can enjoy it
this summer.
One of today’s recipes is
for stuff ed zucchini. It was
born in the 1980s when a
customer walked through
the door of our restaurant
and gift ed us with some huge
22-inch long zucchinis.
“See what you can do with
these,” he said, so we came
up with a variable ingredi-
ents stuff ed bell pepper-type
fi lling and it immediately be-
came our best-selling sum-
mer lunch special.
Th e other recipes are for
simple side dishes because
who likes to cook in this heat.
Th e fi nal two are my favor-
ite way to eat zucchini — a
chocolate cake and a simple
sweet bread that is great for
breakfast, lunch or dinner.
Enjoy!
FYI: You will love today’s
fi rst recipe because it has
nothing to do with cooking!
Many years ago, I solicited
zucchini recipes from read-
ers. I still have dozens of
them in my fi le. Th is one was
from my friend Carol Pryor.
She left this earth too soon
but I still laugh every time I
read this advice:
BEST ZUCCHINI
RECIPE EVER
(Carol Pryor 2001)
• 1 bushel zucchini
• 1 raincoat
• 1 pair of sunglasses
• A moderately fast car
Directions: Go to a busy
parking lot. Drive around
until you fi nd an unlocked
car. Put the zucchini in the
back seat and drive away
FAST before you are discov-
ered!
CORN and ZUCCHINI
MEDLEY
• 4 slices bacon
• 2 cups chopped zucchini
• 1-1/2 cups fresh corn
• 1 small onion, chopped
• Salt and pepper
• ¼ cup Jack Cheese
Place bacon in a large,
deep skillet. Cook over me-
dium high heat until evenly
brown. Drain bacon on pa-
per towels, reserving 1 table-
spoon of drippings. Crumble
bacon and set aside.
Next, sauté the zucchini,
corn and onion over medium
heat in the bacon drippings
until tender-crisp, about 10
min. Season with salt and
pepper. Mix in half of the
crumbled bacon and spoon
vegetables into a serving
bowl. Sprinkle with cheese
and remaining bacon. Serves
4-5.
ZUCCHINI GARDEN
SALAD
• 4 tomatoes, chopped or
cut into quarters
• 1 medium zucchini,
sliced and then halved
• Fresh basil (or dried)
• Salt and pepper
• 1/3 cup red onion,
minced
• Italian Dressing to taste
Mix all ingredients in a of cheese. Bake 30 minutes
bowl and refrigerate. Serve or until hot and cheese is
melted. Serves 8 or more de-
cold on a bed of lettuce.
pend-ing on size.
CHOCOLATE
KAISER’S COUNTRY
ZUCCHINI CAKE
DINER STUFFED
(Southern Living 2002)
ZUCCHINI
• 3 cups all-purpose fl our
• 1 huge zucchini
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking
• 1 pound ground beef
powder
• 1 onion, diced
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• ½ bell pepper, diced
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup cooked brown or
• 4 large eggs
white rice
• 3 cups granulated sugar
• 2 8-ounce cans Hunts
• 3 (1-ounce) unsweet-
tomato sauce with basil, gar-
ened
chocolate
baking
lic and oregano
• Other seasonings: garlic squares, melted
• 1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
salt, pepper, basil, Tabasco
• 3 cups grated zucchini
Preheat oven to 350° F.
and line a baking pan with (about 5)
• 1 cup pecans, chopped
foil
• Powdered sugar
Wash and split the zucchi-
• Preheat oven to 350° F.
ni lengthwise. Scope out the
• Combine fi rst 4 ingredi-
middle and discard. Steam
the shells in the microwave ents and set aside.
Beat eggs at medium
about 3-4 min. Drain and set
speed with an electric mix-
aside.
Cook the ground beef, er. Gradually add granu-lat-
onion and bell pepper in a ed sugar; beat until blended.
skillet until meat is done. Add chocolate and oil; beat
Drain well. Add the rice until blended. Gradually add
and 1 can tomato sauce to fl our mixture; beat at low
the meat mixture with other speed until blended. Fold in
seasonings as desired. Spoon zucchini and pecans. Pour
into the zucchini shells and batter into a well-greased
top with the other can of to- and fl oured Bundt pan.
Bake 1 hour and 15 min-
mato sauce and your choice
utes or until a wooden pick
inserted in center comes out
clean. Cool in pan 15 min-
utes. Remove from pan; cool
com-pletely on a wire rack.
Sprinkle with powdered sug-
ar before serving. Serves 12.
KAISER’S COUNTRY
DINER ZUCCHINI BREAD
(Preheat oven to 350° F.)
Beat
together
until
blended:
• 3 eggs
• 2-1/4 cups sugar
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 2 cups grated zucchini
Add:
• 3 cups fl our
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon baking
powder
• 3 teaspoons cinnamon
Spray 2 large or 3 small
loaf (bread) pans with cook-
ing oil.
Bake 1 hour or until a tes-
ter comes out clean. Cool,
slice and serve at breakfast,
with luncheon salads or a
bedtime dessert.
Contact Betty Kaiser’s
Chatterbox at 942-1317 or
bchatty@bettykaiser.com
LORANE NEWS
GRANGE DAY
Today is the opening day
of the Lane County Fair
and Grange day. Grangers
will be serving cookies, cof-
fee and water in the Wheel-
er Pavilion, where every-
one can view all the grange
booths.
Be sure to vote for your
favorite booth.
Lorane Grange meets on
Th ursday July 19 at 7 p.m.
COMMUNITY-WIDE
GARAGE SALE
Be sure to get your place
on the map for the Lorane
community-wide
garage
sale set for Aug. 4, from 9
a.m. to 3 p.m.
Send your $10 check to
Lorane Community As-
sociation mailed to Mina
Knittle, LCA Treasurer,
PO Box 71, Lorane. Ore.,
97451.
Also call Jeri Porter at
541-942-2448 to rent a ta-
ble at the grange — indoors
or outdoors — or sell out-
doors at the Dew Drop Inn.
Pat Edwards and oth-
er authors will set up the
same day in the old Central
Sc hool on Central Rd.
Post a picture of
your garden (vegetable, fruit or
fl ower garden) on our Facebook page
and earn the chance to
WIN A $200 GIFT CERTIFICATE
CONTEST RULES: Visit the Cottage
Grove Sentinel Facebook page at
https://www. facebook.com/pages/
Cottage-Grove-Sentinel/ and upload
a picture of your vegetable, fruit or
fl ower garden to the photo album
section of the page. In the comment
space, describe what makes you so
proud of your garden. The person who
receives the most “likes” by August
31, 2018 will win the $200 in gift
certifi cates valid at the participating
businesses. The name of the winner
will be posted on our Facebook page
on August 8, 2018. Participants must
be 18 years old or more. Previous
winners, employees of this newspaper
and participating businesses and their
immediate family members are not
eligible to participate in this contest.
HELP LOCAL
FAMILIES
Please help one of our
community families by go-
ing to MealTrain.com to see
what needs or food Sharon
Malcolm might have.
HORNERS INC.
FOREST & GARDEN EQUIPMENT
79132 Hwy. 99 North
Cottage Grove
942-5781
Total Landscape Solutions
Pavers-Fencing-Lumber-Portable Canopies-
Paint-Natural Fertilizers-Rentals
LANDSCAPE AND
BUILDING MATERIALS
Open 7 days a week!
79149 N. River Road
541-942-4664
CG 912 to meet
next week
Th e next meeting of the
Cottage Grove 912 group will
be Tuesday, July 17, 6:30 p.m.,
at Stacy’s Covered Bridge
Restaurant, 401 E Main.
Th e group will watch “End
of the Road — How Money
Became Worthless.” Th is doc-
umentary chronicles the glob-
al fi nancial collapse. Some of
the world's top economic
minds share the hidden tale
behind the mishandling of
the world’s fi nances and share
their personal advice as to
how the average person can
prepare for their fi nancial fu-
ture.
Come for a very informative
meeting.