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THURSDAY | AUGUST 20, 2020
Betty Kaiser: Cook’s Corner
Pet Tips
‘n’ Tales
Zucchini anyone?
Betty Kaiser
(Originally published in
The Sentinel July 18, 2018)
T
his week’s col-
umn is all about
zucchini.
My
husband has already
walked in the house mul-
tiple times this month an-
nouncing 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 stuffed zucchini. It was
born in the 1980s when a
customer walked through
the door of our restaurant
and gifted us with some
huge 22-inch long zucchi-
nis.
“See what you can do
with these,” he said, so we
came up with a variable
ingredients stuffed bell
pepper-type filling and
it immediately became
our best-selling summer
lunch special.
The other recipes are
for simple side dishes be-
cause who likes to cook in
this heat. The final two are
my favorite way to eat zuc-
chini — a chocolate cake
and a simple sweet bread
that is great for breakfast,
lunch or dinner.
Enjoy!
FYI: You will love to-
day’s first recipe because
it has nothing to do with
cooking! Many years ago,
I solicited zucchini recipes
from readers. I still have
dozens of them in my file.
This 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 find an
unlocked car. Put the zuc-
chini in the back seat and
drive away FAST before
you are discovered!
Corn and Zucchini
Medley
• 4 slices bacon
• 2 cups chopped zuc-
chini
• 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
medium high heat until
evenly brown. Drain ba-
con on paper towels, re-
serving 1 tablespoon of
drippings. Crumble bacon
and set aside.
Next, sauté the zucchi-
ni, corn and onion over
medium heat in the ba-
con drippings until ten-
der-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 bowl and refrigerate.
Serve cold on a bed of let-
tuce.
Kaiser’s Country
Diner Stuffed
Zucchini
• 1 huge zucchini
• 1 pound ground beef
• 1 onion, diced
• ½ bell pepper, diced
• 1 cup cooked brown or
white rice
• 2 8-ounce cans Hunts
tomato sauce with basil,
garlic and oregano
• Other seasonings: gar-
lic salt, pepper, basil, Ta-
basco
Preheat oven to 350° F.
and line a baking pan with
foil
Wash and split the zuc-
chini lengthwise. Scoop
out the middle and dis-
card. Steam the shells in
the microwave about 3-4
min.
Drain and set aside.
Cook the ground beef,
onion and bell pepper in a
skillet until meat is done.
Drain well.
Add the rice and 1 can
tomato sauce to the meat
mixture with other sea-
sonings as desired. Spoon
into the zucchini shells
and top with the other can
of tomato sauce and your
choice of cheese.
Bake 30 minutes or until
hot and cheese is melted.
Serves 8 or more de-
pending on size.
Chocolate
Zucchini Cake
(Southern Living 2002)
• 3 cups all-purpose
flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking
powder
• 1 teaspoon baking
soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 4 large eggs
• 3 cups granulated sug-
ar
• 3 (1-ounce) unsweet-
ened chocolate baking
squares, melted
• 1 1/2 cups vegetable
oil
• 3 cups grated zucchini
(about 5)
• 1 cup pecans, chopped
• Powdered sugar
• Preheat oven to 350° F.
• Combine first 4 ingre-
dients and set aside.
Beat eggs at medi-
um speed with an elec-
tric mixer. Gradually add
granulated sugar; beat un-
til blended.
Add chocolate and oil;
beat until blended. Grad-
ually add flour mixture;
beat at low speed until
blended. Fold in zucchini
and pecans.
Pour batter into a well-
greased and floured Bundt
pan.
Bake 1 hour and 15
minutes or until a wood-
en pick inserted in center
comes out clean.
Cool in pan 15 min-
utes. Remove from pan;
cool completely on a wire
rack.
Sprinkle with pow-
dered sugar before serv-
ing.
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 flour
• 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
cooking oil.
Bake 1 hour or until a
tester 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 COUNTRY NEWS
Contributed by
Lil Thompson
HIGH FIRE DANGER
throughout
Western
for The Sentinel
Lane County. No gas or
• We are current- spark emitting vehicles
ly in EXTREMELY or equipment may be
run at ANY time, unless
you have a really green,
irrigated lawn. Only then
may you mow.
Be really careful during
Yard of the Week
brought to you by:
Cottage Grove Sentinel
116 N. 6th • (541) 942-3325
Week of August20th Winner is: 1386 Cottonwood Place.
Yards will be selected each week by nominations.
To nominate a yard you can call City Hall (942-5501)
or Chamber of Commerce (942-2411)
this time of year; every-
thing is very dry. Abso-
lutely NO recreational
fires.
Protect yourself and
your neighbors.
• Crow-Applegate-Lo-
rane School District is
working hard preparing
for school to start in-per-
son for K-3, and with
grades 4-12 distance
learning beginning Sept.
14.
If you have any ques-
tions, contact the school
through the CAL web-
site.
• Everyone is still en-
joying drive in church at
Lorane Christian Church
each Sunday. Or, you
could say outdoor church
in your cars.
All are welcome.
• Lorane Grange meets
next Sept. 3 at 7 p.m.
• For all interested, the
Karl Wilson made it safe-
ly back to Louisanna.
By Mary Ellen
“Angel Scribe”
Joanne’s dog, Mr. Bean, rates TV shows according to
dog content.
J
oanne was looking at three Standard Poodle puppies
on the internet when she “heard” her recently passed
dog, Cooper, excitedly announce, “Get that one!”
Out of curiosity, she and her husband, Charlie, drove
over to just look at the puppies. They made a pact that
they would not spontaneously take a puppy home — un-
less one chose them.
They held two bi-colored, seven-week-old pups and
their little chocolate-colored brother, Kona, who Coo-
per had chosen for them. When Joanne was about to
tell the breeder which puppy she wanted, Kona toddled
from across the room, laid down at Joanne’s feet and fell
asleep. The amazed breeder said, “I have never seen a
puppy do that.”
“Kona was named after Hawaiian coffee beans but
when we called him, he didn’t respond,” said Joanne. “In
frustration, Charlie exclaimed ‘Well, that’s a bean’ and
the puppy turned his head towards Charlie. So, we re-
named our new family member Mr. Bean.”
Cooper had deeply loved Amber, their rescued brown-
and-white German shorthaired pointer with amber-col-
ored eyes.
When the couple arrived home with their little brown
bean, Amber excitedly greeted them at the door. Mr.
Bean mysteriously and instantly appeared to recognize
his doggy-sister. They were bonded from moment one.
Cooper obviously wanted his family loved and taken
care of after his departure, so he chose the paw-fect fur
baby for them.
“It is surreal how much Mr. Bean is like Cooper,” said
Joanne. “Cooper would walk through our legs for us
to pet his rear end and Mr. Bean does the same thing.
Mr. Bean is also addicted to one thing: Television. His
favorite movie is ‘Lawrence of Arabia’ because he likes
watching the camels. His favorite TV show is ‘Lucky
Dog.’ When we announce ‘Lucky Dog is on,’ he runs into
the living room, jumps on the love seat and props his
head on the armrest to watch his favorite show from his
favorite location. He also enjoys watching the Westmin-
ster Kennel Club’s dogs as they parade on the show and
all veterinarian shows. Once, when they had a dog laying
under a drape prior to surgery, Mr. Bean went over to
the set and started whimpering. We wondered if he was
comforting the animal or telling us he was deeply con-
cerned about its injuries.”
Joanne said Mr. Bean is just like people. In addition to
TV shows, he also has his favorite commercials. When
he hears the music from his favorites, he runs into the
living room and stands in front of the TV waiting to see
the dog that he knows is in the commercial.
Mr. Bean is a local celebrity. When we are out walking,
his personality and good looks stop residents and tour-
ists alike, so they can love on and pet him. He’s a major
hit at the care home too, where he takes his pup-ular-
ity in stride. One has to wonder if Mr. Bean paws-ibly
thinks that he is a TV movie star too?
TIPS:
• “Researchers have found that second-hand smoke
is harmful to pets,” said Janetta Overholser, president of
the Humane Society of Cottage Grove. “Exposure to to-
bacco smoke is associated with certain cancers, allergies,
eye and skin diseases and respiratory problems in our
pets. One reason cats are so susceptible to second-hand
smoke is because of their grooming habits. Cats con-
stantly lick themselves while grooming, therefore they
lick up the cancer-causing carcinogens that accumulate
on their fur.” https://www.facebook.com/humanesoci-
etycg.
• Fleas use animals’ armpits as nesting areas. Regular-
ly trimming underarm fur prevents masses of knotted
fur later. Always put your fingers, or a metal comb, next
to the pet’s skin when cutting a fur ball and place the
scissors on top of your fingers/comb to prevent clipping
their skin.
• Donations needed at most pet shelters: Food, beds,
leashes, toys, towels, your time or finances. Also, cook-
ies, chocolate or tea for the workers and volunteers are
greatly appreciated! Check their websites for their other
needs.
Share your fur-avorite pet memory or adventure at
angelscribe@msn.com. Visit Pet Tips ‘n’ Tales on
Facebook at/www.facebook.com/PetTipsandTales
Humane Society for Neuter/Spay Assistance Program. 541-
942-2789