Last of the Summer Zucchini

I love zucchini. Alas, it is almost gone. So here are a few fun ways to use it up, most of which freeze well.

From Mary Hunt's Everyday Cheapskate column, here are her recipes for zucchini brownies and zucchini curry soup. I've altered them to be dairy free, of course.

Mary Hunt's Zucchini Brownies (dairy and egg free!)

1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 1/2 cups white sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups grated zucchini (Finely grated)
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Frosting:
6 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 cup dairy-free margarine
2 cups confectioners’ sugar
1/4 cup plain soy milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour a 9x13-inch baking pan. In a large bowl, mix together the oil, sugar and 2 teaspoons vanilla until well blended. Combine the flour, 1/2 cup cocoa, baking soda and salt. Stir into the sugar mixture. Fold in the zucchini and walnuts. Spread evenly into the prepared pan. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes until brownies spring back when touched.

To make the frosting, melt the margarine and stir in 6 tablespoons cocoa. Set aside to cool. In a medium bowl, blend together the confectioners’ sugar, soy milk and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla. Stir in the cocoa mixture. Spread over cooled brownies before cutting into squares. Yield: 24 brownies.

Nowheymama note: The brownies look a little weird, consistency wise because they have no egg in them. But they turn out just fine.

Mary Hunt's Zucchini Curry Soup

1 tablespoon dairy-free margarine
1 medium onion, chopped, about 1/2 cup
1 small clove garlic, minced
1 small carrot, shredded
2 medium zucchini, sliced or chopped, about 1 1/2 to 2 pounds
2 apples, peeled, diced
4 cups chicken broth
2 1/2 teaspoons curry powder, or to taste
salt, to taste

In a large saucepan, melt the dairy-free margarine over low heat. Sauté the onion, garlic and carrot slowly until onion begins to yellow. Add zucchini, diced apples, chicken broth and curry powder. Boil for 2 minutes.

Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 20 minutes. Purée the hot soup by transferring to the blender in small batches. Return to the saucepan and add salt and pepper to taste. Servings: 4 to 6.

Nowheymama note: I might add more apple next time to make the soup even more kid-friendly. But the kids did eat it. Also, I just blended the soup in the pot with my immersion blender.

Have you been to the Animal, Vegetable, Miracle site? I have, and I cannot wait to get this book. (Perhaps for a birthday present....) Anyway, some of the recipes from the book are online, including one for Zucchini Chocolate Chip Cookies. Just use dairy-free margarine instead of butter and dairy-free chocolate chips, and you are all set!

Finally, the neighbor who gave me my zucchini bread recipe recommended covering the bread with foil for part of the baking time so that the top doesn't dry out. Hope that helps, Mommy Daisy!

The soup, cookies, and bread all freeze well. I haven't tried freezing the brownies yet. If I did, I would probably freeze them unfrosted and frost them after they thawed.