Zucchini

Dear Mom,

If you listen carefully, you can hear cooks across the state flipping through cookbooks, muttering softly as they search for something new to do with the zucchini their neighbors gave them.

I am blessed to have the Zucchini Queen as my neighbor. Our gardens are the halfway point between our houses and a common gathering place. ZQ manages to raise mammoth zucchinis which seem to appear overnight, or manage to stay hidden in the zucchini foliage until their weight and length makes hiding impossible. ZQ and I have had many occasions to be doubled over in laughter- the kind that leaves your cheeks aching from smiling so big- over our gardens and her zucchini discoveries. We've also been known to share a few laughs on the porch over a bucket of frozen cosmos, but I won't be sharing those stories here.

This is a typical zucchini for ZQ, and I have cleverly cropped part of her out of the picture to protect her identity. I wouldn't want her stalked by the folks from Burpee or hounded by Food Network papparazzi.

For all those cooks looking for something to do with their zucchini that isn't zucchini bread, I offer, as a public service, this zucchini recipe.

Zucchini Queen Patties

makes 6-8 patties

3 1/2 c. grated zucchini

3 T. onion (I omitted the onion when I made these for the sake of My Hero's stomach and they were still good, but would probably be better with the onion)

2 T. fresh parsley, minced

1/3 c. grated Parmesan cheese- take the time and grate the cheese yourself, it makes a difference!!!

1 c. soft bread crumbs

1 t. salt

1/2 t. pepper

2 eggs, beaten

3/4 c. dry bread crumbs (I used the Italian seasoned dry bread crumbs)

1/2 c. butter

Squeeze as much juice out of the grated zucchini as you can and combine with all the ingredients except for the dry bread crumbs and the butter. Shape into patties and coat with dry bread crumbs. Place on greased baking sheets (or silpats if you have them) and put a pat of butter on top of each patty. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes, until golden.

Love,

Kim