Backyard Poultry Forum

Hey gang,

This is more a Q about what to do post-gardening and for the chefs of you out there.

I am sure anyone who has grown Zucchinis knows that they can be small one day and if you blink the next day they are bloody giants. Not to mention when they are chook poop fed like mine

Anyway, went away for a few days and came back to a 2.5kg and 2kg zucchini that got way from me. I usually only let them get to about 0.5kg as it seems a nice compromise between size yet still young/tender.

So what can I cook up with these large ones? I already make plenty of zucchini slice with the smaller ones so I am looking for something that will be OK with these bigger ones and maybe a good freezer/storer recipe.

Cheers.

AJ

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Some mornings I wake up grumpy but most mornings I let her sleep in.
Just Marans

Cut them in half long ways ,Scoop out seeds then stuff with pre cooked rice or paster mix..Then bake in oven .
If its a non hybrid say your own seeds from it ..
Or give it to the chooks they love em

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http://www.zilcorp.net <-- My Web Page
http://comic.zilcorp.net/ <-- La Grenouille

Compost them - the season is still only young, .

We had a zucchini's in a veggie garden once - but only once. The just wouldn't stop producing zucchini. Day after day and like you said, nipples one day and things a kilo each the next.

We carried them down the streets in plastic bags trying to give them away and that was after we had bags and bags of zucchini's blanched and in the freezer. We had to toss out other good frozen foods to make way for the bloody zucchinis. It was like the march of the lemmings, the way they just kept coming.

Missus Chooky would stand at the back door and scream at the Zucchini garden "Die you (expletive)s" and roundup only seemed to make them hurredly produce more bloody zucchinis.

It was the frosts starting in late April that finally stopped them.
Compost them now before they take over your life !!!

Mike

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Retired Now. Have moved and now officially a Tuross Head resident.

stuff them as pete says, I stuff mine with a mince mix or I cut them into about 1-1.5 cm thick slices, fry them with bacon ,onion, garlic and tomato, usually have plenty of tomatoes at the same time as the zucchini--

I also cut the flesh into cubes about 2 cm square and bake them(and potato, pumpkin and sweet potato) with a light coating of olive oil and some seasoning----

I make the zucchini slice too,but you already do that

compost bin or chooks will take care of surplus

cheers pam

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JAPS ARE REAL CHOOKS (DON'T BELIEVE THE KNOCKERS)

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MONEY can't buy happiness....but it can buy CHOOKS, and that's pretty much the same thing

I'm with Mike - we grew them last year and I was so sick of b****y zucchini by the end of it I threatened my loved one with his life if he planted another one this year....so what's out in the garden now? B****y pumpkin. Agghh

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http://www.zilcorp.net <-- My Web Page
http://comic.zilcorp.net/ <-- La Grenouille

Jacqui
On the assumption that the pumpkins are Queensland Blue's and not some woosy butternut variety, you can just toss them on the hot iron roof of the garden shed and let them grow bones until you are ready to cook them.

Mind you, I quite like pumpkin in all forms and my mother very cunningly made them special by mashing them into mashed potato. But, she only did that for "special" occasions making us deluded young raw prawns think that it was some exotic treat.

Sadly, fifty years later, the delusion still works. My mother has gone but pumpkinised mashed potato is still a treat.

Mike

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Retired Now. Have moved and now officially a Tuross Head resident.

MMMMMMMMMMM,
slice the Zuch into slices, lightly salt, and then cook with potato slices and onions on the barbie with olive oil, serve with your favourite burnt meat offering.
Warning the zuch browns very quickly.
cheers
Trev

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They say that you cant teach an old dog new tricks, It is a good thing that people aren't dogs!

My gran used to do that for us too...always with silverside and white sauce. Yum. (and broad beans she grew out the back which I absolutely hated as a kid and now I love them!). She used to have a special name for it too but I can't remember what it is now.

I do like pumpkin...just counting the vines out the back though and am wondering HOW MUCH I like it!

Jacqui

PS Got a lovely present from a friend's mum for Christmas --- pumpkin and zucchini chutney! So there's a solution for everything, right?!

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http://www.zilcorp.net <-- My Web Page
http://comic.zilcorp.net/ <-- La Grenouille

just to let you know AJ, once a Zuccini reaches that certain largish stage, it is then known as a Zeppelin.

i am famous for growing 'Zeppelins', and they taste just as good as their smaller counterparts.

we love our Zeppelin bake, similar to above, we layer thick slices of Zep, onion, tomato etc in between salt an pepper with abit of cheese and bread crumbs on the top, whacked in the oven for 45 minutes or so... yum!
just thinking too, maybe some ham would go well as a layer also...

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http://www.zilcorp.net <-- My Web Page
http://comic.zilcorp.net/ <-- La Grenouille

Zuccini flowers are also nice. Dipped into a tempura batter and flash fried. Nice with a little chilli sauce and then you dont have to put up with all the zuccini's as well.

J

_________________
Some mornings I wake up grumpy but most mornings I let her sleep in.
Just Marans

I grew a 4kg zepplin last year.

I LOVE them.

_________________
http://www.zilcorp.net <-- My Web Page
http://comic.zilcorp.net/ <-- La Grenouille

We always end up with far more zuccs than we can eat fresh so I make zucchini cakes and freeze them for the school and work lunches. If anyone wants the recipe let me know.happy New Year everyone.

_________________
http://www.zilcorp.net <-- My Web Page
http://comic.zilcorp.net/ <-- La Grenouille

Despite my disparaging remarks earlier, I actually quite like zucchini as well, especially cooked in all the different ways.

What I dont like is zucchini for all three daily meals daily and having to toss out sides of lamb and beef to store bloodyzucchini in the freezer.

Mike

_________________
Retired Now. Have moved and now officially a Tuross Head resident.

I'm getting nervous now ... I think I have a bumper crop of zucchini coming up this year. Weeded the garden (removing most of the sprouted chookseed - although I'm leaving quite a lot of corn and wheat) and found a lot of large-leaved things, and I can't for the life of me remember what I planted .

I'm figuring the vines trying to escape are pumpkins, and the ones staying still are zucchini. If I'm very lucky, some is also squash and cucumber.

My mother makes an excellent zucchini soup, and of course you can mix it with capsicum, tomato, and eggplant to make ratatouille-with-zucchini

There's a good recipe for zucchini fritters around somewhere too - all crunchy and flavoursome. Grate 'em for the recipe, as I recall.

I well remember finding a zeppelin lurking under the leaves in a previous garden. It's amazing how they can hide like that, given a zucchini plant isn't _that_ big!! I ate it raw with cheese; it was delicious. Luckily I love raw zucchini

Actually, it might make a nice salad with carrot and sultanas and cabbage, all grated/finely chopped and tossed with some lemon/lime juice. Crowning touch; heat some oil in a saucepan and add in some mustard seeds. Slam on the lid till the seeds stop popping, then pour the hot oil over the grated veggies. Toss and serve. Amazingly moreish.

_________________
http://www.zilcorp.net <-- My Web Page
http://comic.zilcorp.net/ <-- La Grenouille