Chocolate Zucchini Muffins

Chocolate and Zucchini. Sounds kinda weird right? That's what I thought at first. But, one of my co-workers had brought in a bunch more of her zucchini and mentioned something about a chocolate zucchini bread recipe she had seen. So, I thought I would give it a shot myself. Intead of bread though, I opted for muffins. And I also made them mini size. Since I have been working really early in the mornings, I am not usually starving when I get up. But, my body is starting to get used to it so I have been eating a small breakfast before I leave. These are perfect for me to grab before I head out the door. They are actually pretty healthy too. They are made with whole wheat flour and there are no eggs, butter, or oil. Plus, I only used 1/2 cup of sugar for the whole batch (you can use more if you want them a little on the sweeter side). It's a good way to use up some of the extra zucchini (and even a ripe banana) you might have.

Ingredients
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 cup cake flour    
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa
1 1/4 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1 banana, mashed
1/2 cup natural or organic sugar (add up to 1/2 cup more depending on how sweet you want them)
1/2 cup unsweetened organic applesauce
1/4 cup soy milk
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/4 cup shredded zucchini
1/4- 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
zest of 1 lemon          

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350F. Grease muffin pan and set aside.
2.Whisk flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and lemon zest together.
3. In another bowl, cream mashed banana with applesauce and sugar. Add in soymilk, vanilla, zucchini, and walnuts. Stir until combined.
4.Add flour mixture to the banana/zucchini mixture a little at a time until combined.
5.Spoon batter into greased muffin pan and bake 13-15 mins, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.             



Recipe source: adapted from Happy Herbivore

Zucchini-Ricotta Fritters

I had one zucchini left last week that I didn't want to go to waste and I decided I wanted to make something with it other than bread. I came across some fritter recipes and thought I'd give it a shot. I had also planned on making some baked ziti later in the week and had some ricotta on hand which was perfect for these. I was pretty pleased with the overall outcome, although some of mine did fall apart on me.

Ingredients
1/4 - 1/2 cup ricotta cheese
1 medium to large zucchini, shredded
1/4 small white onion (or 1 shallot) thinly sliced
1 large egg
6 Tbsp all-purpose flour
1 clove garlic, thinly sliced
1 1/2 tsp lemon zest
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper
Kosher salt and black  pepper
Olive oil for frying

Directions
1. In a large bowl, combine the zucchini, garlic, onions ricotta, egg, lemon zest and a dash of salt and pper. Mix together and then stir in the flour just until incorporated.

2. Line a large baking sheet with paper towels.
3.In a large skillet, heat 1/4 inch of olive oil over medium heat. Add about 2-tablespoons of zucchini batter to the hot oil for each fritter, spreading them to form 3-inch fritters. Fry turning once until browned and crispy (approx 3-4 minutes).

Drain on the paper towels and serve right away. Top with fresh parsley and lemon slices



Recipe source: adapted from Mario Batali (via foodandwine.com)