Zucchini, Zucchini, Everywhere!

If you are like most gardeners, you probably spell it wrong (I know I do!) and you have had to move out of your house to accommodate all the zucchinis that your garden has produced. Seriously, I only plant two plants and I still have so much frickin zucchini I could probably feed a third world nation. You know, that's not such a bad idea. Why don't these countries grow zucchini?

Short of shipping the excess to food pantries or developing countries, what ARE you going to do with it all?

Well, there's more to zucchini cuisine than bread. I have quite a few recipes for zucchini that I simply LOVE! And of course, I am always looking out for new ones to try. So last night, when I bought the most amazing recipe book EVER!!! I decided I just had to try this easy Thyme and Zucchini Fritter recipe.

Of course, I almost always just use a recipe as a guideline, so the following is how I made them and will not exactly correspond with the recipe in the book.

In a medium sized bowl beat together two eggs into a scant cup of flour. When this is mixed thoroughly, sprinkle baking powder over the top of the batter, just enough to dust it. Mix this in as well. Mix in enough milk so that the batter will just barely run from your mixing utensil. This is about 1/4-1/3 cup. Mix in about 2-3 teaspoons of dried thyme. You can also use fresh if you were lucky enough to remember to grow it this year. Salt and pepper to your taste.

Get one of those green bad-boys from your garden. Wash it if you want. I don't. I like to innoculate my immune system on a regular basis to prepare for bio-warfare. Cut the ends off, and start grating. I think I used about two cups. They suggested to grate it over a paper towel to remove some of the moisture. That's a really good idea, especially since you will be frying these. I use Viva. It's the best towel on the market! Mix the grated zucchini into the batter.

You need a frying pan and some oil. I use a cast iron skillet. I love the way that cast iron cooks food. It just adds something extra to the food that I can't explain. It makes pancakes and hashbrowns perfectly. And it comes in handy as a weapon if your dog is broke.

I splurge on extra virgin olive oil. You only live once! Use a couple of tablespoons.

Heat the pan first on medium heat. I learned years ago that the key to non-stick (save for those cancer causing teflon thingies) is cold oil on a hot pan. I don't really know if this is true, but what the hell. Do it anyway.

Once the oil is heated enough, scoop some of the batter into the pan and spread out slightly. You can put a couple of these in the pan at a time. I got three in at a time. Fry each side until they are golden brown and there is no more raw batter coming out the sides.

I served these warm with real mayonaise. I did try them with Miracle Whip too, and that was good as well. I would have made my own garlic mayonaise, but I was way too eager to try these while they were still warm and I hadn't thought to make it ahead of time.

The verdict? Nummy! I would definitely make these again.