Zucchinis grow by the ton this time of the year. If you aren’t gifting your neighbors, family, and friends with this hearty squash from your own garden, someone is gifting you. The awesome thing about zucchini is that it is completely versatile. Below are zucchini recipes for a three-course dinner.
First Course:
Happy Hummus, from the Organic Avenue recipe book
One medium zucchini
1 c sunflower seeds
1/2 c tahini
1/4 c lemon juice
2 tb olive oil
1 garlic clove
ts salt
1/4 t cayenne
fresh herbs
Throw everything in the blender. Enjoy with veggies and crackers.
Entrée Course:
Zucchini Pasta with Raw Meatless bolognaise
pasta:
2 medium zucchini
2 tb lemons juice
salt
meatless meat:
1 c sunflower seeds
1/2 c almond butter
4 sundried tomatoes, soaked
handful of basil
1/4 c nutritional yeast
1 garlic clove
1 ts oregano
1 ts thyme
pinch of salt
1 ts olive oil
sauce:
4 medium tomatoes, or 1 28 oz can of tomatoes
1/4 c soaked sundried tomatoes
1 red bell pepper, stemmed and seeded
3 garlic cloves
1/2 white onion
handful of basil
tb oregano
tb cumin
pinch of salt
With a spiralizer or potato peeler, or julianne peeler, turn zucchini in to pasta. Toss with lemon juice and salt, and set aside.
Throw all of the “meat” ingredients in a high-speed blender or food processor. Set aside in a bowl.
Combine sauce ingredients in a high-speed blender until the sauce is smooth.
Dry off zucchini with paper towels. Add sauce, “meat”, and toss.
Dessert Course:
Chocolate Zucchini Spice Cake, adapted from “Ripe Around Here,” by Jae Steele
3 c spelt flour
2 c coconut sugar
3/4 c cocoa powder
1 tb cinnamon
2 ts nutmeg
2 ts ground cloves
2 ts black pepper
2 ts baking soda
2 ts salt
2 c grated zucchini (I throw it in the blender)
1 1/2 c non-dairy milk
3/4 c coconut oil or sunflower oil
1 tb vanilla extracts
3 tb apple cider vinegar
ganache:
1 c non-dairy chocolate
1/2 ts nutmeg
1 tb coconut oil
Preheat the oven to 375. Oil a Bundt pan. Combine dry ingredients. Zucchini and milk in a blender until smooth. Add oil and vanilla. Place in a bowl, and fold dry in dry ingredients. Fold in vinegar last. Pour in to pan, and bake for 40 minutes, or until just baked through. Cool.
Remove cake from pan. Melt chocolate and coconut oil with nutmeg in a pan just until chocolate is half melted. Stir together away from the hot burner until ingredients are melted together. Drizzle on cake.
Also by Jessica Riley-Norton: Raw Vegan Macaroons
Self-Love: 3 Practices to Love Your Body
__
Photo: Jessica Riley-Norton