Zucchini Muffins

These are my favorite muffins ever! I'm so excited to share them with you!

My Mom used to make these when I was a kid and I was always so exited about them. When I got older and went to college she sent me care packages full of these. As soon as they arrived my roommates and I devoured them. After I hid half of them and stashed them for myself.

Just kidding on that one guys.

Kind of...

Speaking of roommates, this was one of them! She still comes around when she gets word of zucchini muffins.

She brought her adorable little son with her to spread the muffins on to the next generation. I think he liked them.

Zucchini Muffins

3 eggs

1 cup white sugar

1 cup brown sugar

1 tsp vanilla

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

½ tsp salt

1 tbsp cinnamon

½ tsp ginger

¼ tsp ground cloves

1 ½ cups all-purpose flour

1 ½ cups whole-wheat flour

3 cups shredded zucchini

Preheat the oven to 350. Mix together the eggs and sugar in a large bowl. Add the vanilla. In a separate bowl, combine, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, cloves and flour. Add the dry ingredients to the wet and mix until combined. Add the zucchini and mix until combined. Pour the batter into greased muffin tins or muffin cups. Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the muffins in the middle of the pan comes out clean.

Enjoy!

 

Stuffed Zucchini

I have to confess something. As much as I like kale and chard, I'm starting to get a little sick of it. I mean, we've gotten at least one of these leafy greens (usually both) in our CSA share since we started back in June. That's a lot of greens. And I'm running out of ways to cook them. Cream, braise, sautee. Don't get me wrong, they're delicious, but what else do you do??


Well, you know what I do? I steal some pretty awesome ideas from my friends. And I mean steal in the nicest possible way. You could say I get "inspired" but really it's just plain old thievery. My friend Kaanan (see the About page, she's been here before...) is also part of the same CSA, so we tend to compare what we've been eating a lot. She made these delicious stuffed zucchini and showed me a picture she'd taken and folks, I was "inspired" right away. So I ran home and whipped up what I could gather from her description and the picture and threw in some extra ingredients I found hiding in my kitchen that I thought would make this super tasty. They were great!



Stuffed Zucchini
"Inspired" by Kaanan's Stuffed Zucchini

2 medium Zucchini
3 stalks kale
2 stalks chard
1 small onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 tsp salt
black pepper
1 tsp balsamic vinegar
1 cup Swiss cheese, grated

Preheat the oven to 350. Place zucchini on a baking sheet and bake for about 10 minutes, until slightly soft. Remove from the oven and let cool. When cool, cut in half lengthwise and scoop out the inner zucchini flesh. Chop the zucchini innards roughly. Set the zucchini shells aside.

Meanwhile, tear kale and chard into bite sized pieces and place in a salad spinner. Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a saute pan over medium heat. Cook onions and garlic until soft, about 4 minutes. Turn heat to medium low and add kale and chard and cook until wilted. Add salt and pepper and balsamic vinegar. Add zucchini pieces to the pan and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and add 1/2 cup swiss cheese. Stir to combine.

Divide the chard and kale mixture evenly among the 4 zucchini shells and sprinkle with remaining swiss cheese. Return to oven to cook for about 7-8 minutes, until cheese is melted and zucchini are heated through. Serve immediately.

Enjoy!