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| Remember the Big Zucchini? |
Remember the big zucchini that was picked last week, on Wednesday? The huge one at the back? I had been planning to make something with it, but, I had to wait until my daughter was free. It was a bit of an experiment and my daughter was a bit dubious about what I planned to make, but, she was willing to give it a try.
Step one was to weigh it - it weighed in at 5 lbs.! But, by the time she trimmed the ends and removed the seeds at my insistence (she didn't think the seeds needed to be removed), it weighed in at 4.5 lbs. Then, it was processed in the blender (I don't have a food processor) with a cup of vinegar and turned into this:
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| Ground Zucchini |
Isn't it a pretty color?
Then, daughter and I peeled some fresh ginger and garlic and she ground them up in the blender along with chili flakes, mustard seeds with another cup of vinegar, which was added to the ground zucchini, along with more vinegar, salt, and sugar and cooked down (while stirring all the while) until it turned into this:
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| Zucchini Chutney! |
The color is due to all the red chili flakes and brown mustard seeds (4 oz. of each). It made eight pint sized (16 oz.) jars of deliciously spicy zucchini chutney! There was a tiny bit leftover which daughter and I had with our dinner, tonight. My daughter, who had her doubts about zucchini chutney when I first mentioned it to her, now agrees that it makes a wonderful chutney!
I processed the jars of chutney in a water bath for 10 minutes, just to be on the safe side. I used my tomato chutney recipe which is the one I used for making peach chutney, too. It is my all-purpose chutney recipe! No, the chutney doesn't taste like zucchini! It tastes like chutney - spicy, sweet, and tangy from the vinegar.
We still have more zucchini (daughter picked three more, today!) and more canning jars! There might be another batch of chutney being made in another week or two!
It has been another good day. I took it fairly easy during the day, sewing and watching videos, but, I also brought in the trash cans, ran the dishwasher, helped with the chutney making (my daughter did most of the work), and walked around the front garden a couple of times. Guess who was in the garden, today?
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| Brown Bunny |
I call him "Little Bunny Foo Foo" after the children's song by that title.
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| Well camouflaged in my brown front garden! |
Today, I am grateful for:
- Another pain-free day
- Zucchini chutney experiment worked well
- Daughter's help with the chutney making
- Another way to preserve the zucchini harvest
- Phone chats with family (half-sister) and friends (R, neighbor T)
Today's joyful activity was making chutney with my daughter.
Plans for tomorrow include M's visit to tend to the garden.
How was your Tuesday? What are your plans for tomorrow?
We call those huge zucchini "vegetable marrows" in the uk
ReplyDeleteYes, that's what I've heard. :) Over here, it's zucchini (or, sometimes, Italian squash), no matter the size. :)
DeleteSince zucchini is fairly neutral in taste, it is very versatile--and you are certainly proving that with your varied ways of preparing it. Looking forward to see what you have up your sleeve next.
ReplyDeleteI am finding that the internet is full of zucchini recipes! :D I do have a couple of recipes I want to try, next. But, what I really need are ways to preserve the harvest to eat later in the year - I am not much of a relish/pickle person, so chutney works out well. I will also try to freeze some (provided I have room in the freezer!)
DeleteWhat a clever use of the zucchini! I never would have thought of chutney!
ReplyDeleteLittle bunny foo foo is so cute!
Little chipmunk poo poo who lives in my yard is not so cute. He and his family have successfully eaten the tops of all my radishes, my lettuce and everything but the cayenne peppers in the upper garden.
Oops! Sorry to hear about the damage done to your garden by little chipmunk poo poo and family! Time for a visit by your neighbor's cat, maybe?
DeleteBy the way, if you do a search for green bean chutney, you will find several recipe for a British version of chutney (their chutneys are a little different from what I call chutney). But, since you are inundated with green beans, you might like to give it a try. :)
Wow, I can see a zucchini cookbook "Blessed with Zucchini" more and more possible! That chutney must be so delicious.
ReplyDeleteI do love the photos of the little "Bunny Foo Foo". He is quite adorable.
Our wildlife visitors at the moment consist of two chipmunks and one squirrel. One chipmunk is smart, he has figured out that if he removes the peanuts from their shells (making a dreadful mess on the porch) he can get more into his pouches!
We are still getting rain, heavy rain in the night and it has just started raining again. Just as well I put the laundry into the dryer.
Oh, I like the idea of a "Blessed with Zucchini" cookbook by Bless! :D The chutney turned out really well! I wonder if the next recipe I want to try will be as good, but, we shall find out!
DeleteLittle Bunny Foo Foo seems quite tame! He let me get quite close to him and twitched his nose at me when I asked him what he was doing in my garden! :D
Clever chipmunk!
Glad you are getting rain; you are not having that heatwave I've been reading about in the news, are you?
Well I wasn't expecting zucchini chutney! Glad to hear it worked out for you.
ReplyDeleteI'm still working my way through all the decluttering, picking out the things I can advertise on eBay or one of the local selling sites. C will be here later to help me sort out all the photography equipment.
The zucchini chutney was a success! We will make another batch of it, soon. I am hoping my next experiment will be as successful!
DeleteYou are having a very productive day! I'm cheering you on as you continue to declutter. :)
So glad you had another good day. That little bun bun is so cute! It's great that the chutney worked out well with as many zucchinis as you've been harvesting, perfect way to preserve it.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Martha. Yes, the bunny is cute, isn't it? I am so glad the chutney came out as well as it did! We love chutney and can go through a jar pretty quickly! I think we'll also make a few smaller (half pint) jars to give as gifts, this holiday season. :)
DeleteZucchini chutney! I'd like to make some one day. I love chutney. :)
ReplyDeleteCan you dehydrate zucchini?
The chutney came out really well! I think you will like it. Yes, you can dehydrate zucchini - I read up on it. Easier to do if you have a dehydrator, which I don't. It can be done in the oven, too, but, it takes longer and it means having to keep the oven door ajar...it sounds like a bit more work than what I want to do.
DeleteThat zucchini chutney sounds delicious! Now I have two great ideas (including the roti) for when the zucchini harvest starts here! Thank you. Best, Celie
ReplyDeleteThe zucchini chutney was a success! Glad to have given you two ideas for when your zucchini harvest starts! Today, we had sliced zucchini in our lunch salad, in lieu of cucumber. :) Hope all is well with you, Celie. I am assuming you are back in your own home. Your cat (or is it cats?) must be happy to have you back! Hope your sister is doing well, too.
DeleteI should've guessed zucchini chutney but I didn't. LOL! Glad you came up with another use for your zucchini. I'm sure you and your daughter will enjoy it. And I know you're already planning on gifting some. So you hit your head when you fainted? Thus the MRI? Thanks for clearing that up. I'm glad it wasn't a stroke, and just dehydration. Scary nonetheless. I did make zucchini tonight for dinner and it was so good. And for sure the green chile added to the taste. Denise
ReplyDeleteYes, I hit my head when I fainted - I wrote about it here:
Deletehttps://bless2cents.blogspot.com/2016/12/still-climbing-mountain.html
The MRI was to make sure everything was OK and thank goodness it was! :)
What a good idea to make zucchini chutney.
ReplyDeleteI need to read on and see what you've been up to.
The zucchini chutney was a success and we've made a second batch, since then! :)
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