eggs – Welcome to my backyard city homestead

I don’t know who had the bright idea of making zucchini into a cake, but they must have had a few get away from them. I think we can all relate, and I’m sure everyone has their favourite recipe. This one may have become my favourite this year, this month, this week! It is rich and delectably CHOCOLATE; light (from the eggs and leavening) and moist (from the zucchini). The perfect combination of everything.

You don’t have to be a visionary to know that THIS

can be THIS:

but it does require a little bit of previous experience because they don’t look like they should belong together. *Don’t waste small zucchini by making them into dessert, eat those fresh out of hand, in a salad or grilled with a little bit of parmesan on them. Baking is reserved for the ones that get too big.

Double Rich Chocolate Zucchini Cake

Begin by peeling your (too big) zucchini, then cut into manageable pieces and shred. Measure out 4 cups shredded zucchini and set aside. If you only have 3 cups go for it anyway, but don’t use more than 4 cups – there’s such thing as too much of a good thing.
Preheat your oven to 350 F.
Lightly butter a 9×13 pan or two loaf pans. I also add a sheet of parchment paper to the bottom.

Sift together in a large mixing bowl the following:
2 cups flour
1 cup cocoa (I know it seems like a lot, trust me – its okay)
1 scant teaspoon baking soda
1 heaping teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
Ensure all are thoroughly blended.

In another bowl, beat together:
5 eggs
Add 1 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar and mix well.
Add 1/2 cup plain yogurt (or sour cream)
1 Tablespoon vanilla
1/2 cup vegetable oil
Mix well.

Pour liquid ingredients into dry ingredients. And mix by hand to make sure all flour is moistened. Add shredded zucchini and stir to combine.

Add 1 + 1/2 cup REAL chocolate chips and stir in.
I also add sunflower seeds (I can’t help it).

Pour into your prepared pans. I use a 9×13 glass baking dish.
* optional: Sprinkle another 1/2 cup REAL chocolate chips over top.

Place on the middle rack of your oven.
Set the timer for 20 minutes, then turn your cake or loaf pans around and bake for another 20 minutes. Check again and gently touch the middle of your cake. If it feels firm and bounces back a little, then test with a toothpick for doneness. If the toothpick comes out clean then remove from the oven and let it cool in the pan on a rack. Don’t rush it. Let it bake for a little longer if needed. Check every five minutes. The loaf pans will take longer because they’re deeper. Don’t under cook, but don’t over cook either. Once its firm to the touch, be sure to test with a toothpick.

Good Ol’ Fashioned Zucchini Cake with Raisins

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F
Sift together and set aside:
2 cups flour
1T cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder

beat 3 large eggs
add 1 cup sugar
1 cup oil
1 teaspoon vanilla
mix well.

Add 2 cups shredded zucchini and mix to thoroughly combine
Add sifted dry ingredients and stir to combine.
Fold in 1/2 cup raisins

Pour batter into buttered 9×13 baking pan and place in middle of hot oven. Bake 40-45 minutes or until centre bounces back when lightly pressed. Insert toothpick as a final check. When it comes out clean, cake is done.
Remove from heat and allow to cool in pan.

If you decide to frost it, make a wonderful cream cheese icing with
8 ounces cream cheese – beat till smooth with hand mixer
slowly add 2 cups icing sugar beating all along to avoid lumps.
Add a tablespoon of yogurt, sour cream or milk if needed to keep the icing from being too dry.
Spread over cake after its fully cooled.
Serve in cake pan.

Enjoy!

Which one is better? I am partial to the plain zucchini cake with raisins; it tastes like Sunday dinner dessert should. But the chocolate is extra special, so you have to have both in your life for different times.

Warmly,

Cindy Suelzle

Sometimes its simply a matter of looking OUTSIDE the proverbial box. This quick quiche loaded with protein and vegetables is eaten like a pizza. I call it QUICHE PIZZA, and it is a delicious, nutritious dinner that you hope to have leftovers of so you can eat it for lunch again tomorrow! It’s just as good cold.

This recipe serves four people with two eggs each. I use a family sized pie plate and two tortillas. If you want to make less in a smaller pie plate, just adjust accordingly. Shoot for two eggs per person, and the rest is up to you.

The vegetables:
Use what you have on hand. I like to use chopped onions, red peppers, broccoli, mushrooms, and of course spinach. I add spinach to almost everything it seems. These are vegetables I always have on hand because I mostly use freeze dried vegetables – but if you have fresh out of your garden, AWESOME! Use those.

ingredients:
8 eggs
1 cup cottage cheese, beaten into the egg mixture
2 large tortillas
seasoning salt of your choice
assorted vegetables, suggested: diced red peppers, chopped onion, sliced mushrooms, broccoli flowerets, spinach
shredded cheddar or blend of cheddar and pepper jack

directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Beat eggs till frothy
Add cottage cheese and beat it into eggs till well blended
Arrange tortillas in a large pie plate. Cut the 2nd one into half or even quarters to arrange in pie plate making sure all of the plate is covered.
Pour egg mixture in.
Assuming you’re using the same vegetables I use, begin by arranging about 1/2 – 3/4 cup mushroom slices in the bottom of the egg mixture.
Sprinkle about 1/4 cup chopped onions on top of them.
Sprinkle about 3/4 cup red pepper slices over top of the onions.
Arrange small broccoli flowerets in some empty places between the red peppers.
Sprinkle a layer of spinach on top of everything else. I put quite a bit on (about a cup of freeze dried spinach)
If using freeze dried vegetables, use a fork to gently submerge all vegetables into the egg mixture so that they’re moistened by it.
Season with salt and pepper.
Add a layer of shredded cheese. Be generous. 1-2 cups.

Place into heated oven in the middle rack, and set the timer for 30 minutes.
After 30 minutes test the middle to see that it is no longer liquid – ‘jiggly’.
If it needs a few more minutes, lower the heat to 325 and lay a sheet of aluminum over top to prevent the tortilla crust from over cooking.

Watch it carefully at this point so that you don’t over cook it. When the center is firm, remove from oven and let the ‘pizza’ rest on a rack for 10-15 minutes.

Remove from pan and cut into wedges as for a pizza. Serve. Enjoy.
You can eat it with your hands, and it’s pizza so DO.

Here’s my Secret: When I make this quiche pizza (or anything similar to it), unless I have fresh garden vegetables, I use freeze dried vegetables. But not just any freeze dried vegetables. After trying many different brands over the years, I now use Thrive Life freeze dried vegetables. There’s a good reason for that, and its a very important one to me (actually a few good reasons, but I’ll tell you five of them).

1. Thrive Life guarantees that their produce is picked ripe (at the peak of what nature intended that fruit or vegetable to be), AND guarantees that in less than six hours from harvest (usually two to four hours), that produce is washed peeled, chopped and flash frozen! Locking in the colour, texture, taste and ALL the natural goodness. In that frozen state (-40 degrees Celsius), it is transferred to a facility where it has all the remaining moisture removed without it thawing. That’s the second step in the two-step process of freeze drying.

2. Thrive Life fruits and vegetables are as organic as you can get without them being ‘certified’ organic. They monitor the process of planting, growing, harvesting, freeze drying and packaging from beginning to end. It’s part of what they call their NUTRILOCK Guarantee and its something they take very seriously.

3. Because of this attention to detail, Thrive Life foods are the BEST in the world and that is no empty claim. They have always been the best, but as of the beginning of 2024, they are also the biggest freeze dried company in the world. They literally are “Fresher-than-Fresh”, or what we frequently refer to as ‘fresh’ – the produce in our grocery stores, which are picked green if possible and are subjected to long travel times to get to us – anything but ‘fresh’.

4. Thrive Life freeze dried food has a 25 year shelf life, making it the most dependable, shelf stable, nutritious food on the market – the perfect choice for anyone interested in emergency preparedness, and long term food storage. So that means I always have fruits and vegetables in the pantry, ready any time I might decide I’d like to have spinach in my homemade quiche, or cheese on a homemade quiche, or mangoes in our yogurt, or blueberries on top of cereal or . . . . . well, the list is endless. And its always there because once you open that can, you can count on it being perfectly good for about a year afterward.

5. The other important reason I use Thrive Life freeze dried food is the convenience. Those vegetables are already washed and chopped. I just sprinkle the onions from the can, distribute the sliced mushrooms or red peppers from the can, add a layer of spinach from the can. It’s quick and easy. And guess what else? They even have freeze dried eggs! I literally had this recipe ready to go into the oven in less that ten minutes. With zero mess!

There now you have it. My secret. How I do things. And make no mistake – I’m all about down home goodness, and doing things from scratch. These are not ‘processed foods’. These are CLEAN, WHOLE FOODS and nothing but. Making dinner from scratch still counts even when you’re using freeze dried food. Don’t let anyone tell you different.

I hope you’ll try this easy recipe for a great dinner, lunch or brunch. Whether you use garden fresh, freeze dried or a mixture of both as I do much of the time.

Let me know what you think.

Warmly,

Cindy Suelzle

Tag: eggs

Two Delicious Zucchini Cakes that belong in your recipes

Double Rich Chocolate Zucchini Cake

is it Pizza? or is it Quiche?