Late-season farm stand yields zucchini for delightful mini-muffins

Oh boy, oh boy, we found a roadside farm stand still open and still offering fall veggies! Sometimes this late in the year we end up disappointed when we go on a hunt for outdoor produce stands, but the one to which we were directed in rural Oklahoma (where we traveled for Hubby's physical exam that I mentioned last week) was well-stocked and ready for business.

I jumped for joy when I saw zucchini on the produce table. Now I could make my Carrot-Zucchini Mini-Muffins that always smell so autumn-y when they're in the oven. The recipe was from a Family Circle magazine of several years back. I love the fact that these muffins are bite-sized and taste wonderful by themselves or with some of my homemade peach preserves that I put up during the summer.

I've mentioned this before, but it's worth repeating about a simple solution to recipes calling for buttermilk: any recipe calling for buttermilk has an easy substitution. In this case put 3 teaspoons vinegar in a one-cup measuring cup; then fill the remainder of the cup with skim milk. Let this stand for five minutes. You can forget about having to purchase buttermilk which has a high fat content and then be stuck with the remainder sitting around in the refrigerator unused.

We enjoyed these as a little "extra" with our breakfast cereal in the mornings, but they also would be great as an "extra" (healthy) side dish with a Thanksgiving meal. Thank you, little Oklahoma roadside stand, for being available to us with this fresh produce just before closing-down time for winter. Makes us eager for spring when the whole cycle starts up again.

Carrot-Zucchini Mini-Muffins

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt (or salt substitute)

1 large egg (or 1/4 cup egg substitute)

1 cup buttermilk (or 3 teaspoons white vinegar mixed with the rest of the cup filled with

skim milk)

1/2 cup canola oil

1/2 cup packed light-brown sugar (or 1/4 cup brown-sugar substitute)

1 small zucchini, shredded (1 cup)

2 medium carrots, peeled and shredded (1 cup)

1/2 cup pecans

2 tablespoons chopped pecans for topping

Heat oven to 375 degrees. With nonstick cooking spray, coat just the bottoms of three mini-muffin pans. In a large bowl whisk together both flours, baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt. In medium-sized bowl, whisk egg, buttermilk, oil, and sugar until blended. Stir in zucchini, carrots, and nuts. Make a well in flour mixture; pour in egg mixture. Stir until dry ingredients are just moistened. Into each cup spoon a rounded tablespoon of batter. Sprinkle tops with chopped pecans. Bake at 375 degrees for 12 to 15 minutes until toothpick emerges clean. Cool pans on rack for 5 minutes. Remove muffins; cool on rack. Makes 36 mini muffins.

That healthy veggie, zucchini, wins kudos in entree for sultry summer evening

My hubby has only a few, minor pet peeves. These include—

• finding used tissue stuffed under my pillows when he makes the bed;

• finding dishes stacked in front of his coffeemaker, thus barring easy access to his java;

• finding that someone has taken out the kitchen trash without fitting a fresh trash bag onto the waste can;

• being unable to locate a pen or pencil when he's on the telephone and needs to scribble something;

• running out of paper goods (i.e., finding the paper-towel holder empty without any spares).

(He's easily pleased, don't you think? And you'll notice I didn't even mention the ubiquitous direction-of-the-toilet-paper thingy. He's cool on that one.)

But one irritation can spur him to a major meltdown. His PETTEST PEEVE of all has nothing to do with the genre of the above irritations: it's finding the kitchen oven on with me baking something on a hot summer day. Hubby believes this is the highest waste of energy; it heats up the house and causes the air-conditioner to pump more. Thus it drives up the fuel bill. He believes a ban should be enacted on all summer baking and that we should turn to more energy-conserving types of food preparation. (Of course that would eliminate the peach cobblers and peach muffins and all the other peach baked goodies I rhapsodized over yesterday, wouldn't it?)

His penchant for the un-oven baked caused him to be ecstatic over a meal one night this week; it had Sauteed Zucchini and Fettuccine as its main course. (Since our Texas temps already are nearing the triple digits, concern about heating up the kitchen makes excellent sense.)

From our May visit to the Chickasaw farmer's market we had just a handful of items unused; a tad bit of zucchini was one of them, but that tad was plenty for a recipe I'd been wanting to try. Sauteed Zucchini and Fettuccine (which I borrowed from Family Circle magazine) called for only two large zucchini, trimmed and shredded.

This light summer meal was absolutely perfect for a sultry summer evening. The toasted pine nuts (toast them in a countertop toaster oven to avoid the forbidden "oven-baking") add a perfect touch and make the pasta dish feel substantial. Parmesan cheese lends texture and, of course, flavor. We served it as an entree alongside a stir-fried vegetable medley dish (more on that tomorrow). As my hubby remarked about the meatless main course of Sauteed Zucchini and Fettuccine, "This was enough--very filling."

He can expect to see more of it on the table before the summer ends. That giant vegetable plant in the corner of his garden--the plant he thought was yellow squash? Turns out to be zucchini, with tiny zucchinis bursting forth all throughout its massive leaves.

If I only could find a way to "un-bake" zucchini muffins. My cousin Jana's recipe in my new cookbook, Way Back in the Country Garden, makes the best use ever of that healthy vegetable.

Sauteed Zucchini and Fettuccini

8 ounces fettuccini pasta

4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

2 tablespoon minced garlic

2 large zucchini (1 pound total), trimmed and shredded

1/2 cup pine nuts, toasted

3/4 teaspoon salt (we used salt substitute)

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice

2 ounces shaved Parmesan cheese

Cook fettuccini according to package directions. Drain and place in a large serving bowl. Heat a large nonstick skillet over high heat until very hot. Add 2 tablespoons of the olive oil, garlic, and shredded zucchini. Saute for 1 minute. Add zucchini to pasta in bowl along with pine nuts, salt, pepper, lemon juice, and remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil; toss to combine. Sprinkle with shaved Parmesan cheese and serve immediately. Makes 4 servings.