In the Kitchen with DirtDiva.

Gardens all over the US are over running with zucchini right now. Here is what I do with mine. I bake loaves of zucchini bread and vacuum seal the loaves and freeze.

Zucchini Bread

3 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
3 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp baking powder
3 eggs
2 cups white sugar
3 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup vegetable oil
3 cups grated zucchini
1 cup chopped walnuts optional
1/2 cup raisins optional optional
1/2 cup chocolate chips optional

Preheat oven to 350. Sift together flour, salt, soda, cinnamon, and baking powder. Beat eggs. Add sugar, vanilla and oil to egg and mix well. Add zucchini to egg mixture. Add dry ingredients, mixing well. Stir in nuts and raisins if desired. Pour into 2 loaf pans. Bake at 350 for 1 hour.. or until tests done. Cool on rack and then remove from pans. May be drizzled with a powdered sugar and milk glaze.

A southern staple quick and easy.
This is a sweet pickle that I use in potato salads and such or my husband and grandkids just eat them out of the jar   I also ferment kraut, vegetables and a garlic dill.


Refrigerator Bread and Butter Pickles

Ingredients

1 1/2 pounds pickling cucumbers , sliced 1/4-inch thick (about 5 1/2 cups)
1 1/2 tablespoons kosher salt
1 cup thinly sliced sweet onion
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup white vinegar
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup light brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons mustard seeds
1/2 teaspoon celery seeds
1/8 teaspoon ground turmeric

Instructions
Combine cucumbers and salt in a large, shallow bowl; cover and chill 1 1/2 hours.
Move cucumbers into a colander and rinse thoroughly under cold water. Drain well, and return cucumbers to bowl. Add onion to the bowl and toss with the cucumbers.
Combine the granulated sugar, white vinegar, apple cider vinegar, brown sugar, mustard seeds, celery seeds and ground turmeric in a medium saucepan; bring to a simmer over medium heat, stirring until the sugar dissolves.
Pour the hot vinegar mixture over cucumber mixture; let stand at room temperature 1 hour.
Cover and refrigerate 24 hours. (If you’re really impatient, though, they taste great after only a few hours!)
Store in an airtight container in refrigerator up to 3 months.

Sauerkraut???

Basic Sauerkraut



First shred your cabbage and put it in a big bowl.  There are about 12 cups of shredded cabbage in a 2 pound head.  
I measure mine by weight with a small digital scale. 

2% brine is perfect for kraut so for every 1000 grams of cabbage you add 20 grams of sea salt. So every 100 grams of cabbage you add 2 grams of sea salt. 

Massage the sea salt into the cabbage well and let it sit for about 30 minutes in the large bowl. The salt should draw out some moisture from the cabbage. The action of packing should bring more water out of the cabbage.  Then I take a gallon of distilled water and add 2.8 ounces of sea salt to the gallon jug and mix. This is your extra brine with a salinity of about 2.128%. No chlorinated water.



Then I start packing my kraut into a clean large crock or even a canning jar. I use a large wooden spoon to start packing that cabbage into my container. Really pack it tight allowing it to make it's own juices as you tamp the cabbage down with the spoon. When you have gotten all your cabbage in the chosen container there should be enough water to completely cover the cabbage. If not you will add your extra brine over the top. you want it well over the top by at the least an inch. If I am making  a large crock then I lay a dinner plate over the top and weight it down with a jar of water. Then I like to cover my crock with a piece of muslin and tie a chord around it to hold it in place to prevent flies and gnats from getting in there. Every day I check the crock and skim off any white residue (scum) that forms on top. Do this with clean and sterile utensils. 

If making in half gallon jars which is what I make these days I make 4 at a time. I sit them somewhere around my house. Usually the laundry room in a glass baking dish to catch any run off. Inside the top of the jars of kraut I usually just fold up a couple large leaves and use them to hold down the shredded cabbage. Tou can also put water into a small ziploc bag and stuff that into the top of the jar. Just make sure that your shredded cabbage is submerged. Put the lid on the jar but do not tighten them down tight, just loosely. These jars will start to form bubbles immediately within  a day or so. They may ooze water/brine from the top as they ferment. They will smell! I burp the jar every day by just loosening the cap a little. They will spew brine so be careful. Clean any brine that overflows into the baking dish daily and replace.  After about 14 days the jars are washed off and placed in the bottom of the fridge. The longer the jars set the softer the kraut gets and more flavorful. When I was a kid my grandparents would take that crock and put it in the spring house with a piece of muslin over the top.  



That is how I make kraut. 

These recipes look good.

Just a reminder to Aussies that the US tablespoon is 15ml/3 teaspoons and the Australian one is 20ml/4 teaspoons.

Measuring spoons that you buy in the supermarket are mostly Australian but occasionally have a 15ml tablespoon, so you just need to check your set.

When my cabbages are ready to pick, I'm going to have a go at your 'kraut recipe.

I just had dinner.  But darn it.  Now I'm hungry again!
They look sensational!