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Cool casserole during hot weather

Recipe: Zippy Zappy Zucchini can be made in microwave

Sacramento Digs Gardening
BY Debbie Arrington PUBLISHED AUG 16, 2020

Casserole dish with baked casserole — Zippy Zappy Zucchini can be made in the oven, above, or in the microwave. (Photos: Debbie Arrington)

Zucchini, the butt of countless squash jokes, microwaves well. That's an important attribute when it's too hot to turn on the gas. Steamed in the microwave, zucchini retains its shape and a little of its crunch.

(Boiled, it becomes super-soft "squish.")

I started making this recipe when I got my first microwave -- circa 1978. The original came in a cookbook with that durable Hotpoint, which lasted more than 20 years.

Tweaked through the decades, Zippy Zappy Zucchini outlived the appliance, and sometimes gets made in the gas oven, too. Baked in a conventional oven, this eggy side dish or breakfast casserole develops a golden brown "crust" and top. Zapped in the microwave, the eggs and squash retain their original light yellow and green color.

Either way, it's simple and delicious. And unlike many squash jokes, this dish with a funny name always makes me smile.

Zippy Zappy Zucchini

Makes 4 side-dish servings

3 cups zucchini, chopped

1/2 cup onion, chopped

1/2 teaspoon Tabasco or similar hot sauce

1/4 cup peppers, seeded and chopped

1-1/2 cups cheddar cheese, shredded

Butter for baking dish

Slice of casserole

In the oven, the casserole develops a golden brown top.

In a large microwave-safe bowl, put zucchini, onion and water. Cover with plastic wrap, vent on one side. Microwave on HIGH for 7 minutes. Drain.

Beat eggs together with hot sauce. Add chopped peppers to zucchini and onions. Then add veggies to egg mixture. Fold in shredded cheese.

Butter an 8-inch round baking dish. Pour mixture into prepared dish. Cover loosely with a paper towel. Microwave on MEDIUM HIGH for 8 to 10 minutes, or until a thin-bladed knife inserted near the middle comes out clean.

Conventional oven method: Steam zucchini and onion together on top of the stove until fork tender. Combine ingredients as directed. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Bake casserole uncovered for 30 to 35 minutes, or until a thin-bladed knife inserted near the center comes out clean.

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A recipe for preparing delicious meals from the bounty of the garden.

Keywords:

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Garden Checklist for week of May 5

Survey your garden after the May 4 rainstorm. Heavy rain and gusty winds can break the neck of large flowers such as roses. Also:

* Keep an eye on new transplants or seedlings; they could take a pounding from the rain.

* Watch out for powdery mildew. Warmth following moist conditions can cause this fungal disease to “bloom,” too. If you see a leaf that looks like it’s dusted with powdered sugar, snip it off.

* After the storm, start setting out tomato transplants, but wait on the peppers and eggplants (they want warmer nights). Pinch off any flowers on new transplants to make them concentrate on establishing roots instead of setting premature fruit.

* Trim dead flowers but not leaves from spring-flowering bulbs such as daffodils and tulips. Those leaves gather energy to create next year's flowers. Also, give the bulbs a fertilizer boost after bloom.

* Pinch chrysanthemums back to 12 inches for fall flowers. Cut old stems to the ground.

* Mulch around plants to conserve moisture and control weeds.

* From seed, plant beans, beets, cantaloupes, carrots, corn, cucumbers, melons, pumpkins, radishes and squash.

* Plant onion sets.

* In the flower garden, plant seeds for asters, cosmos, celosia, marigolds, salvia, sunflowers and zinnias. Transplant petunias, zinnias, geraniums and other summer bloomers.

* Plant perennials and dahlia tubers for summer bloom.

* Don’t wait; plant summer bulbs, such as gladiolus and tuberous begonias.

* Harvest cabbage, lettuce, peas and green onions.

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