Zucchini Cakes

Okay, so here's the deal. I absolutely love zucchini but my kids absolutely hate it. This is a huge problem. They like zucchini bread and will choke down zucchini in stir fries with more than enough complaints. When I found this recipe, I almost didn't try it because I don't enjoy watching my kids suffer while eating dinner. However, at the time I had bowl full of ripe zucchini from the garden that needed immediate consumption. I decided to go for it. It was a hit for my husband and myself and the kids didn't complain. In fact, I think they kind of liked it.

If you're in the same situation with picky eaters or if you just want to try something different, give this recipe a try.

What you'll need

1 large (or 2 medium) zucchini, grated
1 egg
1 cup panko bread crumbs
Salt/pepper to taste
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, grated (I used kraft cheese this time, but in the future will use freshly grated Parmesan Reggiano...yum)
Chopped oregano and thyme
1 clove of garlic

Make it

Place zucchini in a food processor and grate into small pieces.

Remove excess liquid from freshly grated zucchini by placing them between paper towels and squeezing.
In a large bowl, combine all the ingredients. Mix thoroughly.

Heat a large pan on medium. Heat a teaspoon of coconut oil or butter. Shape spoonfuls of the zucchini batter into 2-inch (diameter) patties. Don't make the patties too thick or they will not cook on the inside. Drop patties onto the hot pan.

Cook each side for about a minute and a half, or until the outside is golden brown.

Finish the cakes off in the oven by placing them on a baking pan and broil for 1-2 minutes.

You can eat them just like this or top them with your choice of sauce. I love sour cream, so we used a small dollop on each patty...yum!

Roasted Duck

As I am writing this post, our Canadian Thanksgiving weekend is coming to an end. Tomorrow we all go back to work and start counting down the weeks until Christmas (well, at least I do). In case you were wondering, there are only 12 weeks until Christmas. Ahhhhh! I have so much to do!

Anyways, today I wanted to share with you something I tried out for the first time ever. Last night, for Thanksgiving, I roasted a duck! I've done turkey and chicken many times and was ready for something different, so when the opportunity presented itself to me to purchase a duck from a local farm, I went for it. I was a little nervous about this venture partly because I was making this meal for a bunch of people (not just my little family) and also because I have heard that duck can be quite greasy and gamy. I really didn't want to mess it up.

I did some research on line and found this great recipe with step by step instructions on how to roast your duck without the greasiness and gaminess. Here is the link...

http://www.thehungrymouse.com/2009/02/11/the-best-way-to-roast-a-duck-hello-crispy-skin/

I am not going to re-write the recipe because I did exactly what the above website tells you to do and the duck turned out great!!! I urge you to try this.

Though I am not typing the recipe here, I have posted pictures of Puddles (yes, our duck had a name) journey to crispiness.

This was after I cut off all excess fat.

The scored duck. I think I cut it a bit too deep, but it turned out just as well.

After one hour in the oven.

After 2 hours in the oven. This is the backside of the bird.

After 3 hours in the oven.

Plated and ready to be eaten. We had much more meat than what is in this picture but we were getting too hungry to spend the time getting ALL the meat off.

Again, I urge you to give this a try. You will be pleasantly surprised by how tasty it is and how easy the process is. Go on, get yourself some duck!