Garden sitting: the tale of too much zucchini and too many tomatoes

We have been garden sitting a neighbor's community garden this week.  The kids love the idea and have actually started to eat some of the tomatoes like cherries.  

Tonight we harvested another round of fresh zucchini and tomatoes of all sizes and shapes.  We gave one bag of tomatoes to a man asking for help at an intersection.  However, there are still plenty of tomatoes and zucchini.  So, what to do with these garden delights?  And, how can we use these goodies to fulfill our requirement to bring an appetizer/side dish AND a dessert to tomorrow's swimming group finale potluck?

My mind always goes to dessert first.  Yesterday, I saw a post on Super Healthy Kids for Chocolate Zucchini Cake, http://www.superhealthykids.com/healthy-kids-recipes/treat-of-the-week-chocolate-zucchini-cake.php.  (This is a great site I you haven't seen it before.)  So, let's get to pumping it up and removing the gluten with my working recipe for tomorrow.

In a bowl combine:

• 1 cup Wheat Flour  (2/3cup brown rice flour and 2/3cup ground flax seed)
• 1 cup white flour (2/3cup ground quinoa)
• 1/4 cup 100% cocoa powder, unsweetened
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt

In a separate bowl:

• 3 Large eggs (4Tbsp ground chia seeds in ~3/4cup water for vegan cake)
• 1/2 sugar (3/8cup maple syrup or honey)
• 3/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 1/4 cup canola oil (1/8cup flax seed oil and 1/8cup canola oil)
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 3 cups shredded zucchini.

With the wet ingredients mixed, and the dry mixed in a separate bowl, combined them just till moistened.  The key to quick breads is to NOT over mix!!  This step can not be stressed enough. The only way to ensure the ingredients are properly combined, is to mix dry and wet ingredients separately, so they can be folded into each other with minimal mixing.

Then, pour batter into two well greased loaf pans, or one large bundt pan.  Bake at 325 for 45-60 minutes, depending on how small your pans are.  Check for doneness by inserting a toothpick or knife and if it comes out clean, it is done.

Daddy-O decided on something simple,  Daddy-O cut up all the tomatoes into bite sized pieces, added salt, pepper, and basil to taste with some olive oil.  Voila!

Meme makes a tomato pie that Daddy-O loves, but the recipe will be one that needs some substitutions.

1 Deep Dish Pie Shell (Pet Ritz is what I use)
4-5 Medium Tomatoes Sliced
1 Cup Mayonnaise (I use Hellmans)
1/2 Cup Fresh Chopped Basil (1 tsp. dried basil may be substituted)
1 1/2 Cup Shredded Cheddar Cheese
1 egg
Salt & Pepper 

Thaw and Prick with fork Pie Shell. Pre-bake 7 minutes at 350.  Let cool. Mix Mayo, cheese, egg, basil, salt & pepper.  Placed sliced tomatoes in cooled pie shell.  Top with cheese-mayo mixture and spread to edges to seal.  Bake 35-45 minutes at 350 or until golden brown.  Let cool before slicing.  This makes a great side dish or as a meal with a salad.