Zucchini for Zucchini Haters: a Tutorial

I am not a fan of "hiding" ingredients I don't like in recipes. I typically just won't eat it, and I think that we're doing out kids a disservice when we hide vegetables so that they'll eat them. I understand that there are just some picky kids out there, and that we need to do what we can to keep them healthy, but with my daughter, we just make her try foods she's picky about periodically in different styles. (Full disclosure here: my daughter will eat just about anything, so perhaps I'm just lucky.) Kids' tastes change, and I feel that I'm teaching my daughter to be adventurous with her food when I tell her what she's eating...

That being said, I have never liked cooked zucchini. So when I received three zucchini two weeks ago in my CSA box, I was a little put out. I really wanted to try to use everything (including the parts we don't normally eat) in my box, and part of the fun, I thought, was to try new fruits and vegetables in new preparations. So, I took my challenge again to the Twitterverse. The suggestions varied, but my favorites were FoodBat's Zukey Muffins and Jen from My Kitchen Addiction's suggestion of Zucchini Parmesan Hummus. Both recipes "hid" the zucchini, but I've come to terms with doing that every once in a while...especially if the results are this good!

The zucchini muffins were great--and my daughter became addicted to them! The hummus was good, but I think that the parmesan hid the lovely flavor of the roasted zucchini, so perhaps next time I'd leave the cheese out. And there will definitely be a next time for both of these recipes...

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