A tasty way to use excess zucchini

Love it, grow it or buy it. Loathe it, and avoid eating it whenever possible.

Zucchini is here to stay, either way.

Besides, even if you think you really hate this veggie, either and maybe even both of today's recipes could find you making a fast U-turn on your previous don't-even-taste-it stance, starting with this recipe shared by Everett cook and Forum helper Vonny McCarver.

"I somehow missed national 'Leave Zucchini on Your Neighbors' Porches,' "she tells us. "So I have plenty, and you can only make so many breads.

"This recipe is from when I tried to feed kids vegetables without them knowing. It bakes and takes easily, and goes well in all the lunch boxes everyone is or will soon be packing. It is also yet another cake recipe that, after all these years, is one of my favorites to make.''

Vonny adds, "And your neighbors will probably enjoy it more than a 10-pound zucchini squash.''

Second on our must-try or mind-changing list, we have a gussied-up spin on what most of us call zucchini fritters.

This one is taken from a recent article by Keri Knapp in the Skagit Valley Herald newspaper.

Miss Vonny's chocolate-zucchini cake

1/2 cup soft margarine
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 3/4 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup sour milk (see note)
2 1/2 cups unsifted flour
4 tablespoons cocoa
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
2 cups shredded zucchini, drained well
1/2 cup chocolate chips

Cream margarine, oil and sugar. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating after each addition. Add vanilla and sour milk. Mix together the flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and cloves; add to cramed mixture and blend well. Stir in zucchini.

Pour batter into a greased-and-floured "good old'' 9-by-13-inch baking pan and sprinkle the top with the chocolate chips. Bake at 325 degrees for about 40 to 45 minutes (test with a toothpick) or until cake tests done.

Makes one 9-by-13-inch cake.

Note: To sour milk, add 1 tablespoon white vinegar to the milk.

Zucchini rissole

1/2 cup cooking oil, preferably grape-seed oil, divided
1 large onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 heaping cups grated zucchini, drained and patted dry
1 1/2 cups dry breadcrumbs
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup (about 7 ounces) crumbled Feta cheese
1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
2-3 tablespoons chopped fresh dill
1 tablespoon chopped fresh chives
Salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup rice flour or all-purpose flour

Heat 3 tablespoons of the oil in a frying pan and saute onion until transparent. Add garlic and cook for 1 minute, then remove pan from heat and set aside.

Turn dry grated zucchini into a large mixing bowl and add the breadcrumbs, eggs and both cheeses. Add the sauteed onion-garlic mixture and stir.

Stir in the dill, chives, and salt and pepper to taste. Mix well, adding flour a little at a time until the desired consistency is reached to shape the mixture into small rissoles or croquettes. Coat lightly in excess flour.

Heat the remaining oil in the frying pan and fry the rissoles until crisp and brown all over. (You may achieve similar results using less oil.)

Drain on paper towels and serve hot (although rissoles are great as leftovers, too). Makes 4 to 5 servings.