Stuffed Zucchini Flowers (on a stick)

We have a tiny tiny garden. I would say it's about eight feet by 10 feet at most. Sorry, that's our backyard with patio stones. Living in a student townhouse can certainly rob you of any sprawled living. But I recall looking at homes in San Francisco. Having a small backyard is something cherishable. Heck, I wonder how much a home goes up in price by having such a backyard?

We used up any grassy space for our garden. We don't have an enclosed fence and there's a park close by so we weren't concerned about grass (less to mow). When we have friends over for dinner, we can fit around eight comfortably. So, that's not so bad is it?

Anyway, in our little garden, last year's compost brought up some seedlings that were undeniable tomatoes and zucchini. I've kept most of our heirloom tomato seeds, but knew we didn't have the space for zucchini so I didn't plant them. So I was ready to pluck them from the ground when my husband, Lucas, says, "Let's keep them for the flowers". Huh.

We get tons of zucchini from our CSA share (more on that later) so I thought that we can sacrifice zucchini to have awesome stuffed zucchini blossoms.

I am a big fan of Jamie Oliver (www.jamieoliver.com) I've tried his recipe for stuffed zucchini flowers with ricotta cheese, mint, and lemon. It's placed into a batter made of self-rising flour and white wine and deep fried. Quite yummy! Since then I've tried many ways to make this such as with fresh herbs, sauted instead of fried, and the results are amazing.

So, the highlight is not necessarily the stuffing but really the flower itself. If you're on a budget, here's a tip: emulate ricotta cheese by using low-fat cottage cheese. Using a fine sieve (or cheesecloth), drain the excess water. The cottage cheese really has a thick texture. You'll have to add some seasoning and fresh herbs really help. So, right there, you have saved $3.00 to $3.50 by having a cheaper cheese. As for the batter, just subsitute water for the wine. Instant savings!

CCoaS Stuffed Zucchini Flowers ($0.25 per stuffed flower vs. $1.38 gourmet ingredients - save $9.04)

- 8 zucchini flowers from garden ($0.00 or $3.00 from farmer's market)

filling:

- 1 tub (250 mL) low-fat cottage cheese, drained ($2.00 to $2.50)

- fresh herbs or dried herbs

- salt and pepper

batter:

- 1 cup self-rising flour or flour and 2 tsp baking powder ($0.05)

- 1 cup of warm water (depending on thickness of batter)

- oil for frying ($1.00 to $3.00 depending on how you want to prepare your pan)

- lemon (optional to squeeze over fried flowers)

1. remove stamen from inside the zucchini flower (it's very bitter).

2. Mix drained cottage cheese, fresh herbs, salt and pepper to taste. Great herbs to try are thyme, basil, mint and lemon pepper (if you don't have fresh lemons), etc.

3. gently spoon the mix into the flower (about a tablespoon or more depending on size of flower). Gently fold the petals over each other to create a little purse for the filling.

4. mix the water and the flour together to create a batter. The batter shouldn't be too thick like a fish and chips batter.

5. heat your oil. For deep frying, make sure the oil is about 350F. If you pan fry them, medium-high heat.

6. place your fried flowers on paper towels to soak up excess oil. This dish is meant to be served right away so the batter doesn't get soggy. Squeeze lemon juice for brightness.