Zucchini Cakes

Sunday evening I caught some kind of terrible, horrible, awful stomach bug, which is why things have been quiet around here so far this week. I am woefully behind on my posting, but it's really hard to write about food when the mere thought of food is enough to make you queasy, you know what I mean? (Possibly I'm the first food blogger to have ever uttered such a sentence.)

Anyway, I'd heard a lot of buzz about these zucchini cakes, and I was really excited to try them. Zucchini is in season right now and is readily available at our local farmer's market, and I thought these little cakes would be the perfect way to use up our abundance (I over-bought. I always over-buy). These were definitely good, although maybe not as good as I was expecting. I don't think I was as wowed by them as a lot of other people were. Joe liked them a lot, though, so it's possible it was just me.

Don't get me wrong: These are a perfect, easy side dish, and I'll definitely make them again. They just didn't blow me away.

Pastor Ryan's Zucchini Cakes
source: The Pioneer Woman Cooks!

1 large zucchini
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1/2 cup breadcrumbs
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
2 eggs
Salt and pepper to taste
Olive oil

1. Wash and cut the ends off of one large zucchini. Shred it using the large holes of a cheese grater. Squeeze the shredded zucchini inside a clean towel until you've removed as much of the liquid as possible.

2. Place shredded zucchini in a medium-sized bowl. Add garlic, breadcrumbs, cheese, eggs and salt and pepper to taste. Stir with a fork until well-mixed.

3. Add about 1/4-inch of olive oil to the bottom of a skillet. Heat to medium. When the oil is hot enough, drop zucchini batter by tablespoons and flatten a bit. After about 2 minutes, turn the cakes over and cook on the other side until done, about 2 to 3 minutes.