He's Here.

He's here. He's been here for almost 2 months. Milo Francis Rory. The final installment in our family. He has long fingers, funny toes and red hair. My oldest said it best; "He's the perfect one". That sentence rings true to me on a daily basis. He's so sweet it hurts. There is something to be said for knowing that this is the last baby. There are the up sides: no more being pregnant, no more labor. But there are downsides: no more tiniest diapers, no more sleepy newborn. I kind of want to keep him in the Ergo carrier forever. 

I am the mom with three boys now. I see a lot of people looking at me when we are out in the world and things are going sideways. I can read the "thank god that's not me" on their faces. But there are also the moms that know. They know how truly lucky I am. They know how much joy, challenge, patience testing, humour, dirt, sweetness, penis and absurdity that comes with three boys. I wouldn't change any of it. Are we going to try for a girl? No. I like my role as April O'Neil when we play Ninja Turtles, or as the Pink Power Ranger. No one is going to take that from me.   

I have had a few wonderful deliveries of huge, garden grown zucchini. I wanted to try something different with them. Zucchini Fritters for the win.  

Zucchini Fritters
Yield: About 10 2 1/2 inch fritters

1 pound (about 2 medium) zucchini
1 teaspoon coarse sea salt or Kosher salt, plus extra to taste
2 green onions, sliced thin
1 large egg, lightly beaten
Freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
Oil of your choice, for frying (I used canola)

To serve 
1 cup plain, Greek yogurt or sour cream
1 to 2 tablespoon lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
Pinches of salt
1 small minced or crushed clove of garlic

Directions:
Preheat oven to 200 degrees. Have a baking sheet ready.

Trim ends off zucchini and grate them either on the large holes of a grater or, if you have one, using the shredding blade of a food processor. 

In a large bowl, toss zucchini with 1 teaspoon coarse salt and set aside for 10 minutes. Wring out the zucchini by squeezing out small handfuls at a time. Get out as much liquid as possible to prevent soggy fritters. 

Return deflated mass of zucchini shreds to bowl. Taste and if you think it could benefit from more salt (most gets lost when squeezing), add a little bit more; we found 1/4 teaspoon more just right. Stir in green onions, egg and some freshly ground black pepper. In a tiny dish, stir together flour and baking powder, then stir the mixture into the zucchini batter.

In a large heavy skillet heat 2 tablespoons of oil over medium-high heat until shimmering. Drop small bunches of the zucchini mixture onto the skillet a few at a time so they don’t become crowded and lightly nudge them flatter with the back of your spatula. Cook the fritters over moderately high heat until the edges underneath are golden, about 3 to 4 minutes. If you find this happening too quickly, reduce the heat to medium. Flip the fritters and fry them on the other side until browned again. Drain briefly on paper towels then transfer to baking sheet and then into the warm oven until needed. Repeat process, keeping the pan well-oiled, with remaining batter. I like to make sure that the fritters have at least 10 minutes in the oven to finish setting and getting extra crisp.

For the topping, if using, stir together the yogurt, lemon juice, zest, salt and garlic and adjust the flavors to your taste. Dollop on each fritter before serving. 


Adapted slightly from here.

These fritters keep well, either chilled in the fridge for the better part of a week and or frozen in a well-sealed package for months. When you’re ready to use them, simply spread them out on a tray in a 325 degree oven until they’re hot and crisp again. I also re-heated them on the top rack of the BBQ. 

These were viewed with skeptisism when I brought them to a potluck dinner. Everyone was more than pleasantly surprised and were fighting over who got seconds. For real, that good. So ditch the tired zuchhini bread recipe and give this a go.