Squash and Zucchini Goodness

About the time the zucchini took off this year we got bombarded with tons of rain and cloudy weather. I would get small zucchini started on the plant, and then it would soon start rotting from the bloom end and turn smushy before ever growing large enough to eat.  What a let down!  I did some research and realized a couple things.  The first was that there are male and female blooms on zucchini and squash.  It was so rainy that the bees were not out and the blooms weren't getting pollinated.  To fix this, you can find a male bloom (skinny stem and long center inside the bloom) and pluck it from the plant.  Carefully peel off the outer petals so you are just left with the center portion.  Then go to each female bloom (will look like a baby zucchini below the bloom and the portion inside the bloom will have multiple ends) and dab it with the male bloom.  Ta-da ~ you pollinated your zucchini!  

The bloom on the left with a skinny stalk is male, the larger bloom on the right with a "baby" zucchini as a stalk is female.

Finally, my zucchini started to grow.  That's when I discovered issue two.....due to all the rain and lack of sun, my zucchini got bloom rot.  Again, more research.  The trick to attempting to avoid bloom rot is to pluck the bloom off the end of the zucchini after it starts growing (and therefore has been successfully pollinated).  It doesn't always work, but it definitely seems to help.  I now do this with all my squash and zucchini.

A healthy zucchini in the middle, with a rotten zucchini at the bottom center of the image.

If you can get a zucchini plant to grow, then you will quickly be overrun with zucchini.  Of course, there is always the go-to zucchini bread recipe, but zucchini can be used for so much more!  Tonight, I tried making zucchini and squash fritters.  I looked up some recipes, but most of them called for large amounts of squash and zucchini and I was the only one eating them.  Instead, I made my own mix (and it isn't very scientific).

So much zucchini and squash!

Zucchini and Squash Fritters

Ingredients
- your favorite shredded cheese (or cheeses)
- zucchini and/or squash
- black pepper
- salt
- all-purpose flour
- an egg
- olive oil

Start by grating your zucchini and squash, then mix in a little salt (to pull the water out, not to taste) and allow it to drain while you mix the rest.  Fix as much as you think you want to eat. 
Put shredded cheese in a bowl (equivalent to about 1/4 of the amount of zucchini/squash you have) and add the egg.  Sprinkle with black pepper.  You can also add some flavorful spices if you wish (garlic, italian seasonings, etc).  Amounts can be adjusted based on how you want it to taste.
Squeeze additional water out of the grated zucchini and squash and add this to your bowl.  Add flour little-by-little, but amounting to about 1/3 to 1/2 of the amount of zucchini/squash you have included.  Mix everything well.  It should be the consistency of typical muffin-type mixes.  Add flour if it is too runny.
Heat a skillet (medium) and add some olive oil to the pan.  Put a spoonful of the mix in the pan and flatten it with a spoon.  Once the first side is browned, turn it over and brown the other side. When both sides are browned, your fritters are done and ready to eat. 

Browned fritters

I made enough to result in 6 fritters and topped them with homemade tzatziki sauce~ delicious!
Let me know how you revised the recipe when you try your own version.