Dave update

I woke up on Sunday morning and found out Dave had un-cocooned himself.

We opened the jar outside to help him dry off his wings.

And then he readied himself for his first majestical flight...

...and flew right into the side door of my car.

...and then fell to the pavement.

Very anti-climactic.  I left at that point.  Either he regained his pride and flight skills, or a bird came and ate him up.  Waaaaaay to go, Dave.

In other news, we were gifted a ginormous zucchini.

This thing should've been picked about 2 years ago.

It's taller than the dog.

It nearly covers the TV screen.

And I couldn't put it down the laundry chute if I tried.

That, plus the 12 other zucchini picked from our garden, gave me an excess to play around with.

I found a recipe for zucchini-corn fritters, only being the fun sucker calorie saver that I am, I baked them instead of deep frying them.  Guess what?  They taste just the same.  And that taste happens to be really really good.

Zucchini Corn Cakes
2 cups shredded zucchini
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups fresh corn kernels
1 small yellow onion, finely diced
Pinch of jarred minced garlic
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup cornmeal
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 egg
3/4 cup skim milk + 1 teaspoon lemon juice (to make faux buttermilk)
1/2 tablespoon olive or canola oil

1. Sprinkle half of the salt onto the shredded zucchini and let sit for a few minutes.  The salt will help pull the moisture out of the zucchini.  If you skip this step, you will get soggy cakes.  Pat the zucchini with a few paper towels to squeeze up excess juice.
2. In a large pan, heat oil over medium-high heat.  Saute onions until tender.  Add corn kernels and garlic.  Stir until corn is cooked, about 3-4 minutes.  Remove from heat. 
3. Whisk together dry ingredients (flour, cornmeal, baking soda) together in a large bowl.  In a smaller bowl, combine "buttermilk" with the egg. 
4. Add zucchini, corn/onion mix, and liquid to the dry ingredients bowl.  Add remaining salt.  Stir just until combined.
5. Go preheat your oven to 350.  I suppose in hindsight this should've been step #1.  And I am too lazy to cut and paste right now.
6. I used a whoopie pie pan, but you could use a muffin tin or even just a cookie sheet for these.  I made regular size and minis.  Total baking time will vary depending on what baking item you use, but it will range from 12-20 minutes.  They are done when the edges turn deep golden brown. 

Per serving (1 regular or 2 minis): 80 calories

Recipe makes 3 dozen regulars.

Now what to do with the beast squash?