Zucchini Smackdown Winner and Recipes!

The Seville Farm Market's first-ever Zucchini Smackdown was a hit!

There were nine entries in our zucchini bake-off, ranging from sweet to savory. Judges evaluated each dish on the basis of its appearance, taste, originality and its "zucchininess" -- defined as the best use of zucchini, other than leaving it on the neighbor's porch.

When the smackdown was over, there was one baker whose creation stood above the rest: Caitlin Keiper and her Zucchini Pie! Robin Williams placed second with her Zany Zucchini Zstreusel Cake and Karen Lucas took third with her Low-Fat Zucchini Crisp.

Printed below are the recipes for the top three placers. All the remaining recipes for dishes entered in the Zucchini Smackdown will be posted later.

We want to say a special thanks to our judges: Edie Landis, Donna Geig and Bonnie Gordon for generously donating their time and their palates on a Saturday morning.

Thanks, too, to reporter Lisa Hlavinka of the Medina Gazette and the Trading Post's Gayle Foster for coming out to cover the event. Watch for their stories and photos in the papers.

Zucchini Pie
By Caitlin Keiper

For filling:
6 cups zucchini, peeled, seeded and sliced
1 1/4 cups white sugar
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 1/2 teaspoons cream of tartar
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 tablespoon butter, diced
1 recipe pastry for a 9-inch single-crust pie

For streusel topping:
1/2 cup butter
3/4 cup flour
3/4 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon cinnamon

Boil zucchini until tender. Drain and let stand in cold water for about 5 minutes, then drain. Add sugar, flour, cinnamon, cream of tartar, lemon juice, salt and nutmeg. Mix well. Put into pie crust. Dot with butter. Mix streusel ingredients until crumbly and spread it on top. Bake at 400 degrees for 40-50 minutes.

Zany Zucchini Zstreusel Cake
By Robin Williams

2 cups shredded zucchini
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1/3 cup oats
1/3 cup raisins
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
3 cups flour
1 1/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/3 cup plain yogurt
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 tablespoon vanilla
2 egg whites, lightly beaten
1 egg, lightly beaten
Cooking spray
1 tablespoon dry bread crumbs
3/4 cup powdered sugar, sifted
2 teaspoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Blot zucchini between paper towels. Combine brown sugar and next four ingredients. Set aside.

Lightly spoon flour to measure. Level with knife. Combine flour and next four ingredients in a large bowl. Mix well.

Combine yogurt and next four ingredients. Add zucchini.

Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients. Stir until moist.

Coat bundt pan with spray and dust with bread crumbs. Spoon in 1/3 of the batter. Top with half the sugar mix. Repeat, ending with batter.

Bake 1 hour. Cool in pan for 10 minutes. Remove and allow to completely cool.

Mix remaining ingredients and drizzle cake with glaze.

Low-Fat Zucchini Crisp
By Karen Lucas

For the filling:
8 cups peeled zucchini, thinly sliced, no seeds
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
3/4 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Cook until tender, about 30 minutes.

For the crust:
2 cups flour
1/3 cup butter, cold and cut into small pieces
1 cup white sugar
1 cup uncooked oatmeal
Pinch of salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/3 cup buttermilk

Combine flour and butter until crumbly. Add remaining ingredients, except for buttermilk. Mix well and sprinkle buttermilk over top of mixture, rubbing with fingers until crumbly. Pat 1 1/2 cups into 9- by-13-inch pan and bake for 10 minutes at 375 degrees.

Add 1/3 cup of mixture to filling, then put the filling into the crust. Sprinkle with the remaining mixture and bake for 30 minutes.

Watch the Seville Farm Market Blog for more zucchini recipes this week. If you can't beat it, bake it, we always say!