“Mock” apple pie

Like many of you, our kitchen counter overfloweth with squash and zucchini and zucchini squash, which are all kind of the same but not exactly the same.  And I’m kind of confused about the whole thing so you’ll get no explanations from me.  All you’ll get from me is a recipe.

And if you are feeling sneaky, like me, you will make this recipe while the family is distracted with things outside the kitchen.  You might also want to hide the evidence by throwing the zucchini squash peelings in the slop before anyone notices.  Then at supper time, you can surprise them with an “apple” pie.

Only after everyone gobbles it up, praises you and looks at you like you are the maker of all things good (which is generally how small, always-hungry children see their mamas), you can then tell them that they actually ate “mock” apple pie, which isn’t apple pie at all, but zucchini squash pie.  And then the little people who hate zucchini squash will really be amazed.  In their eyes, you are the best mother on earth because you made zuchinni squash taste so yummy.

Really, when Rachel looked through the little window in the oven door, she had anticipation all over her face and kept saying over and over, “Ooooh, apple pie!  Oh thank you, Mama, thank you!”  The poor girl had not even eaten yet, but the pie smelled good and looked good.  She just knew it had to taste good!

For future reference, I would probably add a little more zucchini, maybe 1/2 cup and decrease the brown sugar a bit, maybe by 1/4 cup to start with.  The only thing I did different for this recipe was to add 2 or 3 tablespoons MORE flour than the recipe called for and I baked the pie at 350 degrees instead of 400 degrees, but I think my oven may run hotter than normal.

This is the original recipe without my alterations.

Zucchini Apple Pie (from Allrecipes by Elizabeth Wood)

 

1 recipe pastry for a 9 inch double crust pie. . . .  (I made my own single pie crust)

2 large zucchini

2 tablespoons lemon juice

1 pinch salt

1 1/4 cups packed brown sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 1/2 teaspoons cream of tartar

1 pinch ground nutmeg

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1. Peel the zucchini. Cut into quarters lengthwise, then remove seeds and cut crosswise (as you would cut apples for apple pie). Toss together 4 cups chopped zucchini, lemon juice and salt. Place mixture into frying pan and cook until tender-crisp.
2. In a separate bowl, mix together the brown sugar, cinnamon, cream of tartar, nutmeg and flour. Add the cooked zucchini to sugar mixture and mix well. It will be a little runny, but that’s OK.
3. Place filling into a 9 inch pie crust, dot with butter, and place top crust on. Bake in oven at 400 degrees F (205 degrees C) for 40 minutes or until golden brown.