I Dream of Zucchini

So far I've picked 6 zucchini from my garden. Six mutant zucchinis. One day they're just little babies, a few inches long. Two days later they're the size of a small child. Okay, maybe not that big, but these puppies are BIG. The first two were sliced lengthwise and frozen - I'll use them in place of noodles for lasagna. Yes, Greg eats it. Yes, he likes it.

The last four of the monsters plucked from the mother ship were shredded and bagged for the freezer. TWENTY-SIX cups of shredded zucchini. We'll be enjoying that in breads and muffins for quite awhile.

I did save a few slices of the last zucchini so I could make this recipe from Tyler Florence. Obviously we like zucchini in baked goods and in place of pasta, but I'd never had it raw, so I only made a tiny version of Tyler's dish and had it for supper last night before I left for work. Okay, now I can't wait to make it again, and to serve it to Greg.

Even with my love for Tyler Florence and his delicious recipes, I did make a couple of minor changes in my version, and I know what I'll do different next time. Those notes are in parentheses in the recipe.

Enjoy!





Carpaccio of Raw Zucchini







2 zucchini (about 1 1/2 pounds total), sliced into paper-thin rounds



Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper



Extra-virgin olive oil



1/2 lemon, juiced



1 young leek, white and light green parts only, sliced paper-thin into rings and thoroughly cleaned (I used thin slices of red onion because that is what I had.)



1/4 cup chopped fresh herbs, such as chervil, dill, chives, and chive blossoms (I used dill and chives - cut from my garden. Yea!)



1 cup ricotta cheese



Fresh mint leaves, for garnish, optional







Shingle the zucchini slices in a single overlapping layer on a platter. Dust with salt and pepper, then drizzle with a 3-count of olive oil and the lemon juice. Put that into the refrigerator for about 10 minutes to give the flavors a chance to get into the zucchini. Now scatter the leeks over. Sprinkle with the herbs. (I mixed the herbs with the ricotta cheese. Next time I'll just scatter the herbs over, and forget the ricotta altogether. It wasn't necessary.)



Garnish garnish with the ricotta cheese and mint leaves, if using; serve.

Some Herb Love

I just LOVE being able to run out to the garden and snip those fresh herbs for my recipes. This year I have dill, thyme, sweet basil, sage, and oregano. There is also mint and lavendar in separate parts of the garden. I need some tarragon, but haven't found any this year.

Now I wish I could show you a photo of a beautiful herb garden, but there isn't one. At least not in my yard. :o) I planted most of the herbs on one end of the vegetable bed, with the sage and oregano coming back from last year where I thought I was going to have an herb bed. Maybe next year...

What I can show you is this lovely photo of some dill and basil that I picked at lunchtime. They were used in the sauce in this recipe for salmon sandwiches. The difference in flavor between fresh and dried herbs is astounding. I'll choose fresh as often as possible.

I've done a little www research for recipes and will be trying some new ones to share with you in the next few weeks. I would love to hear about your favorite recipes using fresh herbs. Anyone?

Garlic-Rosemary Mushrooms

One night last week I made these as a side dish. I'll be making them again - and often. I used half a pound of button mushrooms since it was just the two of us, and adjusted the rest of the ingredients accordingly. The rosemary came from my garden. I just love being able to run outside and snip fresh herbs for my recipes!
(This recipe is from EatingWell)

GarlicRosemary Mushrooms
Makes 4 servings, about 3/4 cup each
Ingredients
1 ounce bacon (about 1½ slices), chopped
1 ½ pounds mixed mushrooms, such as cremini, shiitake (stemmed) and portobello, cut into ¼-inch slices
2 medium cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 ½ teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary or ½ teaspoon dried
¼ teaspoon salt Freshly ground pepper to taste
¼ cup dry white wine

Cook bacon in a large skillet over medium heat until just beginning to brown, about 4 minutes. Add mushrooms, garlic, rosemary, salt and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until almost dry, 8 to 10 minutes. Pour in wine and cook until most of the liquid has evaporated, 30 seconds to 1 minute.
Nutrition Information
Per serving: 87 calories; 3 g fat (1 g sat, 1 g mono); 8 mg cholesterol; 8 g carbohydrate; 7 g protein; 1 g fiber; 316 mg sodium; 795 mg potassium.
Nutrition bonus: Potassium (23% daily value).

Chicken with Tarragon Cream Sauce

This recipe came from a South Beach Diet recipe web site so it's healthy and low-fat. Instead of cream I used 2% milk. I wanted to use fat-free half and half, but the store was out of it and I didn't care to drive all over town to buy some. The 2% worked fine.
This was moist and tender, and the sauce was mild, but tasty. Plus, it's easy!

Chicken with Tarragon Cream Sauce
4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (about 2 pounds)
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 cup light or fat free cream
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
2 teaspoons chopped fresh tarragon or 3/4 teaspoon dried
Salt
Pepper
Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper. In a large skillet over medium heat, melt butter with oil. Brown chicken breasts on both sides. Reduce heat and cook, covered, 15 minutes, just until chicken is cooked through. Transfer chicken to a serving platter; tent with foil to keep warm. Add cream to skillet, scraping up brown bits. Stir in mustard and tarragon. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, 5 minutes until sauce thickens slightly. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Pour sauce over chicken. (I found it was salty enough just by lightly salting the chicken. The sauce didn't need any.)

Roast Sticky Chicken

Greg wanted to make a rotisserie chicken on the new grill last weekend, and we feasted on this succulent bird one night for supper.

He used a recipe I got from the Busy Cooks Web Site many years ago. It used to be on About.com, in their freezer-cooking section, but I think that is long gone.

I have made this many times in the oven, and whichever way you choose to cook it, you won't be disappointed. It has always made a juicy, tasty bird. (BEN - YOU NEED TO TRY THIS!) Just make sure you put the rub on the day before and let it sit overnight. Trust me. It's much better that way.

Roast Sticky Chicken
4 tsp. salt (we use kosher)

2 tsp. paprika

1 tsp. cayenne powder

1 tsp. onion powder

1 tsp. thyme

1 tsp. white pepper (we use black)

1/2 tsp. garlic powder

1/2 tsp. black pepper

1 large roasting chicken

1 C chopped onion

In a small bowl, thoroughly combine all spices. Clean chicken well, and pat dry. Rub spice mixture into chicken, both inside and out, distributing evenly and deep into skin. Place in a zipper bag, seal, and refrigerate overnight.

When ready to roast chicken, stuff the cavity with onions, and place in a shallow baking pan. Roast, uncovered, at 250 degrees for 5 hours (yes, 250 for 5 hours). After the first hour, baste chicken occasionally with pan juices. The juices will begin to carmelize on the bottom of the pan and the chicken will turn golden brown. If the bird has a pop-up thermometer, ignore it. Let chicken rest for 10 minutes before carving.

This is a great way to roast a large chicken ( or 2) for planned leftovers. If your chicken has not been frozen, you can put the rub on, bag and freeze, then thaw and roast. Or you can roast, carve, and freeze the cooked meat.

Pot Roast, Southwestern style

This is the second time I've made this excellent recipe for crockpot chuck roast. The sauce is a little labor-intensive, but so worth it. The recipe comes from Kalyn's Kitchen - linked on my sidebar.

I served it with refried beans, fresh homemade guacamole, sour cream, and shredded cheese.

ENJOY!

Southwestern Pot Roast Cooked in the Crockpot

(Makes about 4 servings, recipe created by Kalyn)

3 lb. boneless chuck roast, trimmed of visible fat

1 can reduced sodium beef broth 1 cup + 1/4 cup your favorite salsa (I used Pace Picante Sauce - mild

steak rub or your favorite seasoning for steak to rub on meat before browning

1-2 tsp. olive oil for browning meat
Put beef broth in a small saucepan, removing any fat that has collected on top in the can. Boil until the broth is reduced to 1/2 cup.

While beef broth is reducing, trim all visible fat from chuck roast. You may need to cut the roast into several pieces to remove big pockets of fat. Rub pot roast on all side with steak rub (or your favorite seasonings for steak.) Heat olive oil in heavy frying pan (pans that aren't nonstick will give the best browning.) Brown roast well on all sides. Don't rush this step because browning provides flavor, and I think it's especially important in crockpot cooking. When roast is browned on all sides, put pieces of meat in crockpot, arranging them in a single layer.

Pour reduced beef broth into frying pan and use a metal turner to scrape off any carmelized bits from the browned meat. Add salsa and stir into broth, then pour salsa/beef broth mixture over pot roast.

Cook on high for one hour, then turn to low and cook 3-4 more hours, or until meat is very tender when pierced with a fork. (You could also cook for a longer time on low setting. If you don't have a slow cooker, cook in a heavy dutch oven on stovetop at lowest setting for 2-3 hours.)

Remove meat from crockpot and pour sauce into small saucepan. (If there is a lot of fat on top of the sauce, spoon it off or use a fat separator to remove the fat. You may not need to do this if you did a good job trimming.) Put meat back into crockpot to keep warm, then add final 1/4 cup salsa to the sauce and simmer until reduced to about 1 cup.

To serve, slice meat across the grain and serve hot, with sauce spooned over the top. I also think this meat would be great served as a filling for tacos or burritos.

Zuppa!

This recipe has been in my notebook, forgotten and untried, for at least a few years. Last weekend I had an opportunity to sort through the notebook and it was rediscovered. I made it Saturday for supper and was glad I kept it. It made enough for supper for four of us, and Greg and I each got a bowl for lunch on Monday.

It came from either Taste of Home or Country Woman magazine.

First I'll copy the recipe as it was printed, then in my notes at the bottom I'll give you the changes I made so I could use what I already had on hand. The only thing I purchased to make this recipe was the ground beef - only because I didn't have any thawed.

Meatball Minestrone

1 pound ground beef

1 egg, beaten

1/2 cup chopped onion

1/4 cup dry bread crumbs

1 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. pepper

1 15oz. can tomato sauce

2 1/2 cups water

1 15-1/2 oz. can kidney beans with liquid

1/2 tsp. dried oregano

1/4 tsp. dried thyme

1 cup sliced celery

1/4 cup uncooked elbow macaroni

1/4 cup chopped parsley

In a mixing bowl, combine beef, egg, onion, crumbs, salt, and pepper. Shape into 30 1" balls. In a large saucepan, brown meatballs on all sides. Drain excess fat.

Add remaining ingredients except macaroni and parsley; cover and simmer 20 minutes. Add macaroni; simmer 10 minutes or until tender. Stir in parsley.

Yield: about 2 quarts Can be frozen.

My changes: I baked the meatballs for 20 minutes in a 350 degree oven instead of browning in a pan. While they baked, I prepped the rest of the soup ingredients.

I only had a 20-something ounce can of crushed tomatoes, so I used that, and cut the amount of water back to 2 cups. Made for a richer soup.

I doubled the amount of oregano and thyme, and even that wasn't enough. Next time I'll quadruple it, or more.

I used black beans instead of kidney. Didn't have any kidney beans, and I don't like them anyway. And Angela said black beans are better for you, anyway. :o)

Skipped the parsley and we topped the soup with shredded Parmesan.

Greg and I discussed some options in addition to, or instead of the meatballs. He thought some Italian sausage would be good, and I was thinking some chunks of Kielbasa would add some depth of flavor.

We just had a hard roll with this, but it would be really good with garlic bread. Mmmm...