Zucchini

Entries Tagged as 'zucchini'

September Highlights

10.01.2012

Heyyyaaa. Happy…Monday? And October…WOAH. weird. It seems like it was just yesterday that it was my birthday (September 4th). This month flew by but lots and lots of yummy things were made in the process.

Let’s take a look at a few of our favorites:

1. At the beginning of September my CSA box was OVERFLOWING with zucchini. This meant we we made a new zucchini bread recipe almost daily. These dark chocolate zucchini muffins were probably my all time favorite (who doesnt like eating chocolate for breakfast?!). But I was also pretty impressed with the Savory Feta Zucchini muffins….

2. Everything is better with avocado! We learned that this summer when people start throwing avocados in things from baked sweets to smoothies. This dip is no different and makes everything you might stick in it irresistible. Oh, and the homemade potato chips aren’t so bad either!

3. Mmmm…some of the last bits of summer in a bowl. I still firmly stand by the belief that the best kind of recipes are simple so that the delicious flavors of the ingredients can shine through. And this dish is a perfect example of that. Ripe tomatoes and crusty bread help to bring out all the flavors of summer in this Panzanella.

4. And finally, the last week of September I let myself give into fall and whipped up everything cinnamon, apple, and pumpkin flavored. Although the pumpkin cinnamon rolls and apple crisp were freaking amazing dishes, the pumpkin granola was my favorite because it was sooooo simple and I was able to enjoy it for days after.

Oh and the biggest excitement this month was seeing my article about the Midwest Vegan Food Scene in Chickpea magazine! I have been such a huge admirer of Chickpea magazine for so long that it was really great to be a contributor this time around!!

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And now let’s take a look at October!

October is going to be an exciting and busy month. Wyatt and I will be heading to Denver at the end of the month to visit my brother and a few relatives, my blog make-over will [hopefully] be finishing up, and I have loads of recipes in store that consists of lots of root vegetables and fall squash!

Oh and how about a fall goal list? We posted one on the fridge a few weeks ago and I am happy to say we already have crossed a few things off the list. Here is what it looks like:

~~1. Go apple picking~~

~~2. Have horror movie nights~~

3. Finish my blog make-over

4. make homemade cheese (gonna happen this season!)

5. Go on a fall camping trip

6. Enjoy a bonfire

7. Make pumpkin flavored donuts and dog treats

Zucchini, Red Pepper, and Goat Cheese Pizza

9.05.2012

And after a wonderful 4 day (birthday) weekend, it’s back to my day job and back to my standard routine. The thought of no vacations in sight is a bit daunting (and making me exhausted already) so I decided I better start planning little stuff. You know, like Dale Cooper from Twin Peaks said:”Harry, I’m going to let you in on a little secret. Every day, once a day, give yourself a present. Don’t plan it. Don’t wait for it. Just let it happen. It could be a new shirt at the men’s store, a catnap in your office chair, or two cups of good, hot black coffee.”

And for me- most of these little treats I give myself are in the form of delicious food or yoga or a new magazine. Today’s treat was fresh, homemade pizza. Work may have been extra stressful (with having to catch up on the days I took off) but knowing I was coming home to already prepared pizza dough (I made and froze it over the weekend) and lots of goat cheese gave me something to look forward to (in addition to my adorable puppy and goofy boyfriend, of course).

Plus, this recipe uses up more produce from my CSA box so I don’t even have to feel guilty about eating pizza since those veggies needed to be used up anyways!

Oh. And I got to rock the new Smoosh shirt I received for my birthday from Kristin and David. Have you met Smoosh yet? Oh man, you should (and can- here).

Zucchini, Red Pepper, and Goat Cheese Pizza

1 pizza dough, store bought or homemade
1 small zucchini, sliced into thin ribbons (I used a peeler and it worked perfectly)
1 small red pepper, sliced
4 ounces of goat cheese
1/4 cup tomato sauce
Salt/Pepper, to taste

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Roll out pizza dough to your liking on a floured surface (I like mine thick but you could be a thin crust kind of person). I also recommend sprinkling cornmeal or polenta on the bottom to make a crispier crust. It’s absolutely delicious. Top your pizza in the following order (or just follow the pictures): tomato sauce, goat cheese, zucchini, and red pepper. Season with salt and pepper.

Cook for ten to fifteen minutes or until the edges are crispy

Enjoy warm with a cold glass of your favorite beer (or wine or tea or kombucha or whatever your fix is)!

Dark Chocolate Zucchini Muffins // My 23rd Birthday

9.04.2012

And we are back with ANOTHER zucchini bread recipe (if you missed them, check out my Savory Feta Zucchini Muffins from last week here) but this time we are covering them in chocolate! Not so bad, eh?

It’s my 23rd (yikes! Weird!) birthday today so Wyatt and I took the day off to do whatever we please. So far we have just laid around in bed, I did some yoga, and then I made some delicious chocolate muffins. We are going on a picnic this afternoon at Hoosier National Forest so I thought these muffins would be perfect to bring along. I mean, what could be a better way to spend my birthday then baking and exploring outside with my boyfriend and puppy? Not much, I’d say. Here are a few new pictures from our lazy weekend around the house (since it rained so we couldn’t go camping like the original plan):

Tuko’s new hang out spot // Bruschetta // Lazy afternoons with Wyatt // New birthday outfit from my Ma // …more bruschetta // Kitchen Cacti Garden // Lazy morning with Wyatt // Citrus Plant from Wyatt for my birthday

And now onto the recipe! Hope everyone has a fantastic Tuesday. I’m off to go bake more for our afternoon picnic!

Dark Chocolate Zucchini Muffins

1 1/4 cups flour
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 cup buttermilk (I made my own with this recipe)
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/3 cup agave or honey
2 Tablespoons coconut oil (vegetable will work fine if that is what you have)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 large very ripe banana, mashed
1 cup grated zucchini (about 1 medium zucchini)
1/4 cup dark chocolate chips (semi-sweet is fine too)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease a 12-muffin pan. Wrap the grated zucchini in a clean kitchen towel and ring out any excess juice.

In a mixing bowl, combine the flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. In another bowl, whisk together the egg, honey/agave, buttermilk, oil, mashed banana, zucchini and vanilla.

Make a well in the center of the of the dry ingredients and and add the zucchini mixture. Fold the dry ingredients into the wet ones until combined.

Fill each muffin tin 3/4 full and bake for 15 minutes or until a toothpick can be stuck in the middle of the muffins and comes out clean.

Enjoy warm or save for tomorrow’s breakfast.

Savory Zucchini Feta Muffins

8.30.2012

Am I the only one or is everyone feeling a bit stressed about getting ready for the long weekend? I know I am! My birthday is next Tuesday so Wyatt and I took off an extra day for a 4 day weekend! We are planning to go camping (which means I may be MIA for a few days) but I still have yet to research a spot…hmmm. I am thinking Smokey Mountains? Or somewhere with waterfalls? Or maybe on the beach along Lake Michigan? Choices, choices!

And I didn’t get around to posting yesterday because I went up to Indianapolis to meet my Ma for my birthday. We have a little tradition that she always takes me out shopping for my birthday/Christmas. No complaining here! Haha. We usually go shopping on Michigan Avenue in Chicago but since I now live so far south…we have been compromising on Indianapolis. Not quite as glamorous but still a wonderful experience. Plus this gives us a chance to hit up Trader Joe’s so I can splurge on soy chorizo and mass quantities of three layer hummus. ALSO, on that note…have you tried Trader Joe’s ‘Cookie Butter’? Thanks to Tracey from Shutterbean and Joy The Baker and…I am addicted.

Now shifting our focus to what this post is all about! Thank you to Baba Ganoush for helping me dwindle away at my eggplant supply. What’s next? All that zucchini! Whoever decided to throw a bunch of zucchini into bread was an absolute genius! There are so many endless options with zucchini bread/muffins/cupcakes! This was my first batch (of 3) so expect a little mini series in the next few days (Chocolate muffins to come next!). I served these muffins along side some eggplant caponata and they were a hit! Between Wyatt and his brother, I’m pretty sure they knocked out half a dozen in the first evening. There is just something about that the little surprises of salty feta through the muffin that leaves you craving more. I can’t wait to make these again in the winter with some hearty chowder!

Savory Feta Zucchini Muffins

adapted from Kalyn’s Kitchen

2 cups zucchini, grated
1/2 cup feta, crumbled
1/2 cup Parmesan, grated
4-5 scallions, chopped
1/4 cup buttermilk (I just made my own using this technique)
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon pepper

Preheat oven to 375 degrees and spray a 12-muffin tin with cooking spray.

Drain the excess zucchini by wrapping it in a clean dish towel and squeezing out as much juice as possible. In a large mixing bowl, combine the feta, Parmesan, and onions. Mix in the buttermilk and eggs to the zucchini mixture.

In another bowl, mix together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and pepper. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and add in the zucchini mixture. Fold the dry into the wet ingredients until just incorporated.

Fill muffin tins 3/4 full (they will expand a bit) and bake for 40-50 minutes. Remove from oven when the tops have browned.

Enjoy with soup, pasta, for breakfast, as an afternoon snack, or just whenever you have a craving for something savory!

Savory Vegetable Cobbler

8.07.2012

CSA Box this week! So excited that we got one since last week’s had to be cancelled because of the drought.

I have been starting to feel summer winding down in my mind so I sorted through and made a list of all the recipes I MUST complete before the fresh produce goes out of season. This was number 1 on my list. It was something that I had made last summer and as soon as I ran across the scribbled recipe in my notebook, I started craving it. The best part too is that you can totally substitute whatever veggies you have on hand and this will help get rid of the huge basil plant infestation that is starting to take over your garden!

Also, I totally realize that making something that is usually sweet into a savory dish may sound weird. But it’s amazing! I have a delicious savory french toast recipes that I will be making in the next couple of weeks to re-enforce this statement. And I am really sorry to whoever invented this idea because the notes I have of this recipes (which were written down years ago) does not include the original source.

Is it just me or is this the perfect dish to make the night you get your CSA box and use up a bunch of those veggies while they are the freshest? I think so.

Savory Vegetable Cobbler

Serves 2 as a main (double for a family of 4 or to have leftovers)

For the topping:

3/4 cup all-purpose flour
dash of salt
dash of sugar
1/2 cup grated cheddar
1/4 cup unsalted butter, chilled and cut into large chunks
1 Tablespoon ice old water

Filling:

1/2 Tablespoon butter
1/2 Tablespoon olive oil
2 garlic cloves
1/2 sweet onion, diced
2 tomatoes, diced
1 medium zucchini, diced
1/2 bell pepper, diced
1/3 cup basil, chopped
1 teaspoon sugar
1/3 cup flour
1 Tablespoon milk
Salt/Pepper

To make the topping: Combine the flour, salt, sugar, and cheddar into a small mixing bowl. Throw in the butter and with [washed hands] press the butter and batter between your fingers to create a coarse dough. Slowly add in the tablespoon of cold water and mix until a thick ball forms. Wrap in foil and stick in the freezer until ready to use.

For the filling: Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a large skillet, heat the butter and oil over medium. Add the onion and garlic and cook for five minutes. Add in the squash and bell peppers and cook until everything is soft and begins to brown. Season with salt and pepper and remove from heat. Fold in the tomato, sugar, flour, and milk. Place in a 9 by 9 inch pan.

Remove dough topping from fridge and pinch off tablespoon pieces to lay over the top. Stick in the oven for 35 or 40 minutes or until it’s browned.

Zucchini Fritters with Dill Dipping Sauce

7.27.2012

Happy Friday! Does anyone have any big plans for the weekend? Wyatt’s band is playing tonight and my Ma is stopping by to see our new house later but I feel that my schedule is pretty open for Saturday and Sunday. I really would love to adventure in the form of canoeing, hiking, picnicing, and camping but I fear that the temperatures are not supposed to drop below 100 again this weekend. This means that I will most likely need to start planning ways to hide indoors during the day (I really have become a wuss when it comes to the heat). Perhaps make a few macrame plant holders or some homemade billy buds?

Or maybe it’s FINALLY time to make that homemade cheese that has been on my summer to-do list forever now! Who knows…but honestly, this heat makes me not want to eat anything lately…the only thing my body has craved for the past month has been coconut flavored La Croix and green smoothies. This would be great if I was the type of girl who wanted to be on a diet…but let’s be real here…I own a food blog! I LOVE to eat! This wasn’t brought up as a complaint…I’ve learned to adjust to the heat. We have been waiting to eat until about 9 or so every night so that it’s cool enough to tolerate cooked food (tolerate is such a terrible word for my recipes…they deserve so much more!). And on a good note – we have been eating a lot less so this has given me a chance to try out all those recipes that many would consider starters/appetizers as light meals for us to enjoy (like those yummy Corn and Feta Empanadas).

Speaking of light meals…I whipped up these zucchini fritters with what was left of CSA box from last week (remember…I didn’t get one this week because of the drought! Such a bummer. And as a warning: it’s not going to just be us Midwesterners who will be affected by this drought! Ek!). Anyhow, these were delicious as a light dinner but feel free to also feel these to your guests as a starter at your next dinner party.

Zucchini Fritters with Dill Dipping Sauce

For the dipping sauce:

1/2 cup sour cream
3 tablespoons fresh dill
1 garlic clove, minced
Juice of a small lime
Salt/Pepper, to taste

For the Fritters:

4 medium zucchini
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup fresh dill
1/2 cup flour
2 eggs, beaten
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
Vegetable or Coconut Oil for Frying

To make the dipping sauce: Combine everything together in a small dish and stick in the fridge until ready to eat (this will give it some time to let the flavors mend together).

To make the Fritters: Cut off the top and bottoms of the zucchini. Grate them using the largest setting on your grater (AKA side with the biggest holes). Sprinkle with salt and stick in a bowl. Cover and let sit for 10 minutes. Move the zucchini to a clean dish towel (or SEVERAL layers of paper towel so they are strong) and ring out any excess juice.

Next, combine the zucchini, dill, flour, garlic, eggs, and baking powder. Stir until everything is mixed and a thick batter has formed.

In a medium skillet, put just enough oil to cover the bottom of the pan. Heat the oil over medium and use a 1/4 cup measuring cup to scoop out the batter onto the pan. My pan was big enough to cook 3 at a time but this may depend on the size of your pan..make sure they have enough room to not collide. Cook for about 3 minutes on each side (time will depend on how hot your oil gets…usually will take less time as you go on).

Place cooked fritters on a paper towel lined tray and repeat with the rest of your batter.

Enjoy with that yummy dipping sauce and your favorite people/puppies.

Spring Leeks and Zucchini Galette

3.25.2012

I actually made this last weekend but have been putting it off for two reasons: 1. I was a little frustrated because pictures could not convey how beautiful this piece of food was and 2. I don’t even know where to begin with being able to describe just how delicious this thing was.

Honestly, this is a bit more complicated than most of the recipes I blog about but it’s well well well worth the extra effort. The crust is flaky like a crescent roll with the slightest hint of sweet from the sour cream that you would never expect. And then the veggies are roasted until they practically melting in your mouth and to top it all of there is a layer of cheese on both the top and bottom. Looking to impress some guests? Please please please make this Galette!

I suggest making the pastry crust earlier that day so save time when it comes to cooking it. Also, I got the crust recipe from Smitten Kitchen so head over there and prep the crust!

Spring Leeks and Zucchini Galette

1 Tablespoon olive oil
2 Leeks, sliced
2 zucchinis, sliced
2 small red potatoes, thinly sliced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup smoked mozzarella, shredded
3 teaspoons dried thyme
1 ounce blue cheese, crumbled
Drizzle of honey
1 crust from Smitten Kitchen
Salt/Pepper, to taste
1 egg white mixed with 1 Tablespoon water

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Heat the Olive oil in a large skillet over medium. Add the garlic, potatoes, zucchini, and leeks and saute for about 3 minutes. Then add in the thyme and salt/pepper and saute for another 2 to 3 minutes.

Spread the cup of smoked mozzerela evenly across the bottom of the crust. Line the vegetables however you’d like within the crust (we did in inward spiral with the zuccini and potatoes and then put the leeks in the middle but feel free to get creative)! Top with chunks of goat cheese and fold the extra crust over (see pictures below!). Brush the egg white mixture along the crust and pop in the oven for about 40 minutes or until the vegtables has softened and the crust is browned.

Drizzle a tiny bit of honey over the goat cheese sections and serve right away! Be careful though because there was three of us and this was gone in about 2 minutes with us wishing we had made 2…or 3 galettes!

Homemade Pasta with Zucchini and Carrot Ribbons

2.01.2012

Okay, this recipe was sooo out of my comfort zone that I’ve been dreading trying to translate it for you guys. The recipe I followed for homemade pasta was by a french enthusiast (who also makes beautiful cooks books- Yvette Van Boven) and insisted on using cooking terms that have never come up in my sheltered, American, vegetarian kitchen life. How did I end up making this? I got talked into it by my “cultured, been-to-every-Continent-but-Antarctica” roommate who insisted it would be a piece of cake (please note- she is the one in all the pictures doing most of the intensive labor parts because I was too busy googling what farina is and how you turn dough into “nests”). What kind of person have I become that cooking with xantham gum and agave nectar are normal occurrences but I don’t even know the french term for ‘cream of wheat’? This girl needs to get cultured outside of her hipster lifestyle.

Needless to say, this was my first experience with true fresh pasta and I can understand what all the fuss is about. It may be a bit labor intensive at times (which would easily be avoided if you have a pasta maker! Hoping to get one of these when I become a “real adult” one day) but it doesn’t even taste like the same food as packaged pasta. It’s soft and doughy with an almost…melt in your mouth texture.

I’m going to also post the recipe that we made with the fresh pasta but feel free to do whatever you’d like with the pasta after you make it. I mean…drenching it in french cream and fresh vegetables is only my suggestion…but you should know it’s a damn good one!

Homemade Pasta with Zucchini and Carrot Ribbons

For the pasta:

2 cups all purpose flour
3 eggs
salt and pepper
cream of wheat

For the sauce:

1 cup creme fraiche
3 garlic cloves, peeled and slit but still whole
2 carrots, peeled
2 zucchinis
salt and pepper, to taste

First…it’s time to prep the pasta dough: Make a pile of the flour (add a bit of salt and pepper to it) on a CLEAN kitchen counter and create a well in the center of it. Crack the eggs into the center and fold the flour into the eggs until you make a firm, dough balls. This will probably take about ten minutes or so sooo be patient (oh or you could probably stick this stuff in a food processor and make it that way…if you have a food processor. Some of us still live in the stone ages…or are just poor college kids. Either way will work though!). Next, your gonna have to leave the dough to rest for about an hour (I know, I know…waiting is no fun).

If you’d like, you can prep your veggies at this time. You’re just going to peel the carrots and then julienne them and the zucchini. Then set aside for later use!

Wait for the dough to be ready…write a song…dance to some vinyls…wait more…drool over how good this recipe is going to be…wait more…READY!

Now, this is the easy part for you folks that have a pasta machine. Basically, you are just going to roll out chunks of the dough and put them through the pasta maker until you reach the desired size you’d like. HOWEVER, we did it without a pasta maker and this is how: we floured that clean kitchen counter again and rolled out the dough as thin as we could possibly get it (I realize this sounds easy…but it’s not. the dough will be tough and want to pull back in on itself but don’t let that discourage you! You’ll get it!). Once it’s as thin as you’d like it, generously sprinkle the dough with cream of wheat (this is important because it’s going to keep the pasta strands from sticking to itself). Using a knife, cut thin strips of dough and make “nests” (see picture below) on a cutting board with the strips. Continue to sprinkle with cream of wheat to prevent sticking.

Once done with that, bring two large pots of salted water to a boil. While waiting for them to boil, in another small saucepan put the cream fraiche. Stick the whole garlic cloves in the cream and bring to a boil. Once boiling, turn down to a simmer and add salt/pepper.

When the two pots are boiling, add the vegetables to one of them to blanched the veggies (the time this will take will vary because of how large or small you cut your veggies so just keep an eye on it and test the veggies every few minutes until they reach a slightly soft texture). Throw your pasta in another pan and let cook until it rises to the surface (this will be only about five minutes- it is a very fast process!). Once they are floating, strain and rinse with cold water. Return the pasta to the pot and strain the veggies.

Remove the garlic cloves from the cream and combine everything together in one of the large pots. Season with salt and pepper and enjoy warm!

Make sure to share and show off your European culinary skills to your mother and kittens!