Easy Zucchini Lasagna

The zucchini is in.  Those sneaky things hide in the leaves until they are too big to sell.  But they are still tender and taste fabulous. This is a good way to use those over-sized squash.  (This works well with patty pan, too.)

Easy Zucchini Lasagna

2 large zucchini
1 quart of spaghetti sauce (if you are lucky enough to have homemade, otherwise just use a jar of sauce from the store) or Homemade Marinara
16 oz ricotta cheese
8 oz grated mozzarella
1 cup Parmesan cheese

1. Slice the zucchini lengthwise into 1/4" slices.  Sprinkle with salt, and set aside for 1 hour to let the liquid sweat out. Dry them with a paper towel.
2. Spray a 2 quart casserole with cooking spray.
3. Start layering
 - 1/3 of the zucchini
 - 1/3 of the sauce
 - 1/2 of the ricotta
 - 1/3 of the mozzarella
 - 1/3 of the Parmesan
 - 1/3 of the zucchini
 - 1/3 of the sauce
 - 1/2 of the ricotta (all of the remaining)
 - 1/3 of the mozzarella
 - 1/3 of the Parmesan
 - 1/3 of the zucchini (all of the remaining)
 - 1/3 of the sauce (all of the remaining)
 - 1/3 of the mozzarella (all of the remaining)
 - 1/3 of the Parmesan (all of the remaining)

Bake at 350 for 1 hour.  Let set for 10 minutes before serving.

This recipe is so easy, it feels like it's cheating.  Using zucchini instead of noodles lowers the carbohydrates and cranks up the nutrition. If you want to give it more umami flavor, you can add another layer after the ricotta. Use browned ground meat of your choice, crumbles, or sauted mushrooms.

Broccoli Cranberry Salad

We are finally harvesting the broccoli that we started from seeds back in September.  Broccoli is so sweet when it is fresh.

Broccoli Cranberry Salad

4 cups broccoli florets
1 - 2 shredded carrots
1/3 cup chopped walnuts, optional
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup sliced scallions
3/4 cup mayonnaise
1 Tbs red wine vinegar
1 Tbs honey

Toss the broccoli, carrots, walnuts, cranberries, and scallions. Stir the mayonnaise, vinegar and honey until thoroughly combined, and stir into the broccoli.

Enjoy.

Chicken Kale Soup

The more I eat kale, the more I like it.  Here's an easy recipe for

Chicken Kale Soup

6 cups chicken stock (home made, if you have it)
1 cup brown rice, raw
1 large onion, chopped
3 medium carrots, sliced
2 cups diced tomatoes (home canned are good, if fresh ones are out of season)
3 cloves garlic
4 large kale leaves
1 1/2 tsp fresh thyme leaves, or 1/2 tsp dried
3 cups cooked chicken
salt and pepper to taste

Bring the stock to a boil.  Add the brown rice, onion, carrot, garlic, and kale.  Simmer for 30 minutes.  Add tomatoes, thyme, and chicken.  Simmer for another 15 minutes.

Chicken Pot Pie

  There are so many recipes that use celery.  Celery is fine - a little salty, a little stringy, but it adds a nice crunch.  Does anyone grow celery, though?  I don't.  I've never seen it at the farmer's market, or at the local section of the grocery store.  However, chard stems also have a nice crunch, they are not stringy, and they have a really nice flavor.  And of course, it's easy to grow chard in the cool weather garden, or find a beautiful variety at the farmer's market.

  Chicken Pot Pie

Preheat oven to 400.

Crust:
2 cups flour
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup sunflower oil
1/4 cup milk

Mix the flour and the salt in a large bowl. Measure 1/2 of oil into a measuring cup, and add 1/4 cup milk.  Pour all at once into the flour mixture.  Stir with a fork until blended.  Roll out about 2/3 of the crust very thin and line a 2 quart casserole dish. Roll out the rest for the top crust.  Reserve for later.

Filling:
1 quart chicken stock
1 large onion, diced
1 cup diced carrots
1 cup diced potatoes
1 small summer squash (any variety) diced
4 large chard leaves with stems
2-4 cups diced cooked chicken
1 Tbs. chopped fresh parsley, or 1 tsp dried
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup flour
salt and pepper to taste

Remove the stems from the chard leaves and slice the stems like celery.  Cut the chard leaves into 1" pieces. Put 4 cups chicken stock in a pot and bring to a boil. Add onion, carrots, potatoes, squash, and chard stems into the stock. Lower the heat and simmer until the vegetables are almost tender. Bring the stock mixture back to a boil.  Mix 1/2 cup water and 1/4 cup flour until smooth.  Pour the flour mixture into the stock mixture, and stir until thickened.  Add the chicken, chard leaves, parsley, salt and pepper.  Pour the stock mixture into the prepared crust.  Put the top crust over the stock mixture.  Crimp the edges of the crust.  Poke holes into the crust so that the steam will escape.

Bake for 35 minutes until the filling is bubbly and the crust is golden brown.

Roasted Vegetable Salad

I was looking for something interesting to do with lettuce.  I mean, you can't cook it.  You can't freeze it.  You are pretty much limited to salad.  I wanted to make something different.  Here's what I did:

Salad Ingredients:
16 baby carrots
16 thumb sized potatoes, poked with a knife or fork
1 green or red bell pepper, cut into 1" squares
2 pattypan squash cut into wedges (remove any hard seeds)
one bunch red leaf lettuce, torn into pieces

Dressing Ingredients:
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
2 tbs balsamic vinegar
1/2 tsp salt
1 Tbs. chopped fresh parsley, or 1/2 tsp dried
1 tsp. chopped fresh oregano, or 1/2 tsp dried

Preheat the oven to 425.  Arrange the carrots, potatoes, pepper pieces and squash wedges in a single layer on a baking sheet.  Roast the vegetables in the oven for 30 minutes, or until the vegetables are lightly brown and tender.  Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 15 minutes.

Mix all the dressing ingredients in a large bowl. Toss the cooled vegetables in the dressing.

Arrange the lettuce in a serving bowl.  Arrange the vegetables on the lettuce.  Drizzle any remaining dressing over the salad.

Zucchini Blueberry Muffins

Sunburst Blueberry Muffins sounds a little weird, so I'm going with zucchini.  We pulled up the sunburst squash plants weeks ago, but the squash that we harvested hasn't yet withered.  It is just happily sitting in the pantry.  It's a little past the time where we can use it fresh, but it is working great in soups, pot pie, and muffins. The biggest difference between the sunburst and the zucchini is that the sunburst may harbor a few hard seeds, so either cut them out before you start, or take them out while you are grating.

Here's the recipe:

Zucchini Blueberry Muffins

Ingredients:
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/3 cup sunflower oil
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/4 cup milk
2/3 cups sugar
1 cup shredded zucchini
1 2/3 cups flour (mix unbleached and whole wheat to your preference)
1/4 tsp. salt
3/4 tsp. baking powder
1/8 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 1/4 cups blueberries

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray a muffin pan with cooking spray
2. In a large bowl, beat together the eggs, oil, vanilla, milk, and sugar.  Fold in the zucchini. In a separate bowl, mix together the flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, and cinnamon. Add the dry ingredients to the egg mixture, and stir until just blended. Fold in the blueberries.
3. Divide the batter evenly to fill the muffin pan.
4. Bake 20 minutes or until the tops are brown and a tester comes out clean.

Okay, so the  blueberries were frozen rather than fresh. Like most farm people, we preserve what we can't sell or eat fresh.  But back in July, the zucchini, blueberries, and eggs were fresh from the farm.

Winter Greens are here - Sausage Kale Soup

The flat green kale is growing like weeds. Fortunately, it tastes better.

Sausage Kale Soup

1 lb sausage, sliced (any type you like, including vegetarian, but Portuguese is traditional)
1 onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, sliced
2 cups stock (chicken or vegetable)
4 cups water
2 cups diced potatoes
1 1 lb. bunch kale, stems removed, and chopped
red pepper flakes (optional)
salt and pepper to taste

Cook sausage in a soup pot, until lightly browned, about 10 minutes.  Drain off any fat.  Add the onion, and continue cooking until translucent, about 5 minutes.  Add the garlic, and cook for another minute.  Add the water and stock, and bring to a boil.  Add the potatoes, kale, (and red pepper flakes if using) and cook until tender, another 10 minutes or so.

Enjoy.