Zucchini Parmesan

The last of the zucchini is in.  We've been eating zucchini for months, and amazingly, it still tastes good.  But it's a challenge to find something easy and different to do with it.  The zucchini in this recipe is firm, not mushy. It's beautiful, and smells delicious.

Zucchini Parmesan

1 large zucchini
1 egg, beaten
1 Tbs olive oil
1/2 C bread crumbs
1/2 C grated parmesan cheese
1/8 tsp dried basil or 1/2 tsp fresh, chopped
1/8 tsp dried oregano or 1/4 tsp fresh, chopped
1/8 tsp sea salt
1 C spaghetti sauce (homemade or jarred)
1 C grated mozzarella cheese

Preheat oven to 425. Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray.

Slice the zucchini on the diagonal into 3/8 inch slices.

Mix the egg and the olive oil.

 Mix the bread crumbs, parmesan cheese, basil, oregano, and salt.

Dip each slice of zucchini into the egg mixture then the bread crumb mixture.  Place on the baking sheet.  Bake the zucchini for 20 minutes, turning half way.  Spoon spaghetti sauce over the zucchini slices, and sprinkle with mozzarella cheese.  Bake for 5-10 minutes, until the cheese is melted.


That's the recipe format.  Here's the reality. I do not actually measure anything. I have never yet made bread crumb / parmesan amounts come out right when I measure.  I use equal amounts of parmesan and bread crumbs and add the herbs, and hope for the best.

Cheese Souffle

My mother grew up in the mid-west, and mostly cooked normal mid-western foods like ham, roast beef, hamburgers, hotdogs, and casseroles. Lots and lots of casseroles. But she also had a lot of recipes that were more exotic. One of those was cheese souffle. On souffle night, it was all hands on deck. One person to make the white sauce, one person to grate the cheese, one person to beat the egg whites.

Here's a variation of her recipe that allows you to put in some vegetables.

White Sauce Ingredients 

4 T butter

4 T flour 

1 C milk

1/4 t ground mustard 

dash of cayenne pepper 

salt and pepper 

 

Souffle Ingredients

 

2 C shredded cheddar cheese

3 eggs, separated

1/4 t cream of tartar

 

Optional Vegetables (select one of the following)

2 C spinach, chopped, cooked, and drained, OR

2 C broccoli, chopped, cooked, and drained, OR

1 1/2 C corn cooked, with 1/2 C chopped onions and green peppers  

 

Directions

 

Preheat the oven to 350. Heat some water in the kettle.

 

Make a thick white sauce by melting the butter in a small saucepan. Add the flour, ground mustard, salt and pepper and cook for a few minutes. Stir the milk in slowly so there are no lumps. Cook until thickened. Add the cheese and stir until it is melted. Remove from the heat and let cool for a few minutes.

 

Add the egg yolks, and beat thoroughly. Stir in the vegetables.

 

Beat the egg whites with the cream of tartar until stiff peaks form.  Fold the cheese mixture into the egg whites.

 

Pout the mixture into an ungreased 1 1/2 quart straight-sided souffle dish. Put the souffle dish into a 9x13 pan (or some other pan that the souffle dish will fit into. Put the pan into the oven, and pour 1" of water from the kettle into the pan. Bake for 45-55 minutes until the souffle is brown and puffy. Do not open the door until at least 35 minutes in.

 

Serve while HOT. 

 

  

 

 

Greek Salad - Use those summer vegetables!

Greek Salad is delicious, colorful, and easy.  It makes a light summer lunch when all the cucumbers, peppers, and tomatoes are overflowing from the garden.

Greek Salad

Salad:
1 small head lettuce (I used romaine), chopped
2 medium tomatoes, chopped
1 pepper of whatever color you like, chopped
1 cucumber, peeled and seeded if necessary, and chopped
1/4 cup feta cheese
10 black olives, sliced

Dressing
1/4 C olive oil
3 Tbs red wine vinegar
1/4 tsp oregano
1/4 tsp parsley
1/4 tsp basil
dash of salt and pepper

Toss all the vegetables gently in a bowl.  Sprinkle with the cheese and olives.

Mix the dressing ingredients, and pour over the salad. You can let it marinade for a couple of hours if you want.

Sweet Potato Casserole with Pecan Topping - Pie that counts as a vegetable.

When I asked my son whether he wanted roasted sweet potatoes or sweet potato casserole for Thanksgiving, he said he preferred casserole.  When I asked why, he said, "Because it's pie that counts as a vegetable." Okay, so it's very sweet and creamy like pumpkin pie, with a crunch topping that's nearly identical to the crumb crust I put on pie.  All that is lacking is the bottom crust.

So here's my version of Pie that Counts as a Vegetable, or otherwise known as:

Sweet Potato Casserole with Pecan Topping

3 cups cooked, mashed sweet potatoes (somewhere between 3 smallish sweets or 1 very large one)
2 eggs
2 Tbs melted coconut oil (or butter)
3 Tbs honey (or maple syrup)
1 tsp vanilla

Mix all this together, and put into a shallow casserole dish.

Topping:
1/4 cup butter
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup quick oats or rolled oats
1 cup chopped pecans
1/2 tsp cinnamon

Cut in the butter with brown sugar, cinnamon, and oats. Stir in the pecans.

Sprinkle topping evenly over the sweet potato mixture.

Bake 30 minutes at 350.

In case you wonder what happens if you use purple sweet potatoes....

Butternut Casserole

We've had a hard time growing winter squash in the greenhouse.  Between the heat, the squash bugs, the cucumber beetles, and the diseases associated with all of the above, we've never had a good crop until this year. The guineas killed the bugs. But most importantly, we got some extra special seeds from the fantastic folks at the local seed company, Commonwealth.

Butternut Casserole

1 medium butternut squash (2 pounds, more or less)

2 eggs

3 Tbs maple syrup

1/4 c cream (or milk or the milk substitute of your choice)

3/4 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp powdered ginger

1/4 tsp salt
nutmeg

Cut the squash in half and scoop out the seeds.  Put the squash, cut side down, on a baking sheet with sides. Bake for 40 minutes (more or less, depending on the size and shape of your squash) at 375 degrees (more or less, depending on if you have something else in the oven at a slightly different temperature) until it feels cooked  when you poke it with a fork. Let cool at room temperature until you can handle it. (I sometimes do this the night before.)

Preheat oven to 350.

Scoop out the squash pulp and mash it with your favorite mashing method. Potato masher, electric mixer, stick blender, food processor.  Any of them work.

Add the rest of the ingredients except the nutmeg, and mix well. 

Pour into a 1 1/2 quart casserole dish and sprinkle with nutmeg. Bake for 45 minutes or until it seems cooked when you wiggle the dish.

It's mildly sweet, and a perfect fall side dish.

Quick Caprese Salad

I've given you the Traditional Caprese Salad Recipe. This is the quick version, and honestly, it's the one I usually use. 

 Quick Caprese Salad

• 2 # of a variety of excellent homegrown tomatoes
• 12 oz. fresh mozzarella balls
• fresh basil
• really good olive oil
• balsamic glaze
• fresh ground salt and pepper.

Slice or chunk the tomatoes (if you have grape or cherry tomatoes, you don't even have to do that). Put the tomatoes in your serving dish, and sprinkle some salt on them. Chop the basil (which is really easy with herb scissors). Add the basil and mozzarella balls to the tomatoes. Toss lightly. Drizzle with lots of olive oil and balsamic glaze. Add pepper and salt to taste.

Rebaked Potatoes

 I used to have a copy of Mollie Katzen's The Enchanted Broccoli Forest book. It was one of my favorite cookbooks.  I've been looking for her recipe for Rebaked Potatoes. I have found a recipe that's similar, but not exactly what I remember. So I'm writing down what I did, so I'll at least have a starting point next time I try to make it. And with any luck, The Enchanted Broccoli Forest will magically reappear on my shelves, so I don't have to guess again.

Rebaked Potatoes

4 fist-sized baking potatoes (Russet or Kenebec)

1/3 C mayonnaise

1 C cottage cheese

4 hard cooked eggs, finely chopped

1 1/2 T dijon mustard

1 t salt

2 t fresh dill weed or 1 t dried 

1 C grated cheddar

1/4 t cayenne pepper

1/2 t ground pepper

Topping:

extra grated cheddar

paprika

sliced tomatoes (optional)

Bake the potatoes for 45 minutes in a 375 degree oven until done. When cool enough to handle, cut each potato in half lengthwise. Scoop out the potato innards, leaving 1/4 of the potato near the skin.

Place the potato innards in a bowl. Mash them with the mayonnaise and cottage cheese. Add the remaining ingredients (except for the topping). Mix well.

Put the potato skins in a 9x13" baking dish. Fill each of the potato skins. Put a tomato slice on each potato and sprinkle extra cheese and paprika over the top.  Bake at 375 degrees for 35 minutes.