Zucchini Fritters

We're going away for a couple of days. Since we're leaving, there was a zucchini in my fridge I wanted to use up. I decided on simple baked zucchini fritters. Rather than baking them in patties, I've found that muffin tins allow for even baking and a lighter texture.

Ingredients:
1 medium-large zucchini
1/2 of an onion
approx 5 tsp whole wheat pastry flour (pretty much any flour would work here)
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 egg
2 oz. light cheddar cheese, grated
salt
pepper

First, I grated the zucchini and onion into a bowl.


Next, I poured the onion/zucchini mixture into a colander and pressed out as much moisture as I could. I sprinkled it with a pinch of salt and gave it a mix. I let it drain for about 20 minutes or so, letting the salt pull out more moisture. When ready, I pressed it again and put it into a medium mixing bowl.

I added the flour, baking powder, egg, cheese, and freshly ground pepper (to taste) and mixed with a spoon until the flour is moist.

I used a medium cookie scoop to put the mixture into an oiled muffin tin and baked at 400F for approximately 20 minutes, until nicely browned and solid in the center. This yielded 9 fritters. If you have a larger zucchini (or using 2 medium ones), add another teaspoon or so of flour and up the baking powder to a full teaspoon.

They were nice and light, with a mildly crispy. I usually make these with parmesan, but I liked the texture that the cheddar added. They went well with the scrambled eggs we had for dinner :-)

Lemon Spaghetti with Zucchini and Italian Sausage

It's officially summer in our house. The air conditioner is blowing and I've made my first batch of lemon spaghetti of the year.



I love lemon, but I love lemon spaghetti even more. I go back and forth between creamy or not. Tonight I decided on mildly creamy. I also changed things up, adding zucchini and vegetarian Italian sausage.

Tonight's batch included:

• Zest of 1 lemon, the juice of 2 (medium sized)
• Whole wheat spaghetti (8 oz dry)
• Zucchini (large- approx. the length of the pasta), cut into long matchsticks (a mandolin makes this easy)
• Vegetarian Italian sausage, sliced (I didn't do my own this time, so went with Fieldroast. They make a great Italian sausage, but go with what you like-- meatless or not)
• Greek yogurt (nonfat, approx 3 oz.- you could easily use low- or full-fat)
• Salt
• Pepper
• Fresh parsley, chopped (approx 2 tablespoons)
• Parmesan cheese (grated)

While the pasta water boiled, I sliced the sausage into disks and placed them in a single layer on a hot skillet to cook. The zucchini was cut into long matchsticks to mimic spaghetti. I salted the pasta pot before dropping the dried pasta in to boil. With approx 2 minutes left of boiling time, I tossed in the zucchini (you could steam it separately, for less nutrient loss) and gave everything a stir.

When the pasta was al dente, I poured it all into a colander to drain, retaining about a cup of the pasta water. I squeezed the juice of 1 lemon, the yogurt, about half of the lemon zest, a pinch of salt, and a few grinds of pepper, and a couple of splashes of the pasta water to thin the yogurt and bring everything together. After giving everything a stir and giving it a taste, I wanted more lemon flavor, so I added the juice of another lemon.

I added the pasta/zucchini mixture to a warm pasta bowl, placed the sausage on top (to retain its crispiness) and garnished with fresh parsley and the remaining lemon zest. We each added a small bit of grated parmesan when on our plates.


It appeared to be hit with my husband. I thought it tasted like summer on a plate (in a good way). The fresh zucchini, parsley and lemon brought out a real brightness when combined. Appearance-wise, the zucchini tends to visibly hide among the "real" pasta (it's nearly half pasta, half zucchini), except where the skin is evident, but it lightens up the dish for the palate and the waistline. The crispy, mildly-spicy sausage brought some welcome texture, too. I'm already looking forward to leftovers.

Homemade Extracts and French Toast

A while back, we were running low on vanilla at my boyfriend's house (before we moved in together and he became my husband). Since this can be a slightly expensive replacement if you buy the real stuff, and I was baking a lot, I thought about it for a few moments. I've made infused oils and vinegars, why not extracts?

We did just that! We found a few cool-looking glass bottles and set out to make our own vanilla extract. We used a dark rum base, because it's something we would actually consume outside of the process, but bourbon or brandy or such would work well, too.


It's an extremely easy process. Economical, too! Slice the side of a vanilla bean to allow the rum access to the more flavorful bits, place it into a glass bottle, cover with rum (you'll need a funnel for small-neck bottles) and place it in the back of a cool, dark cabinet for a while. Within a couple of months, it was wonderful. It only got better as it steeped further. As it gets low, we start another batch. You can see by the bottle on the left, we need to start some more vanilla soon.

Tip: Our grocer gave us a good hint when it comes to buying vanilla. It can be less expensive in the "ethnic foods" area. We got quality Madagascar vanilla beans for a song. It was about 3x the price in the baking aisle.

We didn't stop with vanilla, however. We also made cinnamon extract! This was the real prize hit. It was the same process, only we used cinnamon stick instead of the vanilla bean. Oh. My. Goodness. I love adding it to yogurt when I'm making a sweet dipping sauce for, say, baked sweet potato fries (amazing).

I don't know why it took me until yesterday, however, to realize its power in french toast. I remember as a kid trying to put cinnamon in the batter, only to have it float on top, so would only really work for a piece or two. Since then, I've always just given the toast a little sprinkle on each side once it's battered.

As I made french toast for breakfast yesterday, however, it hit me when I went to add the vanilla. Instead, I grabbed the cinnamon extract. I have to say, it was a pretty genius move. For more depth, you could add both, but I stuck with just the cinnamon.

I planned on doing spearmint last summer when it was growing on the side of our house, but for some reason never got around to it. I'm guessing it'll happen this year.

Have you made extracts? What's your favorite?

Show Me the Greens

When I lived on the west coast, I belonged to a produce farm share. I loved it! It was a fun challenge every week to figure out what to do with whatever arrived at my door.

We just signed up for a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) with a nearby farm. Since we don't have the space to plant much more beyond herbs, lettuce and tomatoes (I'm still trying to figure out how to get a bacon plant to grow, for convenient BLTs), I'm very excited to get back to a regular box of organic, local veggies every week. I'm looking forward to sharing our weekly haul here, along with what we do with it.

Want your own regular farm-fresh challenge? Check out Farmigo for a CSA near you! They may even deliver.

Citrus Garlic Tilapia

I wanted something fresh, light and quick for dinner. Tonight's menu included citrus garlic tilapia, brown rice, and a snap pea and cucumber salad.

First, I started the rice. Instead of water, I used some vegetable broth.  It's a great way to quickly season rice without any fuss.

While the rice cooked, I started on the fish. I quickly sauteed some garlic in some olive oil (it won't completely cook in the oven otherwise). I gave the baking dish a quick spray of oil, as well. I placed a few slices of lemon in the dish. I patted down the filets with paper towels to dry them off and placed them on top of the lemon. This helps infuse the lemon flavor into the fish via steam without it getting tough from too much lemon juice. I then sprinkled them with lemon zest, salt, and the minced garlic and gave them a couple of cranks of pepper. I covered with foil and popped it into a 375-degree oven for about 30 minutes (until it is just opaque and flakes in the center).


Once the tilapia was in the oven, I mixed up a quick rice wine vinaigrette (rice wine vinegar, olive oil, sea salt, pepper) and prepped the veggies. I also cut a few sections of grapefruit to garnish the fish. The baked lemon slices also added some wonderful flavor to the rice. My sister sent us some blood orange olive oil that I used to finish the fish. Just a few small drops gave it some nice added depth (definitely optional).

Smooth(ie) Operator

Another reason I love this time of year and its abundant produce? Smoothies on a regular basis. It just feels indulgent and naughty having what basically tastes like a fruity milkshake as the start to my day (or a smaller one as a mid-afternoon snack). I stopped drinking actual juice when I started my whole foods diet (7-ish years ago), because I want the benefit of the whole fruit. This fits the bill.

This batch was blueberry, strawberry (fresh and frozen),  cantaloupe, vanilla yogurt and flax. I love the reusable straws we found :-)


My smoothie rules are basically that there are no smoothie rules, but there are a couple of tricks I like to employ for maximum taste and benefit.

First: I use whatever fresh fruit is on-hand, but the base is always frozen fruit (whether commercially frozen or just leftover fresh fruit that got chunked and frozen). This eliminates the need for ice that just waters everything down. If you're buying frozen, check the ingredients. It should just be fruit, no sugar added.

Second: If it's a meal, I add a little booster. This is usually a teaspoon-ish of flax meal or psyllium husk powder (plain- no extra junk added). You'll note each of these things is milled. It's tough to digest otherwise. WARNING: If using psyllium husks, drink a LOT of water in addition to the smoothie or you will end up with stomach cramps. It will make you full and satisfy you longer, though, when used properly.

Third: If you have an immersion blender, this is an excellent time to use it. Why mess up a whole blender?

So, my smoothies are simple:

• Fruit: at least half frozen
• Half a banana- optional (You can freeze the other half. It will look brown, but will be camouflaged by other fruit and taste completely fine)
• Yogurt (plain or flavored- whatever you prefer). If you don't eat dairy, you could easily substitute soy yogurt or leave it out entirely (I would up the banana to a whole one in this case, for texture)
• Flax meal or psyllium husk powder- optional (In a pinch I've used oat bran, but it can get gritty)
• Get creative (or not): fresh spinach or kale, fresh mint, whatever your little taste buds and body desire!

I usually start with all of the frozen fruit and yogurt and build from there. If you blend the frozen stuff first, it makes room in the blender cup to add the fresh stuff and any other additives you like.

Cereal

You've probably noticed I don't like to eat a lot of overly-processed foods. When I can, I make my own sauces, soups, breads, etc. Now that we have a meat grinder again (I gave mine up when I had a tiny Manhattan apartment and kitchen to match), we even grind our own meat (can't wait to start making my own veggie sausage again!).

I don't do this for any sort of food snobbery, it's just how I've grown as a cook. Why buy something when homemade is often not any more difficult? It can also be healthier and a money saver. The money-saving part was key during my "starving artist" days. Why live on ramen when there's a perfectly good farmer's market available, also on the cheap? Provided I have a little extra time, I just prefer knowing firsthand exactly what I'm eating. But I honestly don't judge on shortcuts. When I'm in school, I often have to take a few of them, myself. My former career, while demanding, was so much less time-consuming. I also find cooking is relaxing enough to be practically meditative. 

The one thing from which I've never really broken free is cereal. I'm practically Seinfeldian in that respect. I love cereal. It's a great snack or easy meal (It's not just for breakfast any more). Yeah, I buy the healthier stuff without too many crazy additives that is low on sugar (though I do sadly mourn a lack of Lucky Charms in my diet), but it's still pretty darn processed. I was absolutely crestfallen to discover that Kashi and a few others are from the cereal mega giants (warning: potentially disturbing content if you love your cereal as I do).

I think the only reason it bothers me at all is because I know I could  make cereal myself, I frankly just don't want to. Why make some sort of cereal paste, extrude it, bake it, and still have it not look like the mechanically made stuff out of the box? I've made my own muesli and granola, but they're not really my favorite types of cereal, so why? I'd much rather have something flaky or wheat biscuity with a hint of sweetness.

I suppose if one is to have a vice, this is not the worst to have. It's not like I have to eat my cereal out of a brown paper bag in some back alley. But I still feel like I shouldn't love it nearly as much as I do. I think that's really the part I just have to get over.

Fruit!

I went to an end-of-the-year picnic for school yesterday. I wanted to make sure that among the desserts and mayo-laden salads that there was also something I could eat without guilt, so I made a fruit salad. I served it in a nicer bowl (a really cool, new serving bowl with an ice reservoir to keep things cold!), but of course completely forgot to take a photo in that state. Anyway, I had to share this gorgeous, fresh fruit available! I love this time of year for this exact reason.



I included watermelon, cantaloupe, strawberries, oranges, green grapes, blackberries and kiwi. The best part is that we have plenty of leftover melon and berries for a few days of snacking

Taco Redux

Remember that casserole I made from Cinco de Mayo leftovers? Oh, it was good.



It used up every bit of leftovers, including tortillas. This is how I layered it (bottom to top):

Mexican rice
Chopped tomatoes (leftover from making the rice)
Corn tortillas (single layer- to absorb any extra juice from the tomatoes)
Garbanzo & mushroom mixture
Refried beans (spicy!)
Fresh tomatoes
Radishes (Yes, radishes! They're mild and sweet when cooked)
Chopped parsley
Cheddar cheese (light)

If I'd made meaty tacos, I'd have added the filling in the same place I added the garbanzo/mushroom mixture.


It ended up perfectly moist, but not wet. I served it with a simple green salad and it made for a good, nutritious, comforting meal that was extremely quick.

Egg Salad

There is little I like more than a creamy egg salad sandwich on grainy bread.

I should note that I like my egg salad very mustardy. Sometimes, I'll admit I just add a spoonful of mustard to the egg, mash it up, give it a crank of the pepper grinder and be done with it. More often, though, I just go a little heavier on the mustard than other additions and stick to savory items. I change it up, based on what I have on-hand and sounds good. If you like sweeter egg salad, for example, you can substitute sweet pickles for dill, etc.

First, of course, I hard-boiled the eggs.

For this batch, I had some open, leftover plain yogurt (Greek). So, instead of just mayo, I did half light olive oil mayo and half yogurt. I used deli mustard. If I'm out, I'll sometimes make my own (mayo or mustard or both), but we happened to be stocked, so I went with the easy options (as much as I like homemade mayo, it's more fragile than the commercial stuff and goes bad more quickly). I added a couple twists of pepper, gave a stir and a taste, adjusting accordingly (as usual, my verdict was that it needed more mustard, though I didn't go especially crazy with it). I used 4 eggs, so about 2 Tbl. of dressing (combined).



We still had radishes that needed using (radishes + mustard = perfection, in my book). We also have some amazing dill refrigerator pickles from a local farm, so chopped up a bit of each and added them. They not only add flavor, but extra layers of texture.

I was happy with the taste, so stopped there. Of course, you should add/leave out what you do/don't like.

Sometimes I like to add chopped tomato (or, even better, stuff a big, ripe tomato with the egg salad, forgoing the bread-- soooo good). A dash or two of paprika can be nice, too-- reminiscent of deviled eggs. It should be of no surprise that I'll add pretty much any vegetable I have on-hand to adjust texture/flavor (or just to use them up, if needed).



I kept the sandwich pretty simple, in this case-- just egg salad and a wonderfully-grainy oat bread. It was perfect in its simplicity.