Zucchini, Bacon and Gruyere Quiche or Zucchini Explosion Part lll

Are you tired of zucchini yet?  Yes, like everyone else who has a vegetable garden, we've been eating a whole lot of zucchini.  When zucchini isn't the star of the meal, we've been eating the obvious side dishes: grilled zucchini, sautéed zucchini, zucchini with tomatoes sprinkled with a little feta cheese and on and on and on....
So the other night when Paul said, "I don't think we have anything in the house for dinner."  
I quickly replied, "Are you kidding, we have zucchini!"......  I thought I heard a groan.
I poked my head in the fridge and saw we really didn't have much in the house.  There was a small piece of Gruyere, eggs, milk, a little bit of cream, a few strips of bacon, some berries, salad greens, cucumbers, and two bottles of Guinness that have been hiding in the back for several months.  I opened my freezer drawer and saw a pie crust from...I don't know when.  Looks like we are having quiche.  Having a pie crust in the freezer made it a no brainer.   Although I would usually prefer to make my own crust, it was a warm humid night and even with the AC on, it wasn't the best of conditions to start messing with pie dough.  We were hungry, not picky.  It was already 6pm, so I defrosted the frozen dough in the microwave, grabbed the Gruyere, eggs, milk, cream, bacon and a few shallots I found hiding in my onion basket.  By 7:15 we were enjoying a piece of silky quiche, green salad and glass of Pinot Noir.  Not bad for having nothing in the house!

Zucchini Fritters with Chipotle Cream or Zucchini Explosion Part II

Last year, when I was drowning in zucchini, I tried making zucchini fritters.  I wasn't overly impressed with them.  I tried my hand at them twice.  The second time I added a little grated potato for body.  It was a slight improvement, but not blog worthy.  I've been thinking about those fritters...and then it came to me.  While I was searching for different appetizers from my favorite bloggers, I came across cornmeal cakes on Annie's Eats.  Cornmeal, that's it!  Cornmeal would be the perfect ingredient to give my fritters enough body without being bland.  Annie's recipe inspired me to try again.  This time, in my humble opinion,  I came up with a blog worthy recipe.

Zucchini Explosion!

Zucchini has taken over my garden.  We've had a bounty of zucchini over the past few weeks.  Several days ago, I checked on my garden before I left for work.  I eyed several young zucchini, and decided they needed another day to grow and planned to harvest them the following morning.  The following day came along with torrential rain, so I never made it out to the garden.  The day after that was hot and steamy.  I was running late that morning and didn't get a chance to check on the zucchini until I got home from work later that evening. To my horror...my zucchini turned into 10 inch monsters that resembled stubby baseball bats.  I'm guessing the rain and the intense heat accelerated their growth and left me with these monsters.  I know some people intentionally let their zucchini grow like watermelons, I'm just not one of those people.  Bloated zucchini tend to become seedy and flavorless.  It was depressing.  Never-the-less, I made the best of it.  I picked about a dozen of  the oversized beasts.  As I picked, I thought about all the things I would not be able to do with them.  One thing for sure, I could stuff them.  The other thing I could do, was give some away along with this recipe!

Don't be afraid to use what you have on hand.  You can add mushrooms or diced summer squash.  Make them meatless and add some cooked rice or quinoa.  The possibilities are endless.

Avocado and Citrus Salad

As I anxiously await the arrival of fresh local produce, I have to remind myself, it's only April.  The warm weather has lured my brain into summer produce mode and wanting to rush the season.   I got an early jump on my vegetable garden this year, having planted peas, arugula, and radishes.  They can handle the colder nights and even a light frost.  I threw a few mesclun and lettuce seeds in the garden as well....sort of an experiment you might say.  Everything I've read says, don't let the warm weather fool you into rushing the planting season, but my lilac, azaleas, and clematis are all poised to bloom.  Should I ask them to wait too? Anyway, mesclun and lettuce are a bit more tender and could eat it if we have a frost.  I decided to throw caution to the wind.  After all, what's the worst thing that could happen? In the meantime, I will have to make do with produce shipped in from other parts of the world.

Until you can get your hands on some local salad fixings, add some zip to a salad with citrus.  I've made this salad with both ruby red grapefruit and clementines.  I prefer the tartness of the grapefruit and the beautiful color as well. Use what you like, or whatever you have lurking in your refrigerator.  

Rethinking Split Pea Soup

Disclaimer:  I am not a pea soup aficionado.  I don't have much experience with pea soup.  For years I didn't think I liked pea soup. (That was a learned behavior)  For years I wouldn't try pea soup because I was told by my mother that I wouldn't like pea soup. (She HATED even the sight of pea soup). Then one day about 15 years ago I made a ham.  When we finished eating the ham, my husband said, "You've never made me pea soup.  Why don't you make pea soup with the ham bone?"  I looked at him like he had four heads.  "I don't do pea soup, you foolish man, where have you been the last 15 years of our marriage?" was my reply (or something like that).  He insisted that pea soup was delicious and I could not possibly dislike a food that I have never tasted.  I begrudgingly agreed to make my first pea soup.  I decided on a recipe that I found on the back of the bag of split peas (I was not being very resourceful).  He was happy, but I was not particularly impressed.  Truth be told, it wasn't awful, it was just a bit pea-ish, and peas have never been my favorite vegetable.  So every two years or so, usually prompted by a ham bone, I would make Paul some pea soup.

This past Christmas I made a delicious ham for dinner.   After days of eating ham morning, noon and night, and Matt and Lauren went home (Lauren loves ham like nobody's business - sorry Lauren, your secret is out), I stuck the ham bone in a freezer bag and popped it into the freezer for safe keeping.  Last week I found that ham bone and decided to commit myself to making a better pea soup.  I'd been analyzing why pea soup doesn't do it for me (besides being pea-ish).  Then it dawned on me.  It's sort of one dimensional and I object to its pasty texture.  I started researching pea soup recipes and decided to use Ina Garten's recipe as my starting point.  I've come to trust Ina, except when it comes to her use of butter and salt...it can be over-kill for me. 

I have to say, this soup was a winner!  Maybe pea soup purists would scoff at it, but this is exactly what I wanted my pea soup to taste like.  I will be making it again for sure, but I won't be waiting two years this time.  If you like pea soup, give this recipe a try.  If you don't like pea soup, suspend your belief and broaden your horizons and maybe, just maybe, you'll be a convert like me.

Creamy Broccoli Soup, Without the Cream

So if you are like most people, you are in the midst of holiday mode.  Almost everyone deviates from their usual eating habits this time of year.  Shopping and eating on the run, the inevitable treats that invade the office, parties and social gatherings can wreak havoc on the diets of the most disciplined eater.  It's always good to have a few light dinner ideas to counteract the evils of holiday indulgences.

This broccoli soup is a perfect antidote for a day of bad eating.  I find myself making a soup like this for a light dinner after Paul spends a Sunday afternoon with the boys watching football.  Watching football really means eating wings, nachos, pigs in a blanket and drinking beer.  He's not usually hungry for dinner on those days, but at 7:30 or 8:00pm he's looking for something to fill "his empty spot".  A bowl of soup served with a crusty bread does the trick.

Roasted Eggplant and Vegetable Spread

September is winding down and so is my vegetable garden.  This week we said a sad goodbye to our tomato plants.  Last year our tomatoes lasted well into October, but I think the volume of rain that has fallen since the end of August just plain did them in.  Tomatoes were splitting on the vine even though we were picking like crazy.  Paul managed to pick about 4 more pounds of tomatoes before those vines met their fate in the compost heap.   I still have some jalapeños growing and will most likely pick and pickle them by next weekend....and yes, the eggplant is still going strong.  

We planted 2 Black Beauty eggplant vines this year.  At first I wasn't sure they would make it.  They were a slow go, but once the summer heated up and the rain fell, those vines have been producing like gangbusters.  Right now there are about a dozen eggplants left on the vines and I am running out of eggplant enthusiasm.  I have made eggplant Parmesan, eggplant gratin, roasted eggplant, stuffed eggplant, grilled eggplant, ratatouille and given quite a bit of eggplant away.  One of my favorite ways to get rid of  prepare eggplant is to roast it with some aromatic vegetables and create a delicious and versatile "spread".  I put the word "spread" in quotes because you will see, it is much more than a spread.  

When Life Hands You Cucumbers, Make Pickles

Summer is in full swing and so is my garden.  The past few weeks have been full of broccoli, zucchini, green beans and finally...tomatoes and cucumbers.  I've been training my cucumber vines to grow up a trellis that was the former home of my spring sweet peas.  I don't recall the exact variety of cucumber I planted, but I do know they were in the Kirby family.  Before I had a garden, I would seek Kirby cukes out at the produce market.  Sadly, they were not always available.  I love their crisp crunch, their fresh flavor and their thin, edible skin.  Kirby cucumbers are pickle cucumbers.

When I planted my cukes, I had pickles in mind.  I've never made pickles before and when I got to thinking about actually making pickles, I came to the realization that I am very picky about pickles.  I like pickles from "The Pickle Guy" at the farmer's market.  I used to love pickles from a pickle barrel at good deli, but stopped buying them because the thought of other people fishing around in the pickle barrel sort of grosses me out.  I like pickles that are in the refrigerator section of the grocery store and generally avoid the sad looking pickles on the shelves.  It's early in the season so I'm not yet knee deep in cucumbers.  I wanted to experiment with small batch refrigerator pickles before the bumper crop starts happening.  After doing some research and experimentation I turned to a recipe that was posted by Marisa from Food In Jars.  It looked looked like a great starting point for this pickle novice.

The greener the pickle the better.  The ones with the white on the ends are beginning to bloat
and are not the best for making pickles.

How I love these pickles!  They are everything a dill pickle should be.  I feel like kicking myself for never having made pickles before.  This was absolutely the simplest recipe to make.  I think the key to a good pickle is to start off with good, fresh cucumber.  The other secret of success is to have a balanced brine.  I added some mustard seed to the brine since I noticed one of my favorite commercial brands listed mustard seed in its ingredients.  I'm also partial to a garlicky pickle, but be careful!  Garlic is a powerful thing when it sits in pickle brine.  I lightly smashed my garlic to give my pickles some extra punch...perfection!  

Small Batch Refrigerator Dill Pickles

Recipe slightly adapted from Food In Jars, Urban Preserving Refrigerator Dill Pickles
Yields 2 pints of pickles

• 1 1/2 pounds of Kirby cucumbers - I used 6 cukes
• 3/4 cup cider vinegar
• 3/4 cup spring or filtered water
• 2 teaspoons of pickling salt or sea salt (do not use table salt)
• 2 teaspoons dill seed
• 2 teaspoons mustard seed
• 4 cloves of garlic, lightly smashed (or leave whole for less punch)
• 1 shallot cut in half and thinly sliced, about 2 tablespoons (or use a small mild onion) 

Have 2 pint size jars with lids, clean and ready.  Since these are refrigerator pickles and have a limited shelf life - about a month- you do not have to sterilize the jars.  Running them through the dishwasher or washing them with hot, soapy water should do.

Heat vinegar, water and salt in a non-reactive saucepan. Bring just to a boil.

While vinegar mixture is heating, scrub your cucumbers.  Cut off both ends of the cucumbers and cut each cucumber into quarters (spears).  Ideally, they should be the same length. 

Add 1 teaspoon of dill seed, 1 teaspoon of mustard seed, and 2 smashed cloves of garlic to each jar.  Add the sliced shallot divided between the 2 jars. 

Pack the cucumber spears into the jars so they are a snug fit.

When the vinegar mixture reaches a boil, remove from heat and carefully pour mixture into the jars of pickles, leaving 1/4 inch of headspace in each jar.

Screw on lids, and pop them into the refrigerator and allow to cure for at least 24 hours...48 is even better!   Remember, these are not processed so the must go in the fridge, they are not shelf stable.

That's it!  Why didn't I do this sooner?  I may turn into a pickling fool this summer....I have some cauliflower that's calling my name.

Summer Fresh Corn Chowder

Sometimes a vegetable just speaks to me.  It tells me what it wants to be.  This corn was so fresh the kernels looked as if they were going to burst.  It just screamed corn chowder to me.  Seriously, it must have screamed because I would never even think of making soup in the summer with the exception of something cold like gazpacho.  Corn is one of those vegetables that I only buy in the summer.  Its silk has to look fresh, shiny and yellow.  Corn is best when it is eaten within hours of being picked.  Since I have no control over how long the corn takes to  get to my market,  the rule of my kitchen is to cook the corn the day it come into the house.  I usually serve corn on the cob when I BBQ or maybe in a clam bake.  This corn deserved to be center stage, hence my decision to make a hot soup in the summer.  I figure to have a truly fresh corn chowder, you have to make it when the corn is at its best.  So that's exactly what I did and it did not disappoint.

Welcome to My Garden...Lettuce Eat Some Salad

Welcome to my garden.  Let me introduce you.

 I should really start at the beginning.  Back in April I told Paul that the only thing I wanted for our 30th Wedding Anniversary was for him to build me a square foot garden.  I had been reading about square foot gardens all winter long and was thoroughly intrigued.  I've grown herbs the past few years and last year I grew some monster tomato plants, but I hadn't had a real honest to goodness vegetable garden for a long, long time.  Having quite a bit of shade in the yard, I wanted to start small with just one or two 4x4 frames.  Paul ended up building 3 frames and I have some large containers as well filled with the sacred "Mel's Mix".  So on April 10th, Paul created my square foot garden.

He also made a compost bin for me....what a guy!  He really knows the way to my heart!
I spent the next two weeks planning my garden on graph paper.  I planned cool weather crops, succession crops, I planned and I re-planned.  I bought enough seeds to plant a few acres.  In the end, I planted some seeds but I also had to resort to planting some purchased seedlings.  I planted lettuce, arugula, peas, spinach, radish, carrot and beet seeds directly in the soil on April 23.  On May 1st, I planted some cool weather seedlings...broccoli, cauliflower, and Brussels sprouts.

I had some other more tender seedlings that I planted in pots and protected them in the garage a night.
The trusty old radio flyer came in handy to wheel the tender plants in and out of the garage.

On May 8th I planted my celery, peppers, eggplant, parsley, and oregano, sage and mint.  I planted my Sweet Millions Tomatoes in whiskey barrels.   I was able to winter over my rosemary and thyme.  Tarragon has been self-sowing the past 4 years and I think my chives have been growing for 20 years...which was when I had my last vegetable garden.  I also threw some cilantro and dill seeds into some pots to have a nice variety of herbs.

This is a picture taken on May 8th of one of my tomato plants....Wait until you see it on June 7th!!!

On May 15th the harvesting began.  I was so proud of my first radish.... I have not had store-bought lettuce since and we eat a salad almost every day.

And in just one week, the first flowers appeared on my tomato plants.  I'm thinking this Mel's Mix has magical powers!

A Visit to the Winter Park Farmer's Market and Some Roasted Asparagus

My mother used to say, "You know it is spring when the grocery store has fresh asparagus again."  Every time I see asparagus, I can hear her words, whatever time of year it may be.  Nowadays, produce is flown in from all parts of the world and if you look hard enough, you can find whatever produce your heart desires any time of year.  Yes, fresh produce is always accessible in these parts, but local produce that is in season is still the best.

The past few weeks I have been reading, and planning, and reading some more and  planning some more; getting ready to plant my vegetable garden.  I am going to try a technique this year called "square foot gardening".  You'll be getting updates in the months to come.  Anyway, I was getting kind of antsy about wanting to get this project going, but the weather was not quite warm enough.  It's a good thing I had a trip to Florida planned to help take the edge off my need to rush the season.  The weather here has been GORGEOUS!  Long Island got snow this week.  I'm sorry Long Island.  I was in sunny Vero Beach thinking of all of you back home.  I guess I shouldn't mention that it has been 80 something degrees, breezy, and delightful every day since we arrived.  We got back to Winter Park Friday night, so I'd be sure to make it to the Winter Park Farmer's Market on Saturday morning.  How I love this market!

It's sensory overload.  Everything looks, smells, and tastes so good.  I have a tendency to overbuy when I visit this market.  I kept my head this time, but there are some things you just can't pass up.

Fresh picked strawberries for $6.00 a half flat...OMG!  What's not to love?

What's not to love?

Roasted Butternut Squash ... (and Friends) Soup

I don't know why it took me so long to discover butternut squash, it just did.  I don't remember my mother ever cooking it when I was a kid.  Looking back on my childhood, it would be fair to say we were a squash-less family.  We ate our vegetables, but they were more along the lines of string beans, peas, carrots, and broccoli.  Mostly frozen vegetables were served in our house, with the exception of holidays.  Holidays always commanded fresh vegetables.

When I moved out of my parent's home,  I headed west to California, the land of fresh vegetables. While living in Santa Cruz,  I had a brief stint with vegetarianism.  I had an open mind and found the joys of fresh produce: artichokes, arugula, lettuce that was not iceberg, brussel sprouts and squash.  I also learned that there were many ways to cook vegetables as well. Vegetables could be more than an obligatory lump of green on your plate. I discovered one of my favorite ways to cook winter squash was roasting.  Roasted butternut squash has a wonderful depth of flavor and can stand on its own.  It doesn't take much of leap to know that if you take that roasted squash and puree it with some broth, you'll have the start of a really good soup.  Add a few other ingredients to the mix and you'll have something special.