FOR (BUSY) PEOPLE WHO LOVE GOOD FOOD
Zucchini season is here, so get ready because you are probably going to see a lot of it! This recipe from Real Simple made a very quick and easy dinner. I used whole wheat penne which I had on hand, and I’ve also found that kind of pasta is easier to pack for lunches. I cut back on the amount of walnuts to make it just a little bit lighter. Be sure to cut the zucchini slices thin so that they cook more quickly, and enjoy!
I like the original popchips, but wanted to give the Trader Joe’s version a try. I brought a bag with me last weekend for the Fourth of July. They’re not baked or fried, but ‘popped’ with some combination of heat and pressure. This reminds me of chemistry lab, so let’s get right to the taste.
One of my favorite vendors at the Copley Square Farmer’s Market is Silverbrook Farms. They always have a good selection and love to talk about the produce. I stopped there last Friday on my way out of town, and was enticed by bullseye beets. On the outside, they look like regular beets, but after peeling and slicing them, you can see their red and white rings. We cooked them on the grill, brushed with a little olive oil, and sprinkled with salt and pepper. If you like beets (and I do!) these were great, but they have an earthy flavor that isn’t for everyone. That means more beets for me.
Within about two bites, my family declared that this recipe was a contender for best summer dish of 2010. With a flaky crust, sliced zucchini, three different cheeses and fresh basil, it has a certain summer elegance. I found the dough to be a bit tricky, perhaps because of the intense heat in the kitchen, but ultimately it was forgiving. My version came out much more like a square than a circle, but the crust was so lovely that no one noticed. So go put your flour in the freezer to let it chill, and let me know how this goes for you.
I made absolutely no changes to Alton Brown’s carrot cake, and it was spectacular. Grating the carrots was the grunt work (thanks, Dad) but otherwise, this cake came together very easily. It popped right out of the spring form pan once it had cooled for a few minutes, and then we got to work on the frosting. Because really, it’s the frosting that makes the cake.
Thanks for all the great suggestions on what birthday cake I should make for my sister. She has selected carrot cake, and I finally picked a recipe. This is most definitely a “real” cake recipe with flour, butter, sugar, the works. I think the carrots are just in the recipe to make you feel better.
A galette recipe on Smitten Kitchen also caught my eye. I didn’t know what a galette was either, but it calls for more flour and butter plus 3 different kinds of cheese and zucchini for good measure.
Finally, I saw this article on 101 things to grill and was intrigued by many of the suggestions. Grilled beets, grilled bok choy, even fancy grilled cheese. They all look good!
Whatever you do this weekend, enjoy, and I’ll see you Tuesday with a full report.
I was so excited to see this recipe for a quick and healthy Greek potato salad. It was a cool dish for the hot summer days we’ve had, and gave me an opportunity to use one of my favorite Trader Joe’s products, fat free feta.
I couldn’t resist trying another veggie burger recipe. This one is from Gena at Choosing Raw. One of things I really enjoy about Gena’s site is that she is always encouraging her readers to make the choices that work for them. And in this case, she offers both a raw and cooked version of the recipe. (Scroll down a bit from the link provided to see both!)
I went with the cooked version, which contains sunflower seeds, brown rice, carrots, celery, flax, and seasoning. I needed to add more water because my food processor was groaning, so the end product was very wet. I spooned it onto a baking sheet, and the burgers crisped up beautifully as promised, but I should have baked them another 10-15 minutes or so because the insides were still a bit moist. I still think I prefer bean-based vegetable burgers, but this was a nice alternative.
My cooking club theme this month was Scandanavian food, and I decided to make this smorgastarta. Really, I had absolutely no clue what this was going to look or taste like. It was the fresh herbs that drew me in. It was meant to be a layered dish with thin slices of bread and three different fillings: egg salad, herbed cream cheese, and smoked salmon. Since some members of the group are fish averse, I left out the smoked salmon layer and focused instead on the other two.
The egg salad consisted of diced hard boiled eggs, mayonnaise, scallions, salt, and pepper. The herbed cream cheese was made with whipped cream cheese, a few tablespoons of butter, chives, dill, and parsley. I used thinly sliced rye bread, and layered in this order: bread, egg salad, bread, herbed cream cheese, bread, egg salad. I put additional chives, dill, and parsley on top.
The end result was pretty good, similar to finger sandwiches, although you need a fork for this dish. The herbs really do contribute a lot. This isn’t necessarily a recipe I would make on a regular basis, but I am glad I gave it a try.
I don’t generally put carrots on the center stage. They’re good roasted in the oven, and they’re very useful raw (as hummus shovels) but I admit that far too often, they are left forgotten at the bottom of my produce bin. But these carrots……they’re special.
This recipe comes from 101 Cookbooks, and as suggested I used a fresh bunch of tender carrots. The result was a just barely warm salad that was so good I went back for seconds. If you use canned beans as I did, this recipe doesn’t take much time. And I hear the leftovers are even better!
Recipes that Fit 