Archive for the ‘Vegetarian Recipes’ Category
Who needs to go out to dinner when you can make delicious home made pizza at home?
Especially when SOMEONE ELSE is making the pizza! See, at our house, pizza making is a family affair and both of my guys into the act topping their pizzas with their own personal concoctions. My sole contribution is the home made pizza dough that I make in the bread machine. Total time effort on my part? About 5 minutes.
After that, I sit back, relax and enjoy the show.
I’m not sure where I got the recipe, but it’s a total hit here.
Robin
[Because I am in no position to preach to anyone about the environment, this is an open letter to myself on Blog Action Day.]Dear Robin,
You joined Slow Food USA. You have written about your yearning for simplicity. You have taken some baby steps toward environmentally sound practices and more healthful living. But I believe it’s time to stop joining, talking and taking baby steps.
It occurs to me that true change can only occur if you just…slow…down. Stop working seven days a week. Stop rushing around and living without, well, living. Stop being so impatient to get everything done right now. Live mindfully about what you are doing every moment and about the consequences of your choices and actions.
Slowing down will be good for you and for your family. What’s more, it will be good for the environment.
I will give you some examples of some of your personal actions that contribute to the environmental crisis we’re facing:
-You sometimes drive when you can walk. Do you really need to move your SUV from one end of the shopping center to the other as you do your errands? Can’t you walk there and back?
-You still use products such as weed killers and harsh cleaning products because they provide a fast, short-term solution, although they add little drips to the stream of pollution that is killing the earth.
-You drive past local farmers’ produce stands and buy the same produce at the grocery stores that is imported from the other side of the country–or the other side of the world.
-You still buy some ready-made foods rather than baking your own bread, making your own cheese or growing what you need with methods that don’t require chemicals, additives or being shipped from far away.
-You still throw clothes into the dryer rather than air drying them in the sun and fresh air.
-You waste energy by doing such things as leaving the computer on all night long so you won’t have to wait to read your email in the morning.
-You haven’t taken seriously the environmental cry to reduce, reuse and recycle.I could go on, but I don’t want to embarrass you here.
By slowing down, you will walk more gently on the earth. You can make some healthy changes that will mean better, healthier foods, less stress from hurrying around and more time with family and friends. You might also save some money and sleep better because you’ve gotten a bit more exercise (and, uh, saved some money).
Nuff said. Go out and do better now.
Robin
This is a recipe I have probably made about 20 times now and uses up some of that profuse harvest of zucchini that we all have this time of year.
This recipe is also good for that overly-large zucchini from your garden that you don’t want to chuck into the woods. It is taken from Quick Vegetarian Pleasures, by Jeanne Lemlin. This cookbook won the coveted James Beard Award and is one of my favorites. EVERYTHING I have cooked from this book is wonderful. Buy it!
Zucchini, Tomato, and Swiss Cheese Pie
Note: If you aren’t accustomed to using fennel seed, go out and get some. You will find that it’s that "secret ingredient" that gives your vegetable dishes that gourmet flavor.
Ingredients:
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1/4 cup bread crumbs (I have also used corn meal)
1 medium onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 medium tomatoes, seeded and diced
2 medium zucchini, quartered lengthwise and thinly slized (I have also used yellow squash)
1/2 teaspoon fennel seed, crushed (Don’t leave this out!)
1/4 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
3 large eggs
1/3 cup milk
1/4 pound grated or sliced Swiss cheese (about 1 1/3 cups) (I have also used cheddar or whatever is on hand)
3 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese (I usually forget about this)
Instructions:
1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Using 1/2 tablespoon of the butter, grease a pie plate, then sprinkle the bread crumbs over the bottom and sides.
2. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and sauté 10 minutes. Stir in the diced tomatoes and sauté 5 minutes. Raise the heat to high. Mix in the zucchini, fennel seed, salt and pepper. Cook until the zucchini is barely tender, about 5 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and cool 5 minutes.
3. Beat the eggs in a large bowl. Stir in the milk, then mix in the zucchini mixture. Pour half into the prepared pie plate, top with the Swiss cheese, then pour on the remaining vegetable mixture. Sprinkle the parmesan cheese all over the top and dot with the remaining 1/2 tablespoon of the butter.
4. Bake 30 minutes or until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean and the top is golden brown. Let sit 10 minutes before cutting.
As I write this, a thunderstorm is thinking about heading our way. We had six drops of rain. Call me a fatalist, but I am not hopeful that it will amount to anything–again. I have already spent 1.5 hours watering today.
Ciao!
–Robin (Bumblebee)
Robin
Way back in February I happened on a cookbook entitled The Classic Zucchini Cookbook: 225 Recipes for All Kinds of Squash, by Nancy C. Ralston et al.
Thinking of my past summers with an over-abundance of zucchini (or zookanook, as my dad calls it), I quickly snatched it up. Then recently, I also noticed that there were NO copies of this handy cookbook at the local Barnes & Noble or Borders. (Local, in my case, being one hour away.) Obviously, I’m not the only one trying to figure out how to deal with all this zucchini!
And then just a couple of days ago, Carol at May Dreams Gardens was pondering what to do with her adorable cue ball zucchini. I posted a not-so-helpful, sketchy version of a recipe I now make all the time here at home. While I look for the version of the recipe that I have adapted and make from instinct and memory, I offer one of my FAVORITE recipes from the aforementioned book that you can use for all that abundance of zucchini!
Double Squash Cornbread Supper
Notes: Our little family TOTALLY LOVES this dish. The zucchini cornbread topping is so delicious, you can serve it all by itself.
Ingredients:
Cornbread Topping
2 cups grated zucchini
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup stone-ground yellow cornmeal
3/4 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 large eggs, slightly beaten
3/4 plain yogurt
1/4 cup canola oil
Chili Filling
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 onion, diced
1 red or green bell pepper, diced
2 fresh green chiles, such as poblano or jalapeno
1 medium-sized yellow summer squash, quartered and sliced
1 1/2 cups seeded and diced tomatoes (fresh or canned)
1 1/2 cups cooked black beans, red kidney beans or pinto beans (home cooked or canned)
2 tablespoons cilantro
salt and freshly ground black pepper
Instructions:
1. Start the cornbread topping by combining the grated zucchini and salt in a colander. Toss to mix well and set aside to drain for 30 minutes.
2. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
3. To prepare the chili filling, combine oil, cumin and chili powder in a large ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion, bell pepper and chiles. Saute until the onion is softened, 3 to 5 minutes. Add the summer squash and saute until softened, about 3 minutes. Add the tomatoes, beans and cilantro. Add salt and pepper to taste. Let the chili simmer while you finish the sopping.
4. To finish the cornbread topping, combine the cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder and baking soda in a medium-sized bowl. Mix well. Combine the eggs, yogurt and oil in a small bowl and mix well. Squeeze the zucchini to remove any excess moisture and add the flour mixture. Mix well. Pour the egg mixture into the flour mixture and stir just until well combined. The batter will be lumpy.
5. To assemble the dish, remove the skillet from the heat. Evenly spread the cornbread batter over the chili, spreading it to the edges of the pan.
6. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until the top is golden and firm. A tester inserted near the center should come out clean.
7. Let stand for about 5 minutes before serving with a pie server or large spoon.
Bon appetit!
–Robin (Bumblebee)
P.S.
The love triangle was back this morning. I am worried that the female bird isn’t eating.
Robin
