End of Summer Minestrone

Don't focus on the "End of Summer" part of this blog title.  It's just going to make us both sad and it's not even worth it.  Time is time and no matter how much I pout, the cold and snow are going to come.  So, let's not talk about that.  I'm sure I'll complain more than enough once the winter storms start.

Instead, let's focus on the minestrone part.  This soup that was so thick with fresh vegetables, honestly we should be calling it a stew.  There were handfuls upon handfuls of green beans, juicy tomatoes, carrots, potatoes, onions, zucchini and summer squash.  Plus, just to fill it out, and to put to ease any boyfriends that are concerned about the lack of meat, some canned kidney beans.

This was fantastic.  It was filling, hearty and comforting, and one of the best things to sop up with a warm, crusty hunk of bread.  Plus, there was so much chopping!!  Maybe this isn't a plus for you, but a little slow, methodical chop-chop, dice-dice?  One of the best de-stressing techniques there are.  And with the start of cold, short days, who isn't a little stressed?  So, if we can't stop the end of summer, let's make soup to soak up ever last ounce of it we have left.

End of Summer Minestrone
Adapted from The Little Red House

This froze beautifully.  I froze the leftovers in individual portions and just last night pulled it out and left it to thaw in the fridge.  It had thawed by lunch time and microwaved like a dream.

2 Tbsp. Olive Oil
3 carrots, chopped
5-6 baby Yukon gold potatoes, chopped
2 small onions, diced
3 tomatoes, diced
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 c. chicken stock
2 c. vegetable stock
2 cans kidney beans
2 c. green beans, chopped
2 bay leaves
1/2 tsp. dried oregano
2 Tbsp. fresh basil, shredded
1 c. whole wheat ditali pasta
1 zucchini, sliced in half moons
1 summer squash, sliced in half moons
Feta, to garnish

Chop up carrots and potatoes.  Dice onion.  In a large dutch oven over medium heat olive oil.  Add carrots, potatoes and onions and saute for 4-5 minutes until onions are soft and potatoes are starting to cook through.  Add garlic and diced tomatoes and continue to saute a few more minutes.

Add stocks and beans and bring soup to a boil.  Add green beans, bay leaves, oregano and basil.  Simmer until 15 minutes before serving.  Add pasta and squashes and cook until pasta is al dente, about 10-15 minutes.   Ladle into bowls and garnish with feta.  Serve with crusty bread.

Zucchini Bread Pancakes

Would you mind if we just took a quick minute to talk about how awesome it is when the stars align?  I was a little worried about having my college roommate stay for the weekend just mere days after returning from our stint in Minnesota.  Little did I realize that house guest + leftover buttermilk + gifted homegrown zucchini = zucchini bread pancakes.  Yeah, it's totally cool to gape at that a little bit, I did.  Zucchini bread pancakes.  Deb is my cooking superhero.

Look above.  You see those fat, zucchini-specked, mini-cakes?  They are thick and warm and just waiting to have their way with a little bit of cinnamon butter.  And that is all you need, before introducing them to your over friendly gullet.  Hm, do you think I have a problem, the way I humanize food?  I sure hope not...

Anyways, these are delicious.  And even if you aren't blessed with the house guest - leftover buttermilk - gifted homegrown zucchini trifecta, even if you just have one of the three, you know you need to try these.  Your weekend isn't complete until you do.  Now let's just hope that the star's align this weekend while my parents are visiting... I would be so lucky.

Zucchini Bread Pancakes
Deb, you are my superhero

Now, I know this is two Smitten Kitchen recipes in a row.  But they're years apart!  So that's ok, right?  Right?  I need your affirmations today.  It's been that kind of week.

2 large eggs
3 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
2 Tbsp. dark brown
1/4 c. buttermilk
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
2 c. (heaping) shredded zucchini
1/2 c. all-purpose flour
1/2 c. whole wheat flour
1/4 tsp. kosher salt
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg

In large bowl, whisk together all wet ingredients, through vanilla extract.  Stir in shredded zucchini.  In separate bowl, mix together remaining dry ingredients.  Add to wet mixture and whisk until just incorporated.  Don't overmix!

Heat cast iron skillet over medium high flame.  Once hot, melt a small pat of butter.  Scoop about 1/4 cup of batter onto skillet.  Cook 2-4 minutes, until bubbles appear.  Flip and cook an additionally 1-2 minutes, until cooked though.  Deb suggested an additional 10 minutes or so in a 200 degree oven, but mine were cooked through just on the skillet.

Top with what is probably an unhealthy amount of butter or cinnamon butter.  Or just cinnamon butter.  Cause it's perfect.  Enjoy!

Zucchini Bread

 

It still bewilders me when someone says that they don't like zucchini bread.  I have discovered something though, if you keep asking and asking them about it, eventually they will admit to the fact that they have never actually tried zucchini bread.  Now, I'm all for hating on foods (hello clam chowder!), but come on people, at least try it first.  It's only fair.  So, if you are in fact one of these people who think they hate zucchini bread, beware, because I will find you and force feed you a piece my beautiful zucchini bread.  Just ask Ben.  Yep, he was one of these people.

I knew the moment I saw those beautifully, huge, firm green zucchinis last Saturday that zucchini bread was in my near future.  And I couldn't be happier.  Mom used to make this on a week night for the next morning's breakfast.  It rarely lasted the whole day, and she always did a double batch, making two loafs.  For making zucchini bread, the general role of thumb was that for each loaf you shredded a medium sized zucchini.  However, my zucchinis are some of the biggest I've ever seen.  That mammoth boy to the right there sufficed for two loafs all on his own.   He got shredded to the nub and combined with your basic quick bread ingredients.  Plus heaping teaspoons of cinnamon and freshly grated nutmeg and lemon zest.

This is the recipe my mom always used and I have no idea where she initially got it.  I hardly change a thing, except to add heaping in front of "1 tsp. of cinnamon".  That and I don't actually measure the grated nutmeg or the lemon zest.  But that's half of the fun of using a microplane, just grating and zesting right in to the bowl.  Have I mentioned my love affair with my microplane?  I actually want another one, mostly because I want more, but also because they come in multiple sizes!  Mine now is specifically for Parmesan, zest and coconut.  Obviously, I must have the one specific for nutmeg and cinnamon stick grating!

The recipe is so easy, I have yet to foul it up ever, and I've been helping make zucchini bread going on at least 16 years now.  You whisk up the dry ingredients real fast, then throw them all together with the zucchini, egg, oil and lemon zest.  There was always the option to throw in a half a cup of nuts or chocolate chips if you wanted, but it's so not necessary.  Two hints: one, as with all quick breads, don't over mix the batter, this will cause the loafs to be flat and not rise as much.  And number two, if you double the batch, make sure you check each loaf separately, mine were done 4 minutes apart.  They came out golden brown, with scraggly cracks across the tops, a sure sign from my childhood of deliciousness.  Yum.

So, if you are counting that does mean I am still left with one zucchini in the vegetable crisper.  All day I had been wondering if I could use this recipe and make muffins out of it, but I didn't have the guts to experiment with it tonight.  Any thoughts from any of you out there?  Can you magically turn quick bread into muffins?

And in case you were wondering, Ben is now a convert.  The boy who hated zucchini bread just asked me to save him some, and he won't even be here for another week.

Zucchini Bread

1 1/2 c. flour
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. (heaping!) cinnamon
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 tsp. salt
1 c. suger
1 c. shredded, unpeeled zucchini (about 1 medium)
1 egg
1/4 c. oil
1/4 tsp. lemon zest

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Grease bottom of loaf pan.

Whisk together the first 7 ingredients (through sugar).  Mix in shredded zucchini, egg, oil and lemon zest.  Mix until just combined and do not over bet batter.  Pour into prepared load pan and bake at 350 for 55-60 minutes.

Coal in pan on wire rack for 10 minutes.  Remove from pan and left cool.  Enjoy!

Summer Linguine

  

Yesterday morning I spent putzing around the Greenville Farmers Market.  It's only a little 3 block thing, but I'm still shocked by some of the stands they have there.  There's local honey, fresh pasta and ravioli, different kinds of meat and sausage, even seafood!  Somehow, someway, I managed to keep my purchases to a minimum yesterday.  Only 4.  It was a challenge.  And even more impressive, I managed to use 3 of them in dinner that night.  I made Summer Linguine, courtesy of the ever wonderful Heidi Swanson and her new cookbook Super Natural Every Day.

It starts with zucchini and I had gotten 3 ginormous and pretty green zucchini.  I only used one, but don't worry, the other two have big plans: zucchini bread...yum...  So you shred and shred the zucchini and put it in a colander with a few pinches of salt and let it sit.  The salt works to draw out the water in the zucchini, which is a surprising large amount.

 

      I also got a bunch of spring onions at the market.  I absolutely love that one of them is purple, even though I have no idea why.  It's just so pretty and bright.  The original summer linguine recipe doesn't call for onions, but these were fresh and bright and they were going in too.  So, a few of those got chopped up with two small cloves of garlic.  And with that, prep was completed.

My other market buy that made it into this dish was fresh pasta, fresh garlic chive fettuccine to be exact.  Not quite linguini, but it was fresh!  It was garlic chive flavored!  Plop, and that was in a pot of boiling water.  And once that was done cooking, everything gets a quick saute in a skillet, in stages and that is that.  Less than 5 minutes in a skillet and it goes on the plate, topped with a little bit of Parmesan.  It came out so pretty, with the green zucchini and bright little red pepper flakes, it did look summery.   I guess if I can't have summer vacation, I at least can have good summer food.

I shared with two friends from work, to rave reviews.  "You can make zucchini pasta for me anytime!"  But with all the fresh ingredients, how much credit am I allowed to take?    

Summer Linguini

Adapted from Super Natural Every Day

1 large or 2 medium zucchini, grated

8 oz of linguine, or other flat pasta

2 Tbs. oil

1-2 cloves of garlic

2-4 spring onions, chopped

2 tsp. red pepper flakes

Parmesan to top

Grate zucchini and put in colander.  Sprinkle well with coarse salt and let drain 10-15 minutes over the sink.  Remove and place in paper towels or clean dish towel; squeeze excess water out.  Set aside.

Make pasta according to package directions.  Drain, but reserve about a cup of pasta water.

In medium skillet over medium high heat, heat oil.  Add garlic, onions and red pepper flakes.  Saute 1-2 minutes until the garlic and onions become fragrant.  Add zucchini to skillet and cook another minute or two more.  Add pasta and toss until zucchini is completely throughout and cook another minute, to heat pasta through.  If needed, add more oil or pasta water until desired consistency is reached.  

Top with fresh grated Parmesan and eat immediately!