Zucchini "Pasta"

At dinner with my friends Cara and Katri the other night, they both ordered the Zucchini "Tagliatelli," broad thin strips of zucchini made to look like pasta. I tried to recreate it at home and the only problem was that there wasn't enough!

Ingredients:

(to serve 4)

5-6 meduim zucchini

1 T olive oil

1 clove garlic, chopped finely

1 medium tomato, diced

salt

pepper

grated parmesan

1/4 c. chopped fresh basil (optional)

Here's how I did it: I peeled the zucchini first to try to fool Lily into thinking it was real pasta, although I don't think that's necessary. She took one bite and proclaimed, "Squash!" Thankfully that didn't deter her from eating the same 2 bites she normally eats at dinner.

After peeling the zucchini I sliced it on my handy mandoline, which you sort of need for this recipe because it would be really hard to do by hand. But maybe that's just me-- I can't even cut paper in a straight line.

After I had all of the zucchini sliced, I heated up the olive oil in a saute pan and added the zucchini and a clove of garlic. I then chopped up a tomato and added that for the last couple of minutes. I sauteed the zucchini for no more than 5 minutes total, then added salt, pepper and parmesan and served it. So simple! If I would have been thinking I would have added some fresh basil. But I wasn't. But it was yummy anyway-- I will definitely make it again.

Mmmm, mmmmm, ribs

I'm so proud of myself for conquering ribs-- I've always been intimidated by them, but my fear is gone thanks to this easy and delicious recipe.

Ingredients:

4 lbs of baby back ribs (figure about 1 lb for each person)

1 onion, coarsely chopped

5 cloves of garlic

2 t salt

1 t peppercorns

Your favorite barbecue or teryaki sauce

Directions:

Place the ribs in a big pot and fill with water. Add the onion, coarsely chopped, the whole, unpeeled garlic cloves, salt and pepper and bring to a simmer. Simmer uncovered for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, until tender. You will know!

Remove the ribs from the pot and place on a baking sheet. Baste generously with the sauce of your choosing (I used Stubbs Teryaki Marinade and will definitely use it again). Heat on the grill for 10-15 minutes and serve to people you really like.

Broccoli Green Bean Salad with Basil Oil

Ok, so I know summer is basically over, but this one can be served pretty much year round since you can usually find fresh basil at the grocery store even after your herb garden is long gone.

I blanched about a half pound of green beans for about 3 minutes and roasted a head of broccoli with olive oil and salt for about 10-12 minutes (just past bright green, not yet soggy). I threw the green beans in with the broccoli for the last 3 minutes, mostly to warm them up since I'd blanched them earlier. I tossed the veggies in a bowl with some grape tomatoes for a fresh and colorful addition.

Then I picked a handful of basil (about 1/2 cup, packed) and put it in the food processor with some olive oil (about 1/4 cup) and salt and pepper, and viola- basil oil. It was pretty and delicious!

Salmon Burgers with Spinach

I know salmon burgers don't sound very produce co-opy, but trust me on this one. I had a bag of spinach and the thought of more sauteed spinach didn't appeal to me, and I'm never able to make plain ol' salmon taste all that great, so I looked up recipes to combine the two and found this.

I omitted the ginger (didn't have any), used a little less spinach, a little more scallions, and the whole egg instead of just the white.

I served them on onion rolls and had bacon, red onions and tomatoes for toppings. They were DELISH-- my only regret was that I didn't double the recipe. It made 6 small-ish burgers and we all wanted two.

Blueberry Crisp

I haven't tried too many blueberry recipes because we usually just eat them straight out of the carton, but when we picked nine pounds of them last week I started searching for something else to do with them.

I don't have extraordinarily happy thoughts about anything I've eaten with cooked blueberries except for muffins, so I was a little unsure how this blueberry crisp would turn out, but I tried it anyway. In a word, it was AWESOME.

I didn't measure the blueberries, just used enough to fit in the bottom of an oval 13x9ish casserole dish and I tripled the topping. Everyone loved it! If you don't have (or don't like) almonds, I'm sure you could substitute walnuts or pecans, but honestly you couldn't even really taste the almonds. They just gave some nice texture.

Enjoy!

You will never make baked potatoes again

Even though these are technically roasted potatoes, they are almost as easy as baked potatoes and even tastier, if that is even possible.  I love a buttery baked potato. But I digress... My mom introduced me to these recently and I haven't baked a potato since. 

To make these tasty treats, just cut any ol' potato in half long-ways, like you would cut open a baked potato before you loaded on the butter, and place them on a baking sheet. You probably already know what 2 ingredients I'm going to tell you to drizzle and sprinkle on.... you guessed it, my favorite vegetable companions, olive oil and salt. Turn the potatoes over and slide them around the pan so they get olive oil and salt on both sides, and leave them cut-side down.  Pop them in a 400 degree oven for 20 minutes or so, depending on the size of the potatoes. You want them in long enough for the bottoms to get golden and crusty-- delish! 

For a company-friendly version, add your favorite fresh herb, like oregano, thyme or sage fresh garlic and sprinkle with parmesan. 

For a kid-friendly version, get out the ketchup for dipping and tell them it's a giant french fry boat. 

Spinach Salad

I love the convenience of bagged baby spinach, but I get a little tired of sauteing it, which is usually how I prepare it.  However, I'm not a huge fan of raw spinach. Quite the conundrum when faced with a bag of spinach from the co-op. I found a glimmer of hope last week when I made a delicious spinach salad.

I mixed bagged baby spinach with some romaine I had leftover, so it was basically half and half lettuce and spinach. I'm sure that helped mitigate my fear of raw spinach. I also had a few ripe strawberries so I sliced them and threw them on top. I buy the big bags of sliced almonds at Costco because Lily loves nuts and those are the only ones I'm not afraid she'll choke on. The almonds added a great crunch, and next time I'll toast them first.

The dressing is one I've been making a lot lately, but I think it was especially perfect for the ingredients in this salad. I used walnut oil but olive oil would have worked fine, along with balsamic vinegar, sliced red onion, a clove of garlic, salt and pepper. Simple as could be. I let it sit for about 30 minutes while I prepared the rest of dinner, and it helped the garlic and onion infuse their flavor into the dressing. You could either toss out the garlic and onion or leave it in when you dress the salad.

Spinach Salad with Strawberries and Almonds

Dressing:

2 T balsamic vinaigrette

1/3 c. walnut oil or olive oil

2 T. finely chopped red onion

1 finely chopped garlic clove

salt and pepper to taste

Mix all ingredients and let sit for 30 minutes - 1 hour

Salad:

1/2 bag of baby spinach

1/2 heart of romaine

4 strawberries, sliced

1/4 c. sliced almonds, toasted

Zucchini Three Ways

I think mushy zucchini is nasty, so I never steam it. I grew up eating it only one way, and it's still my favorite: grated, sauteed quickly on high heat in olive oil and sprinkled with a little salt and pepper and a lot of grated parmesan. If I'm feeling crazy I'll add some garlic. That's how my Nanni made it and it's really the only way I make it by itself.

I also love it sliced really thin (like into coins) and sauteed with garlic and tossed with whole wheat pasta. Costco has really good whole wheat pasta that tastes like normal pasta to me, and in our new quest to eat more affordably, we eat it about once a week. 

The only other way I like zucchini is cut into good sized chunks and grilled on kabobs. But it doesn't take long so you have to make sure not to put it on kabobs with longer-cooking veggies, like sweet potatoes. 

How else do you like zucchini?

Strawberry Shortcake

Nothing says summer like Strawberry Shortcake. And nothing piles fat and sugar on a perfectly harmless piece of fruit either, but whatever. 

There are a million ways to make the shortcake part of strawberry shortcake- pound cake, angel food cake, etc.- but I prefer a sweetened biscuit, and have made them with Bisq*ick in the past. However, I recently stumbled upon a brown sugar scone that I'll be using from now on, simply because I'm trying to find any excuse to make and eat them. 

Although the part with the fat is my favorite part of any recipe (in this case the shortcake) the key to how good any strawberry shortcake is is how ripe and delicious the strawberries are, so make sure you start with ripe, fragrant berries. 

I also prefer freshly whipped cream as opposed to the store-bought version, but you can use whatever you prefer.

Strawberry Shortcake

2 lbs. strawberries, washed, trimmed and quartered
1/3 c. brown sugar
Toss cut strawberries with sugar and let sit while you prepare the rest of the recipe

Shortcakes (brown sugar scones):
2 cups all purpose flour
1/3 cup (packed) golden brown sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) chilled unsalted butter, diced
1/2 cup (or more) chilled whipping cream

Preheat oven to 400°F. Mix flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in medium bowl or food processor. Add chilled butter; using fingertips, rub in until coarse meal forms (or pulse food processor). Gradually add cream to dry ingredients, tossing with fork until dough comes together in moist clumps (or pulse food processor). Add more cream by teaspoonfuls if dough is dry. Gather together in a ball, press into a rectangle about 3/4" thick and cut to desired shapes. I cut it into even sized rectangles so I don't waste any of the dough. Bake for 15 minutes until light golden brown and let cool.

Whipped cream:
1 cup heavy whipping cream
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
Beat with an electric mixer on medium high speed until it holds a soft shape but is not stiff.

Cut each shortcake in half, top with strawberries and whipped cream and serve to very grateful guests!

Grilled Romaine Hearts

Yes, I said grilled romaine! I saw it on a cooking show and tried it last week. Yum! I have to admit, although I love salad, I don't always love all of the chopping, washing, etc. so this is a great way to have a delicious salad without a lot of prep work.

Slice 2 hearts of romaine vertically and wash thoroughly while leaving them intact (don't cut off the bottom). Place on a baking sheet and drizzle both sides with olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Place on heated grill and grill for 2 minutes on each side. Serve with a vinaigrette of your choice. We each ate a whole half, so 2 hearts served 4 adults. But we're total pigs.

I ate half of mine without dressing and loved it (I forgot I had made a vinaigrette) but it is also delicious with a Balsamic vinaigrette. I made mine with about 1/3 c. olive oil, 1 T balsamic, finely diced red onion, salt and pepper and let it sit for about 30 minutes, but you don't have to be precise with vinaigrettes for them to be yummy. It would be great with shaved parmesan, crumbled bleu cheese or fresh lemon juice too. Let me know what variation you try.

Easy Yummy Green Veggies

One of the best discoveries I've made in the past couple of years has been The Roasted Vegetable. My sister-in-law introduced me to roasted asparagus a few years ago and I've never steamed it since. I then began roasting broccoli and cauliflower and have not steamed them since either. 

Easy directions: Cut up your veggie as desired and place on a baking sheet. Drizzle about 2 tablespoons of olive oil and sprinkle with kosher or sea salt and pop them in the oven at 425 for about 10-15 minutes. I like broccoli and cauliflower a bit al dente (not mushy) so I take it out at 10 minutes. If you like it softer, check it at 12 minutes and leave it in as long as 15-17 depending on how soft you like it.

A fun springtime variation is to grill the veggies in one of those grill bowls.