Zucchini Bread

Every summer my grandma would make loaves of zucchini bread from one monster zucchini. Let me clarify, she would make the BEST EVER zucchini bread from one monster zucchini.

Her zucchini bread was so cinnamony and I am a fan of cinnamon. I would say my favorit part was the crunchy outer top layer followed by a tender- moist center, ending with a full flavor of cinnamon. Simply delicious. The bread was perfect plain, but add a thin layer of cream cheese to a slice and talk about a little slice of heaven.

She was a wonderful lady. I am sad to say she died last year. She was 102 years of age. So in her honor I made six monster loaves, three different recipes, of zucchini bread from one monster zucchini I bought at the local farmers market. Each recipe very good, but her bread will always be the best.

Zucchini Bread
3 eggs (or 1 whole egg, plus whites of two eggs)
1 cup white sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup vegetable oil (or 1T extra virgin olive oil and 1/2 c fuji plain applesauce, homemade)
1 T vallina extract
1 tsp salt
2 cups grated zucchini
2 cups flour (I use 1 c all purpose and 1 cup Hodgson Mill Insta-Bake whole wheat flour)
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp baking powder
1.5 T cinnamon
1 cup walnuts (optional)

Cream eggs, sugar, oil, vanilla, and salt in mixing bowl until light and fluffy. Add zucchini; mix well. Add flour 1 cup at a time, mixing after each addition. Stir in baking soda, powder, cinnamon, and walnuts (optional). Spoon into greased and floured bundt/tube pan or 2 loaf pans.
Bake at 325 F for 1 hr.

If you have left over zucchini, freeze it! Shredded zucchini freezes/thaws wonderfully.

Happy summer!

Another Fun Word to Say....Ratatouille!

My neighbor stopped over the other day with a bag full of vegetables still warm from the sun, and ALL of them perfect!

With the above selected, I decided to make ratatouille. I made it this time in a large, heavy skillet with plenty of olive oil. I didn't even wait for the rustic bread to finish baking before I helped myself to a bowl full, topped with grated Parmesan Reggiano.

Ratatouille (guidelines)
1-3 T Olive oil
1 medium size onion chopped
1 -2 cloves garlic minced
1 small eggplant, peeled and cubed (I leave some of the peel on)
1 small yellow crookneck or staightneck squash, halved lengthwise and cut into 1/4 inch thick slices
1 small zucchini, cut into 1/4 inch rounds
1/2 red pepper, seeded and chopped or sliced long
2 medium tomatoes, chopped
salt/pepper
2 small leaves fresh basil, chopped
2-3 small sprigs of fresh parsley, chopped
2 leaves Italian oregano, chopped

You can really have fun with this recipe. We'll get to variations in a minute, but here the basics.

When cutting eggplant, use a stainless steel knife v. carbon steel. Carbon steel will react with its phytonutrients and cause the eggplant to turn blackish. I

"To tenderize the eggplant (flesh) and reduce some of its naturally occurring bitter taste, you can sweat the eggplant by salting it. After cutting the eggplant into the desired size and shape, sprinkle it with salt and allow it to rest for about 30 minutes. This process will pull out some of its water content and make it less permeable to absorbing any oil used in cooking. Rinsing the eggplant after "sweating" will remove most of the salt. " This little fun fact was taken from www.whfoods.com

Remember to stir your Ratatouille as it is cooking, and often!

If stove top cooking, you can use either a heavy stock pot or large heavy skillet. Cook onion and garlic till tender in 1 table spoon olive oil, medium heat. Add a little more olive oil to the skillet then add eggplant. Eggplant will soak up some of the oil, and then release it as it cooks. Add yellow squash, zucchini and red pepper, cook till slightly tender 5-10 minutes. Add a bit more olive oil if needed. Add chopped tomatoes, salt and pepper. Bring to boil, then reduce heat and simmer with lid on for 20-30 minutes. Vegetables should be tender, but not mushy. Add herbs and continue cooking for 10 minutes with the lid off.

Serve on a bed of rice or with a chunk of rustic bread for dipping, and grated hard cheese.

The great thing about this recipe is it has a lot of play room. Here are a few more options...

Caramelize the onions and garlic, then cook each vegetable individually in olive oil. After all have been cooked, combine together with herbs and tomatoes, marrying the flavours.

Combine all the ingredients and roast, uncovered in a 350F oven. Don't forget to drizzle a generous amount of olive oil over the vegetables, and a dash of salt and pepper. Once the vegetables are tender and the skins have started to brown, add the fresh herbs and return to the oven covered until the vegetables are tender to your liking.

TOMATILLO!

Tomatillo (toe muh TEE yo)!
Such a fun word to say, and a darn cool looking fruit!
Don't they look like little paper lanterns?
They still need a few more weeks of sun and water before they are ready to harvest, stay tuned.

Chewy Chewy Eggless Oatmeal Craisin Cookies

Simply Delicious!

The remaining four cookies you see in the cookie jar... I ate 'um for breakfast!

The original recipe from Cooks.com used too much butter, so I made a few changes.

Eggless Oatmeal Craisin Cookies
1/2 of a stick of butter, soft
1 c packed brown sugar
1/2 c sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 tbsp water
1 tbsp white vinegar
1 1/4 c all purpose flour
1.5 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
dash of salt
1.5 c quick cooking rolled oats
A handful or more of craisins
1/2 c chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 350 F

Combine sugars and butter. Add vanilla, water and vinegar; mix well.
In a separate bowl combine flour, baking powder, soda, cinnamon and salt and add to wet ingredients. Stir in craisins and rolled oats and pecans if desired. If batter looks too dry, add a few drops of water till batter holds a bit of shape. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto an ungreased stoneware cookie sheet or cookie sheet. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until light brown for chewy cookies. Let stand for 2 -5 minutes before removing from cookie sheet.

Enjoy!

I have a ton of zucchini and thought I would substitute shredded zucchini for the craisins, I'll let you know the results.

Pork Chops and Roasted Vegetables

A birthday dinner for a friend of mine. She is turning 91 years old today!
She's a bit of a picky eater and if it's not a meat and potato dish, don't bother serving her.

Tonight's birthday dinner is not fancy, but it's what she likes and it's really easy! Cut up all your vegetables into thick wedges or large pieces. Place in a 9 x 13 baking dish, toss with olive oil, salt and pepper. Then place three frozen 1-1 1/2" bone in pork chops on top. You can mix and match your vegetables to suite your taste. I also like to make this dish with fennel, parsnips, turnips and everything else listed below.

1 vidalia onions
5 Idaho potatoes
4 carrots
2 Fuji apples
3-4T olive oil
3 -4 sprigs of fresh parsley, chopped
3 pork chops, bone in about 1-1 1/2" thick and frozen
I topped the pork chops with a 1 1/2 T Dijon mustard, 2 tsp Apple cider vinegar or fresh lemon juice, 1 1/2 tsp sugar, and 1 tsp olive oil.

Cut vegetables. Place in 9"x13" baking and toss with olive oil, salt and pepper. Lay pork chops on top of vegetables.

Whisk together in a small bowl the Dijon mustard, apple cider vinegar, sugar and olive oil. Pour over pork chops.

Bake at 300F for 30 minutes uncovered. Bury the pork chops, cover with foil and bake for an additional 30-50 minutes. Remove foil and continue baking until the meat thermometer reads 145 F for at least 15 seconds. Once the chops are done, remove from oven and wrap in foil, let rest. Toss vegetables, return to oven and continue cooking until golden brown and tender.

Arrange the vegetables and pork chops on a platter, top with chopped parsley.