A Bid Farewell to Summer: Zucchini, two ways

I recently loaded up on zucchini, trying to get my fill while it's still in season here in Central Texas. It may still feel like summer, but fall is drawing near and soon we will be loading our plates with root vegetables and cole crops.

My 7 month old enjoyed eating whole chunks of soft, steamed zucchini slices and homemade purees like one I made with zucchini, black beans, sweet potato, and cumin.

I often go simple when it comes to zucchini, like cutting lengthwise and grilling, or slicing and sautéing with onion & garlic. This time, feeling adventurous, I looked up some recipes and found two that I will definitely make again.

The first was a chocolate zucchini bread (see this post for a slightly healthier of version Chocolate Zucchini Bread). I used this recipe as my guide:
http://www.realmomnutrition.com/2016/07/25/chocolate-zucchini-bread/
Changes: I used less sugar, greek yogurt instead of regular, cacao powder instead of cocoa, 63% dark chocolate chips, coconut oil instead of vegetable, and added 1 tsp vanilla extract.
This moist, dense, but not too heavy, cake---errr, bread, was excellent on it's own, but the night I made it we also happened to have some Caramel Salt Lick ice cream from our favorite local shop Lick Honest Ice Creams  so we threw a scoop (or two) on top of the bread. Oh. My. Goodness.... that was heaven!

The next recipe I made was a Zucchini-Tomato-Rice Gratin (YES! I finally got to use my Le Creuset gratin dish).  I used this recipe:
https://smittenkitchen.com/2012/07/zucchini-tomato-and-rice-gratin/
The recipe seems to have a lot of steps, but it's really not that difficult. And once you get the steps down, there is a lot of room for adjustment/substitutions. It would be especially easy using leftover rice instead of making it fresh. I let my zucchini and tomatoes roast a bit longer than the recipe states- until the zucchini was golden and the tomatoes were starting to shrink down. I also let the onions caramelize instead of covering/steaming as the recipe instructs. I did not have fresh thyme on hand, so I used dried, but I would just omit if I don't have fresh in the future. I added fresh basil which was an excellent addition.
I served this alongside roasted salmon and asparagus which all went wonderfully together!

Cool (as a) Cucumber-Avocado Soup

(adapted from Mike Hennessy's recipe served at the former Side Oats Cafe in Menard, TX)

2-3 large cucumbers (peeled, seeds scooped out if large)

2 large or 4 small avocados

1/2 c chopped onion (more or less to taste)

2.5 c plain yogurt 

1.5 c heavy cream (or 1/2 & 1/2 for a lighter version)

3 c cold water (more or less to desired consistency)

1 T chicken stock concentrate (or bouillon cube. I use Better Than Bouillon Organic Chicken Base)

2 tsp lemon pepper

1 tsp ground black (or white) pepper

1/2 tsp cajun seasoning (like Tony Chachere's)

1 T apple cider vinegar

Place all ingredients in blender. Blend until smooth. Serve chilled.

Optional: Add fresh herbs like dill, basil or cilantro. Reserve some diced avocado & cucumber to top each bowl. If you don't have/don't want to use chicken stock base, just use your favorite seasonings to taste, or add a dash of liquid aminos. Also delicious with a bruschetta tomato topping.

Herb Roasted Chicken & Vegetables

Herb Roasted Chicken & Vegetables
1 whole chicken (I used a small 2.5 pounder)

1 lemon

2 T melted butter

2 T olive oil

¼ c fresh chopped herbs (I used parsley, basil, thyme & sage)

3 garlic cloves, minced

3-4 carrots, cut in 2 in lengths (split lengthwise if they are fat carrots)

3 celery sticks, cut in 2 in lengths

10 (or so) fingerling potatoes cut in half lengthwise

1 onion, chopped

1 T parsley

Salt, Pepper, Garlic Powder, Onion Powder, Tony's Cajun Seasoning

Preheat oven to 425

Put all veggies in a bowl and toss with 1 Tbsp olive oil, 1 T parsley, and a sprinkle of each seasoning.

Make sure chicken is at room temperature & that you've removed giblets if there are any.

Drizzle 1 T olive oil, the melted butter, and juice of the lemon all over the chicken (save the squeezed lemon).

Shake some salt & pepper into the cavity & add the squeezed lemon pieces + any extra herb pieces (such as the stems).

Sprinkle the entire chicken with each seasoning. Rub it in good.

Then pat on the minced herbs & garlic. Loosen the skin on the breasts of the chicken by sliding your fingers in and make sure some seasonings, herbs and oil get in there. Rub those herbs & garlic all over the chicken.

Tie the legs together with kitchen twine. Tuck the lil wings in toward the body so they don't burn.

Spray or oil a roasting pan and put a small layer of the veggies down.

Place the bird breast side down on the veggies. Disperse the rest of the veggies around the chicken.

Roast for 30 minutes, then flip the bird breast side up and roast another 30-40 minutes. (adjust time to size of bird)

Let rest with a lid or foil tent over it for 10-15 minutes before carving.

Coconut-Citrus Roasted Carrots

Coconut-Citrus Roasted Carrots

Here's a rundown on how I made these cute lil itty bitty roasted carrots (you could use any sized carrots, just note that the cute factor will be affected).

Leaving some of the greens attached gives a fun crunch to the dish and their slight bitterness counters the sweetness of the carrots nicely. 

Take one bunch of washed carrots w/greens.  

Cut the greens off, leaving a few inches attached. (I like to save the greens for juice or pesto)

Toss carrots in a Tbsp or so of coconut oil (melt it if it's solidified), about a Tbsp of orange juice (or grapefruit), sea salt & fresh cracked pepper.

Roast at 375 for 30 mins or until they look like the picture & are tender (but not soft).

Valentine-Inspired "Beet-heart" Salad

I'm not big on Valentine's Day- I'm one of those who thinks you should show people you love how much you care every day of the year.  But, my sweetheart had been out of town a few days and I missed him while he was gone, so I decided to do a lil something special for dinner- nothin' too crazy.

So, I used what I had on hand, a few ingredients from the garden and whipped up this fun little salad that I am calling the "Beet-heart Salad." That's because the stars of the show are beets and artichoke hearts, but for added lovey dovey-ness I cut the roasted beets into heart shapes... I just couldn't help myself.

Below are instructions on how to make your very own "Beet-heart Salad" for your sweetheart! (It looks lengthy, but that's just 'cause I babbled... it's really quite easy!)

Here's whatcha need: 

2 medium beets

1 c quartered artichoke hearts

a couple handfuls of salad greens

(I used some red-tipped lettuce & pretty red-veined sorrel from my garden)

2 Tbsp (more/less) goat milk feta cheese (or any other feta)

Dressing:

1 Tbsp fresh orange juice

1 Tbsp Dijon mustard

1 Tbsp sherry vinegar (or white wine vinegar)

1 tsp lemon thyme (from my garden- can use dried thyme if fresh unavailable)

3 Tbsp olive oil

1 clove minced garlic

sea salt + cracked pepper (to taste)

Here's whatcha do:

Roast the beets:

Preheat oven to 375, wash beets, rub 'em down with a lil oil (I use coconut, you could also use olive), sprinkle with a lil salt, wrap 'em in foil. 

Bake for 30-40 mins or until they start to feel soft- not too soft though!

(This should be done ahead of time if you want a cold salad. Could even do it up to a couple days ahead. I was in a hurry, so they were still a lil warm and it was good that way too.)

Make the dressing:

Put all dressing ingredients in a dressing bottle or jar w/lid & shake, shake, shake.... shake, shake, shake... shake yo boo---ottle. 

Cut out the hearts:

Let the beets cool. I repeat- let the beets cool!!

Rub the skin off the beets w/your hands (your hands will turn a lovely shade of fuschia, but hey it's festive!)

Now, you can either cut notches out of the entire beet so that when cut into slices they all resemble hearts, or you can cut slices first and then shape them into hearts with kitchen shears. I used both methods not really coming to a conclusion as to which worked best- so do what you want!

Assemble salad:

Toss salad greens in a little dressing just to lightly coat. 

Place a bed of greens on each plate. 

Toss the artichoke hearts in a lil dressing. 

Arrange them on the bed of greens all pretty-like.

Toss the beet-hearts in a lil dressing.

Arrange them on the artichokes (for contrast) even prettier-like.

Sprinkle feta over each salad like it's magical fairy dust. ('cause it pretty much is)

(Award-winning) Mini Butternut Squash Cheesecakes w/Gingersnap crust

Mini Butternut Squash Cheesecakes w/Gingersnap crust

(I use a mini cheesecake pan for this recipe, but you could use a muffin pan w/liners if you don't have cheesecake pan available)

Yield: approx 36 mini cheesecakes

Crust:

2 cups ground gingersnap cookies (pulse in food processor until crumbs)

4 tbsp brown sugar

4 tbsp melted butter

2 tbsp maple syrup

½ tsp ground cinnamon

¼ tsp ground nutmeg

¼ tsp ground cloves

Filling:

2 – 8 oz packages of cream cheese, softened

3 cups butternut squash puree*

¾ c sour cream or plain greek yogurt

½ c half and half

3 eggs

3/4 c brown sugar

4 tbsp maple syrup

1 tsp cinnamon

¼ tsp ground ginger

¼ tsp ground nutmeg

¼ tsp ground cloves

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly spray the insides of the pan.

In a medium sized bowl, mix crust ingredients with a fork. Scoop about a tbsp of crust mix into each cup in the pan and press crust down using a spoon or a pestal.

In separate bowl mix the filling ingredients with a hand blender/mixer until smooth. Spoon about 1 ½ tbsp of filling into each cup.

Place pan in the oven and bake for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool (the cakes will puff up and then deflate). Once they deflate and are cool enough to touch, carefully push them up out of the pan and place each cake on a cooling rack.

Repeat process for two more batch.

Let cakes cool completely then serve or refrigerate.

Top with whipped cream & sprinkled cinnamon or habanero-cranberry sauce

*About 2 large whole butternut squashes. Cut squash in half lengthwise, place cut side down in a baking dish and cover halfway with water, bake at 400 degrees for 40-50 minutes or until pierced easily with a fork. Remove, let cool, scoop squash out of shell and puree in food processor.

Habanero-Cranberry Sauce

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 habaneros, seeds removed, minced (can adjust to desired heat level)

1 12 oz package cranberries

1 tsp fresh ginger, grated (or ground ginger if fresh is unavailable)

¼ c sugar

¼ c honey

¼ tsp turmeric

¼ tsp cinnamon

1 tsp apple cider vinegar

1 tsp salt

juice of 2 oranges plus pulp

1 tsp zest of the orange peel

Saute garlic and habaneros for 5 minutes, then add cranberries and saute until they begin to pop. Add remaining ingredients except orange zest. Simmer for about 30 minutes- if too thick, add water. Blend with immersion blender, food processor or blender to desired consistency.