Mexican Corn and Zuchinni

I went to an antique and art show. I saw this book for $3. It has a lot of zuchinni recipes!
I made this one with corn on the cob, tomatoes, zuchinni, and onions from our garden.
Serves 6

3 ears of corn
1 medium onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, chopped
2 tbsp oil
3 medium tomatoes, chopped
3 medium zuchinni, cut into 1/4 inch slices (my zuchinni is round so I cut it in half, then in 3rds, then slices)
1 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/4 pepper

Cut corn from cobs (about 1 1/2 cups).

Cook and stir onion and garlic in oil in 10 inch skillet until onion is tender.

Stir in corn and remaining ingredients. Heat to boiling; reduce heat. Cover and simmer until vegetables are tender, 10-15 minutes.

This recipe is a fast one to make. I served it with corn bread
and extra tomatoes, since the tomatoes disappear in the other vegetables.

Spaghetti Carbonara

This recipe is one that you need to prepare all the ingredients first. Then you add and stir, add and stir.
8 oz dried spaghetti (I used the thin pasta)
3 oz pancetta or bacon, divided ( I had Canadian Bacon on hand)
1/4 cup finely chopped shallots ( I used home grown scallions)
3 large eggs
1 medium zuchinni, cut into ribbons ( cut mine in the food processor, but a vegetable peeler would probably make the zuchinni more ribbon-like)
1/2 cup grated parmesan
1/4 cup half and half (not for me, I used Greek yogart (zoi or fago)
2 Tbsp milk to thin the yogart
1 tsp salt
coarse ground pepper

1 Cook spaghetti according to package directions. Drain, reserving 1 cup of cooking water.

2 Use a non-stick skillet if you have one. Heat a large, deep skillet over medium-high heat. Add pancetta; saute until almost crisp. Add onions, saute until onions are golden and pancetta is crisp but not burned.

Add onions, saute until onions are golden and pancetta is crisp but not burned.

3 Add pasta to skillet; toss, cooking over medium heat. Add eggs; stir vigorously, scraping pan to loosen cooked egg.



Add zuchinni; toss well. Add cheese; toss. Stir in half and half, salt, pepper.

Cook over medium heat until thoroughly heated, adding some reserved pasta cooking water if the mixture seems too dry. Serves 6

We had this nasty patch right outside the kitchen door. It was muddy when it rained, became the station for the pre-compost container, and had weeds growing amongst the vinca.
After Ed took out the tree that had died in this spot right outside the kitchen door, he decided to make a station for his barbeque grill. I am impressed that he made these posts straight.

Ed put some bamboo fencing material on the wall and a cover over head for shade.

The area needs a surface to stand on that will not get muddy. SO we opted for some pavers and some stone. I made patterns of the pavers and placed them on the ground to see how many we need. We bought 13 pavers.

Most of the pavers are in front of the grill for the cook to stand on

this is the final product, including the happy cook!
Finally we are making good use out of this crazy area outside the kitchen door!

Zucchini - Chocolate Chip solution

The addition of zucchini to cakes and breads is a great way to use this mild tasting vegetable. It makes the recipe more moist. Notice, in this recipe that there is no added water or milk. This particular type of zucchini seems to grow quickly but not to the point of becoming the size of a weapon!



Zucchini Chocolate Chip Cake

Makes one 3 quart Bundt Cake

2.5 C flour plus additional for dusting
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 sticks butter (not me, I used 1/2 smart balance margarine spread and 1 6oz container plain greek yogurt)
1 C Brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla
3 eggs
2 C grated zucchini
1 C chocolate chips
1/2 C walnuts

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease bundt pan and dust with some flour, tapping out the excess.

Mix together flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt unto a bowl. Then add butter, brown sugar and eggs. Mix at high speed about 2 minutes. Will be creamy.

Add zucchini, chocolate chips and walnuts. Batter will be thick.

Spoon batter into bundt pan, smoothing top. Bake in middle of oven. Bake until side begins to pull away from pan and a tester comes out clean, 45-50 minutes.

Cool cake in pan on a rack 30 minutes, then invert rack over serving plate. Cool completely.

Italian Bread Salad

I found this recipe in a magazine in our paper. As always, the rule is there are no rules. This recipe called for meat, but I think the real Italian recipe has no meat. The vegetables, as well, can be varied for interest or availability. I will give you the recipe verbatem. Also, the recipe is large, you can make half the amount and still have some left for tomorrow.

1 lb flank steak (I see this as an option)
1/2 tsp salt, divided
1/2 red onion (or scallion or shallot)
1 garlic clove
2 tsp grated lemon rind
1/3 c balsamic vinegar
1/2 c extra virgin olive oil
5 ripe tomatoes, seeded and chopped
1-2 green, yellow or red bell pepper, seeded and chopped,
1 cuke (!) peeled, seeded and chopped
1/2 Nicoise or Kalamata Pitted Olives, halved
12 basil leaves, shredded
1 large round loaf peasant bread, cut into 1-inch cubes (about 4 cups, see what I mean, 1/2 that will be good!)
1. Prepare grill
2. Sprinkle steak with 1/4 tsp salt and pepper. Grill 10 minutes on each side, or until desired doneness.
3. Combine onion , garlic, lemon rind, vinegar, remaining salt and pepper in a large bowl.
Add oil in a stream, whisking constantly until well combined. Add tomatoes, bell peppers, cucumber, olives and basil.
4. Cut steak into thin slices. Add to tomato mixture.
5. Add bread cubes 30-45 minutes before serving, tossing to coat. Let stand at room temperature. (Really? If you put meat in it you need to serve it sooner than room temperature) Serves 8

Pizza Dough

This recipe is what I used in the previous recipe. It is actually a Focaccia Bread. I made it in my bread machine, but heck, it's just flour and water, you can use the mixer.

1 Cup water
1/3 cup Olive Oil
2 tsp Sugar
1 tsp Salt
3 cups flour (I used half whole wheat, half white flour)
1.5 tsp yeast

Measure all ingredients into mixing bowl.
Beat until the bread has a smooth, elastic texture.
Let rise, covered, 20-30 minutes.
Punch down and roll into a circle (or shape of your pan)
Continue with previous recipe for topping.

Garden Pizza

This is inspired to use veggies from your garden.
Ingredients: 1/3 Olive Oil
Summer Squash/Zuchinni
1 small Onion or scallions
garlic (optional)
8 oz. tomato sauce
Black Olives
Turkey Pepperoni
4oz + grated cheeses for Pizza: Mozzarella, Provalone, and Parmesan
Pizza dough for one pizza

You can use any veggies you have. I also added Black Olives and turkey pepperoni
Make pizza dough. While it is rising, slice veggies thin. Heat Oil in hot skillet and cook onions, garlic and add other veggies when onion is soft and translucent.
Roll out dough and spread 4 oz of tomato sauce over the dough. Sprinkle on fresh herbs, like basil or oregano, then spread veggies over the sauce. Add olives and pepperoni, then cheeses to cover pizza.
Bake at 425 degrees for 20 minutes.

You can make this easier by using boli bread or some kind of prepared flat bread. You might need to shorten cooking time if a prepared bread is used.