Monster Vegetables

Hi Friends,
I know it LOOKS like I haven't been up to much in the kitchen lately, but it's really just that I've been a little lazy in actually writing up my posts.  Also, I am currently house sitting so I spent a few days literally scattered.  I decided to catch up with a post today covering my experiment with Fried Green Tomatoes and Vegetable Lasagna.  I decided on both of these recipes because I had gotten unusually large vegetables over the past two weeks.  Each veggie (tomato and zucchini) was too big to use as a garnish or a side and required a meal based entirely around them.  So...off we go!

Fried Green Tomatoes

Let's start with a caveat.  I used an enormous tomato from my share last week to try in this recipe.  It looked like a regular heirloom tomato, but it was green and yellow and red so I have no idea if it was technically a green tomato (non-ripened tomato) or something altogether different.  All I knew was that it was HUGE (as you can see from the photo to the left) and firm and that I could slice it into thick pieces for frying.

The recipe linked above calls for using a deep fryer, which I don't have so I went old skool and simply fried them in a pan.  I also messed up the tremendously simple directions and added the cayenne pepper and paprika to the flour mixture and not the panko mixture.  Oops.

I also didn't bother to make the buttermilk dipping sauce because I was lazy and didn't feel like it.  I just ate them on their lonesome.

The tomato itself was very tasty and the seasoning was nice, but uhg...too much oil.  They ended up too greasy for my tastes and I think if I were to try them again I'd give baking them a shot.  I have a feeling the crunchiness of the panko would be better suited to baking instead of frying.  I also probably shouldn't have been lazy and made the damn dipping sauce to negate some of the oily flavor.  If you're lazy like me and don't feel like making a sauce I think these would taste great with a little bit of ranch dressing or some marinara sauce for dipping.

Vegetable Lasagna

I found this recipe looking for a way to use the giant zucchini (see last Wednesday's post) I got in my last share.  It called for 3 cups of chopped zucchini so I couldn't ask for anything more tailor made.  Also, it's low-fat, which seems like a good plan given the fried tomatoes!

I was missing a few ingredients called for in the recipe that I would have had if I was at my apartment, but because I am house sitting, decided not to purchase - the basil and the nutmeg.  I also didn't realize that the recipe called for "no-boil lasagna noodles" and purchased regular ones.  To be honest I had no idea there even was such a thing as no-boil noodles.  How does that even work?  Are they frozen?  I'm completely perplexed.  After all, it only takes 20 minutes to boil some water and cook noodles, what's the big deal?

I started cooking this meal around 6pm and didn't end up eating until after 9pm!  The recipe calls for sauteing the veggies for about 8 minutes.  I am guessing I just didn't chop mine small enough because getting them soft enough to include in the lasagna took 3x as long.


I wasn't entirely trusting of the white sauce either - flour and milk?  Trust it!  Once you add the cottage and parmesan cheese and mix it all up, it thickens up nicely and has great flavor.

At the end of the day the final product was WELL worth the wait.  It was really delicious.  The only thing I would change for next time - MAKE MORE VEGGIES!  I felt like the veggie layers were a little skimpy and could have used more. I would also consider adding some additional vegetables, like eggplant and summer squash.  You can only really improve on this recipe since it's darn delicious just as it is.

I think I'm going to need to start inviting people over when I cook now, since an entire lasagna for one person is really a little over the top. Leftovers for everyone!

I get my newest share today, and although I usually update my blog on Wednesday to reflect that, since I don't have my laptop while I'm house sitting I won't be able to post it until Thursday morning.

Thanks for tuning in, friends and I'll be seeing you soon!

           

How about some chocolate with those veggies?

As was evidenced by my earlier carrot cake post, sometimes I like a little dessert with my vegetables.  I had two smaller zucchinis from my share two weeks ago that I really wanted to use before they went bad and I am a huge fan of zucchini bread, so I figured that would be a good way to use them.  After a quick internet recipe search I realized a CHOCOLATE zucchini bread could be nothing less than perfect.



The recipe I used is quick and simple.  It says it's enough batter for 2, 8x4" loaves, but I just made one huge loaf instead because I only have one pan and didn't want to keep my oven on for 2 hours.  I didn't even taste the final product before bringing it in to the office on Thursday, but my colleagues gave it rave reviews. 


Side Note: I totally read the ingredients list too quickly and put in 1 tsp of baking powder instead of only 1/4 of a tsp.  I expected disastrous results and was relived when it baked properly and was still tasty.

I wonder how many of these loaves I could make with the insanely huge zucchini that came in my share this week!!!

Side Note 2:  I am going to be house sitting for the next two weeks so I'm not sure what my cooking abilities are going to be like.  I have some plans for meals I want to make, just not sure what my new temporary situation will be like.  Keep visiting to see!

            

Week 11 - Holy Tomato!

True to my word, I did indeed bake a chocolate zucchini bread today, but you'll have to visit back tomorrow for the write-up and recipe.  Today is Wednesday, which means its share round-up time!

My share this week had fewer items, which was ok by me considering how behind I am on my cooking, but there were a couple of HUGE veggies in there!

This week my share includes:

• Bok Choi
• Hot Peppers
• Leeks
• Thai Basil
• Tomatoes
• Zucchini

I mean seriously, guys...look at the size of that tomato!  It's huge! The Zucchini and Bok Choi aren't exactly shrimps either.

So far I've let my bok choi either go bad or given it to someone else so I really want to try to make something with it this time around.  Also, the beautiful cherry tomatoes on the right are insanely delicious so I've just been eating them like M&Ms.

This week, we are happy to welcome Zach Zucchini to the Veggie Person Family!  Nice, tie Zach!

              

Back at last!

Hi friends!
So my cooking hiatus took a lot longer than I had initially planned, but I am back!  Keeping things simple in this triumphant return, I made a Summer Vegetable Tian that I had spotted on Pinterest awhile back.  I had initially planned to make it as a side to serve with chicken, but I failed to defrost it in time.

My meal planning isn't the only thing that's gotten rusty, either.  I purchased a mandolin slicer and was excited to use it for the first time today and subsequently almost cut my fingertip off trying to slice a potato.  Yowch!!!  Several paper towels later, I washed the whole slicer again and started over...much more carefully this time!

This was a great recipe to get back on track with because it's pretty much the simplest one I've ever made!  Plus, with all but the yellow onion and potato coming from my share, it was pretty cheap too.

I suppose if you were buying all your veggies from the supermarket, or even the farm stand, you could select ones that are all around the same size.  Since I didn't have the luxury if choosing mine the tian slice sizes were all over the place.  The yellow squash and potato were much larger than the zucchini and the tomato had to be sliced into much smaller slices to fit.  Basically, this is my excuse as to why my tian doesn't look nearly as lovely as the one in the photo.  I don't mind, though...it's the taste that counts, right!?

Everything is pretty straight forward, saute the yellow onion and garlic in some olive oil and spread it out in the bottom of the pan.  Then, layer in the veggie slices vertically, add some salt, pepper and thyme, cover with aluminum foil and bake.  The recipe calls for baking it for 30 minutes before adding the cheese and baking for another 15-20 minutes.

I really should have baked it for much longer than the initial 30 minutes because by the time I took the final product out of the oven, the potato still wasn't cooked as much as I would have liked.  I ended up popping it back in the oven for another 20 minutes or so to try to cook the potato more.  I added a little more cheese before putting it back in and it was much better.


 
Overall, this was delicious although I would have really preferred to have it as a side instead of a main dish.

For tomorrow, I plan on making a chocolate zucchini bread, so be on the lookout!

            

Week 10 - Who's getting hungry?

Hi friends!  Sorry about the week-long hiatus.  Between a very hectic schedule and a loss of appetite I'm afraid I not only neglected this blog, but I also neglected my share.

Unfortunately, my breakup had more casualties than just me and my (now ex) boyfriend.  I finally cleaned out the untouched refrigerator last night and was sad to have to throw away some amazing share items including several cucumbers, my awesome yellow carrots, a few beets and various greens.  It really bummed me out to see such amazing food go to waste and I am going to do my best to make sure that doesn't happen again this season.

Before I breakdown my share from this week (which I am very excited about, by the way) I have to tell you about one of the most delicious things I have ever eaten.  I was in Kansas City over the weekend to visit family (love you Caity & Jim!) and took in a Sox/Royals game at Kauffman Stadium where I had the pleasure of consuming THIS:

It is called the All-Star BBQ Hot Dog and it's covered in pulled pork, cole slaw, BBQ sauce, and pickles.  It was amazing and have wanted another one ever since! 

Now on to more healthy dining options  ::sigh::

This week my share includes:

• Cilantro
• Cucumbers
• Green Peppers (I only got one but that's ok)
• Purple Beauty Peppers (so cool, guys)
• Summer Squash
• Sweet Potato Greens
• Swiss Chard
• Tomatoes (Finally!)

I am so excited about this week because I love squash and still have the green squash from last week so I suspect I'll be able to make something pretty lovely with them.  Feels appropriate since the feel of fall is in the air each morning now that it's mid-August.

I can't wait to eat the tomatoes because there's just nothing as lovely as freshly grown tomatoes!

I have never even seen a purple pepper before, but they're gorgeous and smell really good.  Looking forward to doing some research to see the best way to prepare them.  I'm glad there are a handful of them so I can try them at least two different ways.

It might still be a few days before I get back into the kitchen because my crazy schedule doesn't show signs of stopping until Sunday evening, but my appetite is back in full force and I am excited to get cooking again and sharing my continued culinary adventures with you all once again :)

Now it's time for the Veggie Person of the Week!  I introduce you to Saul Squash and his son Simon.  Simon's having a tough day and Saul is a little frazzled.  It's ok, guys.  It's all gonna be ok.

           

Week 9 - So many veggies, so little time

Hi friends!
So it's been a while since my last post. Apologies all around.  I had planned on making meals over the weekend, but an unforeseen circumstance (break up) got in the way (not hungry).  I decided to take it easy on myself, stick with my usual Wednesday post and get back into the kitchen next week.  Thanks for hanging in there with me.

This week my share includes:

• Basil (more basil, seriously!?)
• Beets
• Carrots (they're yellow, guys!)
• Cucumbers 
• Hot Peppers
• Lettuce
• Onions
• Savoy Cabbage
• Squash
• Sweet Potato Greens
• Swiss Chard

Not even a broken heart could keep me from my favorite weekly activity - my Veggie Person of the Week!  I give you Ophelia Onion!

            

Adventures in Food Processing

In a post from last week, I mentioned my exciting new purchase of a food processor.  On the very first day I had it I made pesto with the garlic scapes from my share that had been sitting in my refrigerator what felt like forever.  I also used it to make homemade hummus a few days ago (way to save myself money!).  Long story short - FOOD PROCESSORS ARE AWESOME.

Turns out the number of scapes I had made a lot of very powerful pesto.  I was a little surprised at how much flavor they packed since they had been in the fridge for at least 3 weeks.  I even had to trim the tops because they had started to dry up and turn brown.  A little of this pesto goes a LONG way with the wallop of garlic flavor.  It's also a really pretty color green.  It took next to no time to make and doesn't require a lot of ingredients so it's a cheap, delicious way to enhance a simple pasta dish if you're feeling a little broke-ish before your next paycheck hits (that was me this week!).

You'll be very proud to know that neither of the dishes I made with my pesto had a recipe.  I just made them up on my own.  Admittedly, neither of them are particularly brilliant or complex but this was a big step for me and my terror in winging it in the kitchen.  I think it kind of speaks to the flexibility of the pesto.  It's handy to have around and you can throw it together with other random stuff and have something yummy at the end.

Pasta with Roasted Tomatoes, Onions and Pesto

When I think about pesto the first thing that comes to mind is pasta so I figured it would be simple way to take the pesto for a test run.  I decided I'd add some cherry tomatoes to the dish as well and as I was going through share items still hanging around my fridge I realized I still had three onions that I figured I should use before they went bad. 

I sliced the tomatoes in half and thinly sliced the onions, tossed them in some olive oil with pepper, salt and some oregano (dried from my share!), wrapped it all in some tinfoil and popped it in the oven until the tomatoes were tender.

Then I mixed the cooked pasta with the pesto and added in the onion and tomato and had a lovely dinner for myself paired with a salad that had farm fresh lettuce and cucumbers!

Pesto, Ricotta and Tomato Tarts

Back on July 4 I made two different tarts using frozen puff pastry - carrot and ricotta (successful!) and fennel (unsuccessful!).  Well, I bought more puff pastry than I needed and only used a small amount of the ricotta so both of those items have just been hanging around, taking up space.  I decided last night to throw them all together with the pesto and make a little pizza style dish.



I cut the sheet of puff pastry into four squares and, like the previous tarts, folded in the edges to make a little crust around the edges.  I used a fork to puncture the pastry dough so it wouldn't get too puffy and crazy in the oven and spooned a layer of ricotta cheese on top.  I added a little salt and pepper (per the recipe for the carrot tart) on top of the cheese and then added a thin later of pesto - enough to cover the cheese, but not so much that the taste would be overwhelming.  

Note: BOTH of my cats were particularly interested in what I was doing while I was working on the tart crusts, jumping onto the counter and trying to walk all over them. Fortunately, no paws made contact with the dough (though one cat nose did) and as far as I can tell no cat hair seasoned them either.  Silly kitties.

I had half of a large tomato in the fridge so I sliced it as thin as possible while maintaining its shape.  My plan was to just later the tomato on top of the tart as is, but the slices were too wide for the square tart so I cut them in half so they were wedge shaped and layered them to fit.  This is where I took a chance.  I figured I should put a little olive oil on the tomato since any time I've roasted anything in the oven since starting this blog it required a coating of olive oil.  So, I took a pastry brush and lightly applied the oil to the top of the tomato slices. 

I topped everything with a little more crushed black pepper and sea salt and a dash of parmesan cheese and popped it in the oven for 20 minutes.  It smelled AMAZING as it was cooking and I was really excited to taste the finished product.

When I took them out of the oven they looked beautiful (often, my presentation leaves a lot to be desired so I was pretty psyched) and smelled even better.  I resisted the urge to eat one right away and let them cool a little while I did all the dishes.  The tarts were really, really tasty.

    

These tarts would be a great little addition to a house party or gathering.  Small enough to enjoy one without ruining your appetite for a meal.  I still have one sheet of dough and a little more cheese left so I think I'll make another batch tonight.  Yummmm!

Until next time, friends!