Garden Week: Zucchini Bread

Great basic Zucchini Bread recipe from my mother-in-law! I Tried changing it up once, attempting to make it more healthy. However, I have realized that the original is the best way to go! One thing I have realized with zucchini bread (or banana bread) the smaller loaf pans seem to work better. They are a little more moist and they stay moist because you eat them faster!

Zucchini Bread

1 c cooking oil
3 eggs, beaten
2 c zucchini
2 c sugar
3 tsp vanilla
3 c flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp baking powder
3 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp salt

Grease and flour or cooking spray on pans. Blend all ingredients. Bake in 2 large loaf pans for 45 min at 350 (or smaller pans for20-30 min).

Garden Week: Basil Pesto

I have to give foodnetwork credit for a lot of my cooking skills and knowledge. Back when My oldest was a baby, I used to watch the cooking shows food network religiously. laetly, it seems like we just watch the "non-cooking" shows on foodnetowrk, which are still entertaining and somewhat educational. However, I decided to go back to my roots, so I started recording some of the cooking shows that play during the day, and watching them at night. I recently watch an episode of Giada at Home where she cooked a tradition Northern Italian meal. It all looked so delicious. Luckily, one of the dishes was Pesto, which I had on my menu for August! I decided to make the Pesto part of the meal. It turned out fantastic! I will certainly be attempting the rest of the meal (a soup and dessert) another time!

I made this part of garden week because I feel that everyone should have a basil plant in their garden!

Trenette with Eggplant and Basil Pesto
Pesto:

    * 2 packed cups fresh basil leaves
    * 1/4 cup toasted pine nuts (see Cook's Note)
    * 1 clove garlic
    * 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, plus extra for seasoning
    * 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus extra for seasoning
    * 2/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
    * 1/2 cup (1 1/2 ounces) grated Parmesan

Pasta:

    * 1 pound trenette or other short-cut pasta
    * 1/2 cup (1 1/2 ounces) grated Parmesan, plus 1/2 cup
    * 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
    * 1 (1 1/2 pounds) medium eggplant, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
    * Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
 
For the pesto: In a blender or food processor, pulse the basil, pine nuts, garlic, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper until finely chopped. With the machine running, gradually add the oil until the mixture is smooth and thick. Add the cheese and pulse until just incorporated. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Set aside.

For the pasta: Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, about 8 to 10 minutes. Drain and reserve about 1 cup of the pasta water. Put the pasta into a large serving bowl and add 1/2 cup of the Parmesan. Toss until coated.

In a large, nonstick skillet, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the eggplant and season with salt and pepper, to taste. Cook, stirring frequently, until the eggplant turns golden brown, about 8 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and cool slightly. Add the pesto and toss until the eggplant is coated.

Add the eggplant mixture to the serving bowl with the pasta and toss until all of the ingredients are coated. Thin out the sauce with a little pasta water, if needed. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Sprinkle with the remaining cheese and serve.

Cook's Note: To toast the pine nuts, arrange them in a single layer on a baking sheet. Bake in a preheated 350 degree F oven until lightly toasted, about 5 to 6 minutes. Cool completely before using.
 

 

Garden Week: Frozen Blueberry Lemonade

Blueberries are not necessary a Utah garden staple, but they certainly are a lot cheaper during the summer time! This is a fun summer drink to make. The only difference is I would leave out the mint. For some reason my husband and I are not a fan of fresh mint... so I will leave it up to you!

Frozen Blueberry Lemonade

1 1/2 cups blueberries
1 cup lemonade
1/2 cup fresh mint leaves, plus more for serving
1/4 cup confectioners’ sugar

In a blender, puree the blueberries, lemonade, mint, confectioners’ sugar, and 3 cups ice until smooth .Garnish with mint sprigs.

Garden Week: Avocado, Cucumber Tomato Salad

This is a very simple salad recipe I have from my mother-in-law. We love to make it during the summer with garden tomatoes (and this year with garden cucumbers from our neighbors). It is quick, easy, and delicious!

Avocado Cucumber Tomato Salad

1/4 tsp grated lemon zest
1/4 c lemon juice
1 TBSP white wine vinegar
1 c vegetable oil
1 1/2 lbs vine ripened tomatoes, chopped
2 cucumbers peeled, seeded and chopped
3 avocados, chopped

In a bowl whisk together zest, lemon juice, vinegar, salt and pepper to taste. Then whisk in oil, whisking until dressing is a milky liquid.  Put tomatoes, cucumbers and avocados in 3 separate bowls and toss with dressing. serve separately or on a platter divided into sections. Can be prepared 2 hours ahead and chilled.

I actually just mix everything together, and it works great that way too!

Garden Week: Fried Zucchini

This is the best fried zucchini hands down.

Fried Zucchini

1 3/4 c parmesan
1 1/2 c panko bread crumbs
3/4 tsp salt
2 eggs
3 medium zucchini peeled, and cut into rings or strips

Pour enough oil into a large frying pan to reach a depth of 2 inchs (or use a deep fat fryer). Heat oil over med heat to 350 degrees.

Stir 1 1/2 cups parmesan, the panko and salt in a medium bowl. Whisk the eggs in another bowl. Working in batches dip the zucchini in the eggs, let excess drip, and then coat the zucchini in the panko mixture, patting to adhere completly.

When oil is hot, fry the zucchini in batches until they are golden brown, about 3 minutes. Transfer to paper towels to drain.

Garden Week: Lemony Green Beans

We had a very successful green bean plant this year. It is probably my favorite thing we planted. Whenever I harvested, we ate them up right away. Other then eating the raw dipped in ranch, my other favorite was to cook them with lemon! It is so light and fresh, it tastes like summer!

Lemony Green Beans

about 1/2 pound of fresh green beans, trimmed
zest of one lemon
tsp of fresh lemon juice
1/2 tsp lemon pepper
2 tbsp olive oil

Trim the green beans by cutting the ends off (and removing strings if needed). Bring a large pot of water to a boil. When rapidly boiling, throw in the trimmed greens beans for 5 minutes. Meanwhile prepare an ice water bath =(fill a large bowl with cold water and ice). A soon as the 5 minutes are up, drain the green beans and toss into the ice bath. In a large skillet, heat 2 tbsp of olive oil of medium heat. Throw in green beans, lemon zest, lemon juice and lemon pepper. Saute until beans begin to brown just a little. Remove from heat and season with salt to taste.

Garden Week: Chocolate Zuchini Cake

This is probably the best way to use up zucchini. It makes the most moist delicious cake you can imagine. My suggestions are to cook it in a but pan, and then dust it with powder sugar. If you make this, people will beg for the recipe, I promise.Oh, and you can think of it as healthy cake, because it has zucchini in it! Right?

*as soon as I make this again, I will get a picture up*

Chocolate Zucchini Cake

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups white sugar
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
4 eggs
1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
3 cups grated zucchini

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour a 9x13 inch baking pan (I used a bundt pan). In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon. Add the eggs and oil, mix well.  Add zucchini and mix until evenly distributed. Pour into the prepared pan. Bake for 50 to 60 minutes in the preheated oven, until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool cake completely before frosting with your favorite frosting or just dust with some powdered sugar.

Garden Week: Strawberry-Watermelon Slushie

I have also been into fun drinks (non-alcoholic obviously), so when ever I see a recipe for one, I am drawn to it. However, I hardly ever actually make them! So, my new goal is to make these fun drinks and have them with dinner, or for after dinner treats! This on is from ourbestbites.com, and is a perfect way to use up watermelon and strawberries. It actually doesn't take very much of either, but it is definitely the amount you will use!

Strawberry-Watermelon Slushie
from our Best Bites

2 cups cubed seedless watermelon
1 pint fresh strawberries, halved (I actually used a little less than a pint.  Maybe 3/4 of it)
1/3 C sugar
1/3 C fresh lemon juice
2-4 C ice cubes

In a blender, combine the watermelon, strawberries, sugar and lemon juice; cover and process on high until smooth. With blender running, gradually add ice cubes until desired consistency is reached.  Pour into chilled glasses and serve immediately.

Yield: 5-7 cups

Kick off to Garden Week: Cheese Stuffed Peppers Wrapped in Bacon

This week (and maybe longer) I am going to share some recipes to use up those pesky garden vegetables that keep showing up. I know I always run out of ideas on how to use or preserve my garden veggies, so hopefully this will help you out too!

I am going to start out the week with my favorite and original recipe:

Bacon Wrapped Cheese Stuffed Peppers

hot peppers (we have used jalapenos and Anaheim peppers for these)
cheese (cheddar, mozzarella, pepper jack, anything goes)
bacon

Cut stem plus a little of the top off peppers and then using a paring knife and remove seeds. Try to do everything from the hole where you cut the stem off and try not to break the pepper open because you may loose some of the delicious cheese in the cooking process. Proceed by stuffing cheese (cubed or shredded) down the hole. Then  you want to take your bacon and tightly wrap around the pepper, securing with toothpicks. Broil in your oven on low until cheese is melted and bacon is nice and crispy. You can also do these on the bbq, but the bacon fat may catch on fire and burn up your peppers, which is no good.