Grilled Zucchini
Fried Zucchini
Zucchini Bread

That’s about as far as I got on my own.

Then I ran across a zucchini salad  recipe in Real Simple and thought – a ha! I can make that! So with a few adaptations here is a delicious, fresh, and light zucchini salad perfect for getting rid of at least two medium sized gourds. (Original recipe is here.)

Zucchini Dill Salad
2 medium zucchini
8 oz. orzo pasta (half a box/bag)
1/4 cup chopped dill
1/2 cup chopped pecans
8 oz. Feta cheese (crumbled)
3 T olive oil
1 lemon, juiced (and zested, if desired)
Salt & Pepper to taste

In a pot, bring water to boil. Cook orzo according to package directions. While pasta is cooking, quarter zucchini lengthwise, then cut into thin slices. In a large bowl, combine zucchini, dill, olive oil and lemon juice. Allow to marinate for at least 20 minutes. When pasta is finished, drain and rinse with cold water until cool. Combine with zucchini mixture and add feta cheese. Salt and pepper to taste. Place in refrigerator until ready to serve. (This is a great dish to make ahead!)

Enjoy!

These apples were, if I do say so myself, probably my favorite. I hope you enjoy them as well.

Buttered Pecan Apples

3 T butter
1/4 C. chopped pecans
3 Granny Smith Apples, peeled, cored and sliced
1 T. honey
1 pinch salt

In a medium frying pan, melt butter and add pecans. Toast for 2-3 minutes. (Resist the urge to add in heavy cream and throw in an ice cream churn. Yum.) Add honey and salt, then apples. Stir to coat. Cover, and cook over medium for 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally to keep apples from burning. Enjoy!

Anyway, for my mother-in-law’s birthday we took another cooking class, and this is one of the dishes they concocted. You can substitute brussels sprouts for the cabbage (have tried it – very good), green beans or spinach (haven’t tried those, but I will). Give it a go. You might be surprised at how good cooked cabbage can be, with a little help from its friends.

Braised Cabbage
3 slices bacon, chopped
1/2 medium onion (red or yellow – whatever you have), diced
1 clove minced garlic
2 C. shredded cabbage
Salt & Pepper, to taste

Fry the bacon to just about done (chewy and turning crispy), then add in the onions. Cook onions, stirring occasionally, until translucent. Stir in garlic, then add cabbage and cook for 3-5 minutes. Eat immediately. Enjoy!

Honey-Lime Slaw
1/2 small head red cabbage
1/2 head green cabbage
1/3 cup carrots
3 scallions, sliced
1 medium bell pepper, chopped
1/4 C. slivered almonds
1 T. olive oil
1 T. honey
juice of 1 lime
1-2 t. peanut butter
salt, to taste

Shred the cabbages and carrots (I used my food processor, which took about two minutes.) Chop scallions and pepper. Combine in a large bowl with almonds. In a separate, smaller bowl, combine oil, honey, lime juice, and peanut butter. Whisk until well combined. Pour over vegetables along with salt to taste and toss to combine. Serve immediately.

Lemon Pecan Pasta
1 lemon, juiced and zested
4 T (1/2 stick) butter
1 T olive oil
1/3 C. pecans
1 t. sugar
salt, pepper to taste
4 servings of your favorite small pasta

In a saucepan, melt 4 T. butter over medium heat. Mmmmm.

While that’s melting, chop up your pecans, then add them in. Let them get all nice and toasty.

Add in the lemon juice and zest, sugar, and salt & pepper.

Pour over your cooked and drained pasta, and enjoy. My mouth is watering again just typing this. Serves 4.

Black Bean & Corn Salsa
1 can black beans
1 can white beans (I like Great Northern)
1 can corn
1/4 C. crushed pineapple, with juice
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 green bell pepper, minced
1/2 red onion, minced
3 T. chopped fresh cilantro
Zest and juice of 1/2 lime
2 T. olive oil
Jalapeno pepper rings, minced, to taste (about 4-5)
Salt & Pepper to taste

Rinse and drain beans and corn. Combine in a bowl with other ingredients except jalapenos, salt and pepper. Mix well.

Add peppers and seasonings to taste and combine. Refrigerate for at least a couple hours before serving. Serve cold with chips. For a variation, serve warm over fish or chicken.

My favorite summer food, for sure. I don’t know why it took me until September to get around to make them this year. However, at my mom’s annual Forth of July cookout, my cousin Christa’s boyfriend Thad suggested I try using club soda in the batter to make them more light and crispy, so I wanted to give it a shot, and were they ever delicious. Thanks for the tip, Thad! Or you could try a lemon-lime flavored soda if you don’t have club soda handy – it’s really the carbonation you need. In fact, I may or may not have done this very thing. Don’t tell Thad. But I might have forgotten to get club soda while I was at the store, and just maybe had a 7-up in the pantry. And perhaps I didn’t feel like making a 45-minute round trip to the store for club soda. We live a ways out.

Club-Soda Fried Green Tomatoes
2-3 firm green tomatoes
Corn Meal
Flour
Salt
Pepper
Club Soda
Buttermilk
1 egg
Vegetable Oil

Slice the tomatoes evenly. I like thin slices, but it’s really a matter of personal preference. In a bowl, combine equal parts flour and corn meal. Add some salt and pepper and stir.

In another bowl, add one beaten egg and equal parts (you only need a few ounces) buttermilk and club soda.

Dip the tomato slices in the liquid mixture first, then coat with the flour/cornmeal mixture. Set aside.

In a skillet over medium heat, add a couple tablespoons of oil. Fry tomatoes for a few minutes on each side until golden brown. You can add more oil as needed as you fry additional batches.

Serve hot. Enjoy!

Disclaimer – I can vouch for the validity of the southern style green beans because I grew up in the (relative) south. I have not, however, been to Italy (it’s on my to-do list), and cannot testify to the validity of the Italian moniker. However, I believe it originated from a Giada de Laurentis recipe, and that’s good enough for me.

Italian Style Green Beans
1 lb. string beans
1 T. olive oil
½ white onion
1 clove garlic
1 can diced tomatoes
Salt & pepper, to taste

Rinse beans, then add to a pot of boiling water for 3-5 minutes. Meanwhile, mince garlic, and slice onion. In a pan, heat oil to medium-high, then sauté onions for 1-2 minutes, adding garlic second. Once onions are soft and translucent, turn pan to medium-low. When beans are finished, drain in a colander and rinse with ice cold water to stop cooking. Drain and add on top of garlic & onion mixture. Add in tomatoes, stir, and heat through for five minutes. Serve immediately.

These sound more complicated than they are, and it only takes about 10 minutes, and they are so, so, so good. Not to mention you’re getting three different vegetables in one dish. Enjoy!

I knew I must find a recipe and make it. And bless their little hearts, the recipe right from the restaurant is on their Web site. I made the cakes this week, and they were almost as good as I remember. I didn’t have any masa de harina, which is a corn-based flour treated with lye to give is a subtle taste, not to mention a more fine consistency than standard corn meal. But I used corn meal. So my version tasted the same, but the texture was a bit grittier. If you have access to masa de harina, use it instead. If not, cornmeal is an ok substitute in this recipe. Also, I added about 1/4 C. diced red pepper because I had some from my aunt’s garden that wasn’t going to last much longer.

Make these soon. You won’t regret it.

Black Bean Cakes (Or Love Cakes)
(15 ounce) cans cooked black beans
2 tablespoons canola oil
2 tablespoons minced yellow onion
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 cup masa de harina (or cornmeal, but only if you have to)
Salsa verde
Slivered red onion
Feta cheese

Rinse and drain black beans . In a small pan heat 1 tablespoon of the canola oil over medium heat. Cook onion, garlic, cumin, and salt until onions are translucent. Place drained beans and onion mixture in a bowl and mash with a potato masher (or the back of a fork, if you don’t have a potato masher) until smooth. Gradually add masa, allowing it to absorb it before adding more. Keep adding masa until dough doesn’t stick to your hand and holds the shape of a ball.

Divide dough into  small balls and flatten into cakes. Place a skillet over medium heat and add the remaining 1 tablespoon of canola oil. Saute cakes until lightly browned on each side, about 3 to 5 minutes per side. Top with Green Salsa, feta cheese, and slivered red onions.

So yesterday when I got them out to wash/peel/slice them, when my plan was foiled by the fact that I had bought baking russet potatoes, not sweet potatoes. I needed a plan, and quick. And here’s what I came up with. It was definitely the most delicious impromptu recipe I’ve ever come up with.

Parmesan Garlic Herb Potatoes
3 baking potatoes (or 5 regular-sized russets)
2 T. butter
1 clove garlic
1/3 – 1/2 C. shredded Parmesan cheese
1 T. dried herbs (I just used oregano, but try basil, parsley, whatever you want)
Salt & Pepper to taste.

First, slice the potatoes in 1/4 inch rounds. Put a layer of them in the bottom of a 8×8″ baking dish. Mince garlic, and slice the butter into small chunks. Alternatively layer 1/3 of the cheese, garlic, butter and herbs with the potatoes. Top with cheese, salt and pepper. (Note: I’m a chronic under-salter, and even so, you don’t need as much salt as you’d think. The Parmesan and butter already have salt added.)

Bake in a 350 degree oven for 35-45 minutes. Enjoy!