Swiss Chard, Acorn Squash and Freekah

If you've been watching my blog at all you know we're in high production mode for tomatoes, swiss chard, bok choy and acorn squash. What's a girl to do with all that produce?

Well … after an Indian birthday celebration and a 20+-mile bike ride on Saturday with Dan's sisters we were exhausted and full so we opted for goat cheese, tomato, cucumber, carrot, radish, and avocado sandwiches for dinner on Saturday night (sorry we were so hungry we forgot to take pictures)– they were however, quite tasty.

Sunday was filled with re-organizing the pantry – tossing out the things there is no way we will eat in this life time and scrubbing and cleaning the closet – a satisfying day.  After cleaning the closet I took a short nap and then headed out for my 8,500-step walk. After all that activity, my legs were tired and so was I.

But we still needed dinner – so now that we can actually see what's in the pantry I decided to make a dish that included Freekah which is a young green wheat that has been toasted and cracked. It's a healthy whole grain food, similar to bulgur wheat and other whole grains and it has a kind of nutty flavor.

I found the perfect recipe that used one of our 16 acorn squash, freekah and kale --which I substituted swiss chard for because we have more than any human should be allowed to have. The flavor combination of this dish was amazing. The sweetness of the maple roasted squash, combined with the garlic, nutmeg and pepper sautéed swiss chard and the Dijon mustard sauce was a unique taste combination – by unique I mean good.

I don't often get a "This is a top 10 recipe" comment from Dan but that was his response after a few bites; must have done something right.

We did take pictures of this dish and as you can see we have a side of sliced tomatoes (of course). If you have any favorite swiss chard or squash recipes send them my way. Lately I've been pondering a swiss chard dal and a squash based vegan macaroni and cheese - as the days get shorter and the nights cooler comfort foods seem to find their way to the dinner table. 

But take heart we still have a lot of experimenting to do in the coming weeks and my carrots are close to ready - roasted carrots with a balsamic glaze and toasted sesame seeds here we come!

Thanks for stopping and keep sending recipe suggestions!

Zoodles (Zucchini Noodles) not Noodles

I've never really been a fan of pasta; sure I have it from time to time but in reality I don't need the carbs. On the flip side, I love tomatoes, in sauce, on a toasted sandwich, in a salad, or plain with a little salt.  So when my boss posted a recipe for Spaghetti'd Zucchini with Lentil Marinara I knew I had to try it.  The original recipe is here. 
 

I started out following the recipe but as I was taste testing I felt that it needed "something" so I added a little siracha, some additional garlic, more salt and some ground black pepper. I also added fresh basil and parsley both of which are currently taking over my garden; which is a good thing. 

We had our monthly movie night with friends Maria and Gerd and got good reviews on the zoodles and sauce. Served it with a green salad, some fresh bread and ended the evening with some lemon bars and chocolate cheese cake (left over from a new book club I recently joined).

And the movie; Insurgent (part 2 of the Divergent series). I really enjoyed the movie and am looking forward to the next installment although I wish they weren't so far apart. 

Spent some time out in the garden this morning; we're still getting green and yellow beans, the swiss chard is beautiful rainbow colors and tall (guess what's on the menu tonight), tomatoes still in high production and the carrots should be the next crop. Acorn squash continue to grow and the mint never seems to stop. And somewhere in all of that my oregano and rosemary have found a place to thrive. 

It's been a good harvest so far this year – all the crops seem to play well together now if I can remember what and where I planted everything perhaps I can recreate it next year. 

Thanks for stopping by and have a great weekend!

Zucchini in the Garden, in the Kitchen and on the Doorstep - Watch Out!

If you've ever planted zucchini you might recall right about this time of year you're searching for recipes to use it in, neighbors to give it to or doorsteps to leave it on. This year my neighbor planted zucchini and cucumbers and we planted acorn squash and tomatoes – so we could trade.

As I was coming out of the garden with the front of my shirt loaded down with tomatoes my neighbor flagged me down to see if I wanted any cucumbers and zucchini so we swapped – her husband had a big smile on his face when he saw me leaving with 2 cukes and 2 zucchini – probably happy he didn't have to have zucchini AGAIN.

I really like zucchini; a medium zucchini has about 33 calories and essentially no fat or cholesterol. It has vitamin A, C and B-6, magnesium and a little calcium. I like how it absorbs the flavors of the ingredients it's paired with – it's very versatile. And if you've seen any of my spiralized recipes they're great for spiralizing to use in place of pasta you really can't go wrong.

I have a favorite zucchini recipe, which I look forward to making every year at this time. It has zucchini (of course), caramelized onions, tomatoes, feta and fresh basil. It's a little putzy but the flavor combination is well worth the effort.  I've been making and tweaking this recipe for a long time so I'm not sure where or what the original recipe was, but a couple years ago I adapted it to use Pampered Chef tools for a show so here goes:

Zucchini and Tomato Bake

2 medium zucchini

3 - 4 Roma tomatoes (this time I used one large beefsteak and 4 romas)

2 medium red onions

10 basil leaves (or more)

2 - 3  garlic cloves - more or less depends on how much you like garlic

Feta cheese - I don't measure I just grab a chunk (remember, cooking is not science it's cooking :-)

Salt

Pepper

Olive oil

Using the PC simple slicer, thinly slice onions on setting 1. Place in pan with olive oil and cook on medium heat until caramelized.  Remove from heat and set aside.

Again using the simple slicer, slice zucchini on setting 2, place on paper towels, salt, cover with another paper towel and let sit 30 minutes. This is to extract as much moisture out of it as possible.

With a very sharp knife, thinly slice tomatoes, pat with paper towels to remove excess moisture.

To assemble: place one layer of zucchini slightly overlapping on bottom of the PC Rockcrok. Top with caramelized onions, then a layer of tomatoes. Add another layer of zucchini and finally the last layer of tomatoes. Sometimes I do 3 layers with 2 layers of carmelized onions - it depends on what I have in the fridge.

  

Using the garlic peeler, remove the skins and then place the garlic cloves in the garlic slicer.  Slice garlic on top of tomatoes.

Crumble feta and sprinkle on top of final layer of tomatoes. Chiffonade basil and sprinkle on top.  Cover and bake at 375 for approx 20 - 25 minutes or until zucchini is soft. Turn oven on broil, remove Rockcrok cover and place under broiler until feta is slightly browned.

I served this with fresh baked 10-grain bread and a green salad – it was worth the wait.  One thing to note, even when you salt and drain the tomatoes and zucchini you still get water in the bottom of the dish, I usually drain it with a turkey baster ½ way through cooking.

Thanks for stopping by - and watch out for neighbors who seem to be slinking away from your doorstep - you could be the victim of a zucchini drop.