Zucchini Brownies

This used up the last of the grated zucchini from Megan's monster.  I used almond milk and Earth Balance Buttery Spread (soy free version) in the frosting - followed the recipe otherwise.  http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Zucchini-Brownies/Detail.aspx?evt19=1

INGREDIENTS

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

1 1/2 cups sugar

2 tsp vanilla extract

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup unsweetened pure cocoa

1 1/2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

2 cups shredded zucchini

1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Frosting:

6 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa

1/4 cup Earth Balance Soy-free Buttery Spread

2 cups confectioners sugar

1/4 cup almond milk

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

COOKING INSTRCTIONS 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease and flour a 9" x 13" or 7" x 11" baking pan.

In a large bowl, mix together oil, sugar, and 2 tsp vanilla until well blended.  In a separate bowl, combine flour, 1/2 cup cocoa, baking soda, and salt.  Stir into the sugar mixture.  Fold in the zucchini (and walnuts, if using).  Spread evenly in the prepared baking pan and pat down.  Bake 25-30 minutes, or until top springs back when lightly touched.  Let cool.

To make the frosting, melt together buttery spread and 6 Tbsp cocoa.  Set aside to cool.  Blend confectioners sugar, almond milk, and 1/2 tsp vanilla.  Stir in the cocoa mix and blend well.  Spread over cooled brownies before cutting into squares.

Basil Pesto

This recipe from the Food Network also includes directions for freezing this pesto.  I didn't have to make any changes to the recipe because it calls for Pecorino cheese instead of Parmesan.  I used Pecorino Romano.  http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/food-network-kitchens/basil-pesto-recipe2.html

I also found some interesting tips at http://slice.seriouseats.com/archives/2013/04/the-pizza-lab-pesto-pizza.html.  To retain the bright green color, blanch the basil - 15-30 seconds in boiling water.  You can also add a little spinach to the mixHe also blanches his garlic, to take the edge off.  And for pesto used as a pizza topping, reduce the amount of oil used.  He doesn't spread his pesto like a sauce, but puts in on the pizza in little globs ("points of interest").  

I blanched the basil and used less oil, and we used this as a topping for our Zucchini Crusted Pizza.  I had some of the leftover pesto on whole wheat spaghetti later in the week - REALLY liked it!

INGREDIENTS

2 cups fresh basil leaves

2 cloves garlic

1/4 cup pine nuts

2/3 cup extra virgin olive oil, divided

Salt and pepper to taste

1/2 cup Pecorino cheese, freshly grated

COOKING INSTRUCTIONS

Combine basil, garlic, and pine nuts in food processor and pulse until coarsely chopped.  Add 1/2 cup olive oil and pulse until smooth.  If using right away, add remaining olive oil and pulse until well incorporated.  Transfer to a bowl and stir in cheese.

Zucchini Drop Cookies

This recipe is adapted from one in the "Too Many Tomatoes..." Cookbook.  I reduced the sugar and salt, and replaced the shortening with applesauce.

INGREDIENTS

1 cup grated zucchini

1 tsp baking soda

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce

1 egg, beaten

2 cups flour

1/4 tsp salt

1 tsp cinnamon 

1/2 tsp ground cloves

1 cup chopped nuts (pecans)

1 cup raisins (optional)

COOKING INSTRUCTIONS

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Mix together zucchini, soda, sugar, applesauce, and egg.  Sift in and stir flour, salt, cinnamon, and cloves.  Add nuts and raisins.  Drop teaspoonfuls of dough on cookie sheet and bake 12-15 minutes.

Nutritional information:  Makes 36 cookies, per cookie = 72 calories, 2.6 g fat, 5.1 mg cholesterol, 53.4 mg sodium, 11.5 g carbs, 0.7 g dietary fiber, 1.3 g protein

Zucchini Crusted Pizza

This is a recipe a friend made for me many, many years ago, and that I've made many, many times since then.  It is originally from Mollie Katzen in "The Moosewood Cookbook."  https://static.squarespace.com/static/5150aca3e4b0b73e823496d6/t/51db33ede4b08fbe8d2b244b/1373320173789/Zucchini-CrustedPizza.pdf. This is the first time I've tried to adapt it to my dietary needs/restrictions.

At the Higgs' family reunion this past weekend our niece Megan gave us a very large, even huge, zucchini.  I'm trying to use it up.  I made two crusts - one using the original recipe ingredients and topped with marinara sauce and cheese; the other with the goat milk cheeses and topped with a pesto sauce I made today and goat milk feta.

INGREDIENTS

The crust

3 1/2 cups grated zucchini (grate it coarsely)

3 eggs, beaten

1/3 cup flour

1/2 cup grated mozzarella (goats milk mozzarella for me)

1/2 cup grated Parmesan (Pecorino Romano for me)

1 Tbsp fresh basil leaves, minced (1/2 tsp dried)

Salt and pepper

Toppings (your choice)

Sauce (marinara, no tomato, Alfredo, pesto)

Steamed broccoli, carrots, cauliflower

Sautéed mushrooms

Cheese

Etc.

COOKING INSTRUCTIONS

Salt the zucchini lightly and let it sit for 15 minutes.  Squeeze out all the excess moisture.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Combine all crust ingredients and spread into an oiled 9" x 13" baking pan or casserole dish.  Bake 20-25 minutes - until the surface is dry and firm.  Brush the top with olive oil and broil it, under moderate heat, for 5 minutes.

Pile all your favorite pizza toppings on, and heat the whole mess in a 350 degree oven for about 25 minutes.  Serve hot, cut into squares, with a big tossed salad.

Makes 4-6 servings, each crust.

Leftover Roast Beef - BBQ Beef for Sandwiches

Now that I've cooked all this roast beef, I have lots of leftovers.  And no one in my family is a big eater of plain roast beef.  But both Nancy and John are very fond of BBQ sauce, and Jean likes it, too.  So I cut most of my leftovers into thin strips and put them into the crockpot with BBQ sauce and a little water.  We'll have that for dinner tonight, and I'll freeze what's left.  Well, Sharon and they will have that - BBQ sauce is not something I can eat without triggering pain.  Rats!

I cubed the rest of the leftovers and put them in the freezer for making soup later.

Cheesy Zucchini and Squash Bake

Found this recipe at Gourmet Veggie Mama's blog http://www.gourmetveggiemama.com/2012/07/25/cheesy-zucchini-and-squash-bake/.  I used goat milk mozzarella and Pecorino Romano cheeses instead of the cow's milk cheeses called for in the recipe.

This was okay, but nothing very wonderful.  I used several different types of squash, mostly from our Seton Harvest CSA share.

INGREDIENTS

2 medium zucchini, sliced or half-moons

2 yellow squash, sliced or half-moons

1 cup mozzarella, shredded, divided

4 oz. goat cheese, crumbled

1/2 cup Pecorino Romano, grated 

3 Tbsp fresh Basil (about 2 tsp dried)

1/2 tsp dried Thyme

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 small onion or shallot, finely diced

Salt and pepper taste

COOKING INSTRUCTIONS

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Spray 8" x 8" baking pan or casserole dish with olive oil.

In large bowl, mix together all ingredients except 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese.  Place in prepared pan and bake 25-30 minutes.  Add cheese over top and bake additional 10-15 minutes, until cheese is melted and browning and squash is cooked.

Roast Beef

So tonight I fixed the other kind of roast beef - the more tender cut of beef that one cooks dry at high heat instead of moist and slow at low heat as one does for pot roast.  Daniel, Hope, and Jourdan came for dinner tonight.  They have become very special people to me, and not just because they have returned to us many family photos and other treasures (although that is certainly part of it).  I was somewhat embarrassed by the mess our house is still in - we have piles of things the kids brought home from college for the summer, as well as the trunks and boxes of family things from Daniel and Hope.  I'm making progress, but very slowly.  

Daniel is allergic to all things poultry, so no eggs or poultry meat or broth in anything tonight.  In addition to the roast beef, we had roasted red potatoes and roasted sweet potatoes, a squash Au gratin casserole, salad, rolls, and peaches with ice cream.  Turned our Jourdan is allergic to peaches, so I gave him some black raspberries to have on his ice cream.

INGREDIENTS

3-5 pound beef roast ( mine was a sirloin tip roast)

3/4 tsp garlic powder (or to taste)

Salt to taste

Pepper to taste

COOKING INSTRUCTIONS

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  The basic instruction is to season the meat and then roast for 20 minutes per pound.  If the roast is not tied, tie kitchen string around the roast at three inch intervals.  Do not add any liquid to the roasting pan.  After removing it from the oven, let the roast rest (it also continues cooking) for 15-20 minutes before slicing (slice very thin) and serving.

I didn't feel mine was cooked as much as I like, so I put it back into the oven after cutting off enough for dinner.  Hope told me her men like their's red, so I didn't worry too much about it.  

I roasted red potato and sweet potato wedges coated with a little olive oil and salt and pepper in the same oven at 450 degree after removing the roast and while it rested.

I didn't take any pictures.

Dairy-Free Bisquick Peach Cobbler

We bought a peck of fresh peaches today, so I made a peach cobbler for dessert.  I used Betty Crocker's classic Bisquick peach cobbler recipe http://www.bettycrocker.com/recipes/classic-bisquick-peach-cobbler/a2efbfa6-3233-4f7a-bf5b-43ce62bd1055, adapted to be dairy-free.

INGREDIENTS

6-8 fresh peaches, skinned, pitted, and sliced (or 29 oz sliced canned peaches), drained

1 cup Bisquick

1 cup almond milk

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1/2 cup soy-free Earth Balance buttery spread, melted

1/2-1 cup sugar

COOKING INSTRUCTIONS

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a square, ungreased baking pan (8"x8" - but I actually used a 9" x 13" pan because I was afraid it would overflow the smaller pan) mix together Bisquick, milk, and nutmeg.  Stir in the melted buttery spread until blended.  Add the sugar (I often find things too sweet, so I only used a bit less than 1/2 cup) to the sliced peaches.  Spoon over the batter.  Bake 50-60 minutes.

Chuck Roast

I'm going to be feeding a couple of red meat lovers tonight and this coming week.  In my younger years I used to make pot roast fairly frequently.  It has been many years since I've made a pot roast, so I am testing the recipe tonight to make sure it will be fit to serve company.

I mostly used the Pioneer Woman recipe http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2011/09/2008_the_year_of_the_pot_roast/, but I made it in my cast iron skillet, since I don't have a Dutch oven.

I think I need to get a Dutch oven, use a foil packet, or cook it in the slow cooker next time.  Too much of the steam escaped, tho it still got cooked and tasted good.  I think it would have cooked more quickly and gotten more tender if sealed better.

INGREDIENTS

3-5 pound chuck roast

2-4 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

Rosemary

Thyme

2 Onions, cut in half root to tip, peeled and ends cut off

6-8 Carrots, peeled or unpeeled, cut into 2-inch pieces

1 cup beef broth or red wine

Additional beef broth

COOKING INSTRUCTIONS

Heat oil in cast iron skillet.  Brown onions, about a minute per side.  Remove.  Throw the carrots into the skillet and stir them around for a minutes or so to brown slightly.  Remove.   Season meat with salt and pepper.  Make sure there is some hot oil still in skillet - add 1 or 2 Tbsp if needed.  Sear the meat on all sides, a minute or two per side.  Remove.  Deglaze the pan, heating the wine or beef broth in the skillet and whisking loose any bits of the food we just browned in it.  Remove skillet from heat.

Preheat oven to 275 degrees.  Return meat, onions, and carrots to skillet.  Add broth/stock to half-way fill skillet.  Add thyme and rosemary - if you have fresh, 2-3 sprigs of each - if dried, 1/2 tsp each.  Cover with oven-proof lid or aluminum foil.  Bake 3-4 hours.  Test to see if done - done if meat readily falls apart when attacked by a fork.  Can slice to serve or shred with fork to serve.

Mixed Berry Cobbler

I used this dairy-free mixed berry cobbler recipe from For This Season http://www.forthisseason.com/2012/10/12/mixed-berry-cobbler-recipe-dairy-free/.  I had two cups of blackberries from Seton Harvest, and used frozen blueberries and strawberries (thawed) for the other two cups of berries.  I wasn't totally satisfied with this, and I'm not sure if it was too sweet or something else.  Maybe it was just that I couldn't have any of the vanilla frozen yogurt with mine!

INGREDIENTS

4 cups berries (fresh or mostly thawed frozen)

2 Tbsp lemon juice

1/4 cup sugar

2 Tbsp cornstarch

1/2 cup unbleached wheat flour

1/2 cup old fashioned rolled oats

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/8 tsp salt

1/3 cup oil

COOKING INSTRUCTIONS

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Spray 9" x 9" pan with olive oil.

In medium bowl, mix together berries, lemon juice, sugar, and cornstarch.  Put into prepared pan.

In medium bowl, mix together flour, oats, brown sugar, and salt.  Add oil and stir until just combined.  Sprinkle over top of berries.

Bake for 30-35 minutes.

Nutritional information:  Makes 6 servings, per serving = 264.9 calories, 10.4 g fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 52.4 mg sodium, 45.7 g carbs, 5 g dietary fiber, 2.7 g protein

Mexican Coleslaw

To use up the other half-head of cabbage this week, I made this Mexican coleslaw recipe from Eating Well  http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes/mexican_coleslaw.html.  Because I don't like cilantro, I left out the 1/3 cup called for in the original recipe.  That probably means what I make isn't really Mexican coleslaw, just mayo-free coleslaw.

INGREDIENTS

1/2 medium head green cabbage, very thinly sliced (about 6 cups)

1 1/2 cups grated carrots (2-3 carrots)

1/4 cup rice vinegar

2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Salt to taste 

COOKING INSTRUCTIONS

Place cabbage and carrots in colander.  Rinse with cold water.  Allow to drain at least 5 minutes.

Whisk together vinegar, oil, and salt.  Mix cabbage, carrots, and dressing together in large bowl.

Cover and refrigerate up to 1 day before serving.

Nutritional information:  Makes 8 servings, per serving = 54 calories, 3.7 g fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 46.1 mg sodium, 5.4 g carbs, 2 g dietary fiber, 1.1 g protein

Cabbage and Bacon

There was another head of cabbage in our Seton Harvest CSA share this week.  I used half of it this morning for my breakfast.

INGREDIENTS 

1/2 medium head of cabbage, cored and thinly sliced

3 slices bacon, cut into pieces 

Salt and pepper to taste

COOKING INSTRUCTIONS

In a cast iron skillet, cook the bacon pieces until fat is mostly rendered and pieces begin to brown slightly at the edges, about 4 minutes.  Add the cabbage, salt, and pepper.  Continue cooking, stirring constantly, about 4 more minutes.  Cover and cook additional couple of minutes, stirring occasionally, until cabbage is tender.

Nutritional information: Makes 2 servings.  Per serving = 91.9 calories, 2.9 g fat, 7.5 mg cholesterol, 253.4 mg sodium, 12.4 g carbs, 5.2 g dietary fiber, 6.8 g protein

Sausage and Apple Puff Pastry

This is something my daughter requested.  I modified a recipe found at the She Wears Many Hats blog http://shewearsmanyhats.com/2014/02/sausage-apple-puff-pastry-braid-recipe/.  The main modification I made was to use already cooked turkey sausage crumbles instead of the uncooked pork sausage called for in her recipe.  I also found it made enough filling for two logs instead of just one.  I used a Gala apple and low sugar Craisins.  There were a couple of things in the ingredients that could set off inflammation in my body, and I think they did - but at a pretty low level.  The sausage includes 'spices' - that often means some nightshades.  And the puff pastry includes both some soy oil and some soy lecithin.

INGREDIENTS

2 eggs, divided

1 Tbsp water

9 oz pkg turkey sausage crumbles

1 large apple, peeled, cored, and diced (1 cup)

1 cup soft bread crumbs (I used a hotdog bun left over from last week's 4th of July cookout)

1/2 cup dried cranberries or dried cherries

1/4 cup chopped onion

1 tsp dried rosemary

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

2 sheets frozen puff pastry, thawed

COOKING INSTRUCTIONS

In a small bowl, whisk together one of the eggs and the water.  Set aside.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Prepare two baking sheets by placing a sheet of parchment paper on ithem and lightly flouring.

In a large bowl, mix together all the other ingredients (except the puff pastry).

Cut the puff pastry into 11/2 inch strips going lengthwise.  Place one on each prepared baking sheet.  Put the sausage/apple mixture down the middle and then fold the ends of the strips over the filling.  Brush the pastry braids wth the egg and water mixture.

Bake 25-35 minutes, until the pastry is golden brown.

Nutritional information:  Makes 2 braids, 12 servings.  Per serving = 102.8 calories, 4 g fat, 30.1 mg cholesterol, 257.8 mg sodium, 13 g carbs, 2.3 g dietary fiber, 6.1 g protein