Eggplant, Zucchini and Tomato Casserole

Inspiration for this is from the garden, obviously.  All the veggies were fresh off the vine. I'm up to my neck in ripe tomatoes!

Eggplant, Zucchini and Tomato Casserole

3 medium eggplant, sliced thin
2 medium zucchini, sliced thin
several large tomatoes, seeded and diced
olive oil
salt
pepper
breadcrumbs
grated parmesan cheese
parsley
oregano
thyme
garlic
1/4 cup vegetable broth

Preheat oven to 375°.

Arrange eggplant and zucchini in a single layer on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Lightly coat vegetables with cooking spray. Bake for 15 minutes. Arrange half of eggplant in a single layer in an 11 x 7-inch glass baking dish coated with cooking spray. Top with half of zucchini and half of tomato. Drizzle olive oil evenly over vegetables, sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Combine breadcrumbs, cheese and next 4 ingredients; sprinkle half over the tomato layer. Repeat layers with remaining eggplant, zucchini, tomatoes, oil, salt, pepper, and breadcrumb mixture. Pour broth over top. Bake at 375° for 1 hour or until vegetables are tender and topping is browned.

Roasted Poblano, Avocado and Cucumber Soup

Long time, no post. I apologize.  I've been fairly uninspired in the kitchen lately, relying mainly on good, old staples.

But now that the garden is producing more than just salads, it's time to get back in the kitchen. Tonight's dinner is inspired by a recipe by Food & Wine, an abundance of cucumbers from the garden and wanting to do something with them other than yet another salad, and a husband who made gagging noises at the idea but who is, conveniently, at soccer tonight.  He doesn't know what he's missing.

Roasted Poblano, Avocado and Cucumber Soup

2 medium poblano, cored and seeded and cut in half
3 cloves garlic
5 medium cucumbers, peeled, seeded and chopped
4 avocados, chopped
~4 cups chicken broth
~3 tsp hot curry powder
dash of tumeric
dash of saffron
1 tbsp lime juice (or to taste)
salt to taste
cilantro to taste

Preheat broiler to 500*.  Line a baking sheet with tinfoil, spray with cooking spray.  Place poblano halves skin-side up.  Broil 5-10 minutes or until skin is charred.  Remove from oven, let cool. Remove the skin and coarsely chop.

Heat a large stockpot over medium heat.  Add olive oil and heat thru.  Add garlic and sautee until lightly browned, about 2-3 minutes.  Add poblano and sautee about 5 minutes.  Add curry powder and toast until fragarant.  Add broth, cucumbers, and avocado; cover.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat to a simmer.  Simmer 10 minutes.

Using an immersion blender, puree the vegetables until smooth, adding more broth if necessary to maintain texture.  Add in spices and lime juice to taste.  Simmer another 5-10 minutes.

This soup can be served hot or cold, depending on your preference.

Herb Focaccia

This is another recipe from the Secrets of Jesuit Breadmaking, only modified so there's no hand-kneading. Some days I just like to let the Kitchen-Aid take care of it.


Herb Focaccia

2 tbsp active dry yeast
1 1/2 cups warm water
4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1/4 cup olive oil
1 tsp salt
various dried herbs (I used freshly dried oregano and rosemary from the garden)
cornmeal

Combine the yeast and water in a small bowl, stirring until yeast is dissolved. set aside for 5 minutes.

Sift the flour into a large mixing bowl and make a well in the middle of the flour. Pour yeast mixture into well and beat gently until incorporated into flour. Remove bowl from mixer. Cover with plastic wrap and let rest in a warm, draft-free place for 20 minutes.

Punch down dough. Replace bowl in mixer and beat for 8 to 10 minutes, or until dough is smooth and elastic, adding flour as necessary.

Lightly oil a large bowl. Place dough in bowl and turn to coat on all sides. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm, draft-free place until doubled in bulk - 1-2 hours. Punch down dough. Replace in mixing bowl and gently beat in olive oil, salt, pepper and herbs.

Grease a baking sheet and sprinkle with cornmeal. Turn dough out onto baking sheet and knead out to corners of the sheet until about 1/4" thick. Cover with a tea towel and let rise until doubled in bulk - about 20 minutes.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Prick the surface with a fork and sprinkle with salt and pepper and more herbs. Bake for 10 minutes and reduce the oven temperature to 375. Bake another 20 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Autumn Harvest

Things in our household are very crazy right now. It's autumn, which means, aside from our full-time jobs, we're focused with harvesting the garden and putting food aside, which tends to translate to little time for blogging. I do have several new recipes - a coffee-marinated pork loin, herb foccacia, a mexican-style white-bean soup and more, so stay tuned! I promise to try and get them posted over the next few days.

But until I can get to writing all that up, here's a harvest poem. Happy fall!

"Smoke hangs like haze over harvested fields,
The gold of stubble, the brown of turned earth
And you walk under the red light of fall
The scent of fallen apples, the dust of threshed grain
The sharp, gentle chill of fall.
Here as we move into the shadows of autumn
The night that brings the morning of spring"

Mojito Shrimp with Roasted Corn & Poblano Salsa

I made this last week for dinner and The Spouse absolutely loved it. For some reason, the flavor reminded me of General Tsos Chicken. Don't ask, but either way it was tasty. The corn was leftover from grilling out, the shallot, tomatoes and poblano were from our garden. Normally I'd post the salsa separately but I think it contributed significantly to the overall flavor of the dish.

Mojito Shrimp with Roasted Corn & Poblano Salsa

Marinade:
20 chopped fresh mint leaves
1/3 cup sugar
1 thinly sliced shallot
1/3 cup light rum
3 tbsp fresh lime juice
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 tsp kosher salt

1 to 1 1/2 lbs. peeled, deveined shrimp

Salad:
2 ears of grilled or roasted corn, removed from ear
1 poblano, cored, deseeded and cut in half
2 medium tomatoes, cored, deseeded and cut in half

Combine the marinade ingredients in a large bowl. Add shrimp and toss to coat. Marinade at room temperature 20-30 minutes, tossing occasionally. Drain marinade.

While shrimp is marinading, heat broiler to 450. Line a baking sheet with tinfoil and place a cooling rack on top. Place poblanos and tomatoes on cooling rack and broil until the skin is charred. Remove from oven and let cool until warm to the touch. Peel the skin off the tomatoes and poblano; dice. Combine with reserved corn; set aside.

Heat a wok over medium-high heat. Add 1 tbsp olive oil and heat. Add shrimp and sautee until shrimp are pink and cooked thru, about 4 minutes. Remove shrimp from wok, set aside.

Add salsa to the wok and heat thru, stirring constantly. Add shrimp back to the wok, remove from heat and toss with the salsa to combine. Serve immediately.

Tuna and White Bean Salad

My guilty pleasure when The Spouse isn't home is to have tuna. Tuna melt, tuna casserole, tuna anything. He likes tuna steaks but tuna from a can/pouch? No.

This is a light, healthy, summer-y alternative to the traditional mayo-heavy tuna salad. It takes advantage of lots of fresh herbs that are readily available this time of year. We're growing all the herbs this recipe calls for.

Tuna and White Bean Salad

1 garlic clove
1/4 cup fresh parsley
3 tbsp fresh basil leaves
1 1/2 tbsp fresh oregano leaves
2 tbsp capers
1 tbsp olive oil
juice from half a lemon
salt and pepper

2 6oz pouches of tuna
1 can white beans (like great northern), drained and rinsed

Combine the first seven ingredients (thru lemon juice) in a small food processor and blend until chopped and well-combined. Season with salt and pepper.

In a large bowl, break tuna apart with a fork. Fold in beans and vinaigrette until well combined.

You can serve this a variety of ways - over open-faced sandwiches, with crackers, over lettuce, etc. Me? I had it with a slice of crusty whole-grain sourdough and a few pieces of cheese. Yum.

Creamy Orzo Primavera

I hadn't been planning on harvesting anything yesterday. Heck, I hadn't even planned on making dinner, just re-heating some leftovers. But as I was walking past while out with the dog I saw a bunch more pea pods. I have had a small pile sitting in the kitchen since Saturday, so I figured I'd just steam them as a side dish.

Then I checked the beans. And they were loaded. Again. So I picked off all the mature beans, nearly 2 dozen.

So I poked about in the pantry debating what to do with these veggies and came up with this. The interesting thing was it tasted lemony, which was wonderful. But I didn't add any lemon juice. I think it was the wine, so if you omit that, add a dash of lemon juice.

Creamy Orzo Primavera

1 tbsp olive oil
1 small onion, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup orzo
2 cups chicken broth
1/4 - 1/2 cup wine
green beans, chopped
pea pods, chopped
2 oz feta, plus extra for garnish

Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add olive oil and warm thru. Add onion and garlic and sautee for 2 minutes. Add orzo and sautee, stirring, until orzo is lightly toasted and fragrant, about 3 minutes. And broth and wine, stir, bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, uncovered, until liquid is mostly absorbed (if needed, add more liquid during cooking).

Meanwhile steam the veggies until sharply crisp. Once orzo is nearly done cooking, add vegetables to the pan and fold in. Continue to cook until the liquid is completely aborbed. Crumble the feta over the pan and stir until creamy.

Spoon into bowls and crumble a bit of extra feta over the top.

Garden Bounty Minestrone

I know, I know. Soup in the middle of July? What the heck?

Blame the jetstream. Today was cool, cloudy, rainy and more appropriate to mid-fall than high summer. It left both The Spouse and I hankering for a bowl of soup and crusty bread.

Fortunately our garden is still producing, though it's lagging behind last year. Yesterday I ran out and picked 1 zucchini, 1 squash, another half pound of beans and a handful of pea pods. Add in some fresh onions and garlic from the farmer's market, a can of diced tomatoes, a can of beans of your choice (I like great northern), wild rice, some vegetable broth and fresh herbs and voila!

Garden Bounty Minestrone

1 tbsp olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup wild rice
1 medium zucchini, diced
1 medium summer squash, diced
1/2 lb green beans, cut into 1" pieces
pea pods, cut into 1/2" pieces
1 28-oz can diced tomatoes, with liquid
1 can beans, drained and rinsed
~4 cups vegetable broth
salt-free italian seasoning
salt
pepper

Heat a large stock pot over medium heat. Add olive oil and warm thru. Add onion and garlic and sautee until translucent, about 3 minutes. Add in wild rice and stir gently until the rice is coated.

Add zucchini, squash, beans and pea pods and stir to combine. Add in tomatoes, beans and oregano; stir. Add vegetable broth and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer about 45 minutes or until the rice is cooked and the vegetables are tender. Season to taste with seasoning, salt and pepper.

Spinach-Stuffed Pork Chops

It's that time of year again to start cooking with homegrown veggies. Our garden got a later-than-normal start this year, and then unseasonably cool weather delayed the first harvest of spring greens. The spinach and rosemary were from our garden and the spring onion was from our local farmer's market. The obvious side dish of asparagus is also from our local market, steamed and lightly seasoned.


Spinach-Stuffed Pork Chops
Stuffing
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup finely chopped spring onion
2 tsp minced garlic
2 plum tomatoes, cored, seeded, and chopped
1 large bunch fresh spinach, chopped
3 slices prosciutto, finely chopped
1/2 cup coarsely grated fontina cheese
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper

Rub
2 tsp finely chopped fresh rosemary
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper

4 thick-cut pork chops

In a large sauté pan over medium heat, warm the olive oil and cook the onion until soft, 5 to 6 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute more. Add the tomatoes and cook for 3 minutes, then add the spinach and cook for 2 minutes. Remove from the heat and allow to cool for 3 or 4 minutes, then add the remaining stuffing ingredients.

In a small bowl combine the rub ingredients. Trim the chops of any excess fat and cut a pocket in the side of each chop. Push the stuffing into the pockets and close with toothpicks. Lightly brush or spray the chops with oil and season with the rub. Allow to stand at room temperature for 20 to 30 minutes before grilling.

Grill over direct medium heat until cooked to desired doneness, 15 to 20 minutes for medium rare. Remove from the grill and allow to rest for 3 to 5 minutes. Serve warm.

Wine Pairing: Stephen Vincent "Crimson" 2006

Sukuma Wiki

This is a dish I "got" from my sister. At the beginning of the summer I gave her a bunch of collards and kale, which she said she'd turn into Sukuma Wiki. It's a staple in Kenya, where she and her husband served in the Peace Corps. Literally translated, sukuma wiki means "stretch the week".

I asked what all went in it and she said "Take a bunch of greens, a chile or two, some tomatoes, some other things and stew it all day long." Recipes aren't quite as accurate when you have to make due with what you've got.

I just finished harvesting the last of the collards today, so I've got this going in the crockpot.

Sukuma Wiki

12 large collard leaves
1 onion, chopped
1 green chile, seeded and minced
4-5 tomatoes, cored, seeded and coarsely chopped
1 cup water
salt and pepper to taste

Remove the stems from the collards. Chiffonade the greens.

Combine all ingredients in a crock pot or stock pot. Turn heat to low and let stew several hours or until greens are tender.

Roasted Tomato and Pepper Sauce

Yet another use for the myriad of tomatoes and peppers from our garden. It could easily be used for a pizza or pasta sauce.

Roasted Tomato and Pepper Sauce

4 tomatoes, cored
1 pepper, cored, seeded and quartered
1 onion, thinly sliced
1/4 cup white wine vinegar
2 tbsp dry white wine
kosher salt
sugar
2 cups tomato sauce

Heat oven to 450F and place rack on top position. Line a baking sheet with tin foil, spray with cooking spray. Place tomatoes and pepper on sheet, lightly season with kosher salt and pepper. Place in oven and roast for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile heat a small pot over medium heat. Add 1 tbsp olive oil and heat until shimmery. Add onions and sautee for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add in vinegar, wine and a pinch of both the salt and sugar. Continue sauteeing until golden brown, about 10-15 minutes.

Add roasted tomatoes and pepper, plus sauce. Stir to combine and heat thru. Puree in pot or in blender. Taste and season as needed.

Eggplant Lasagna

The Spouse has been waiting for this meal all summer. Our eggplants were a little slow to get going but now they're ready for harvest. We planted "Hansel" eggplants, which are smaller than your average globe eggplant. The downside is it takes more of them to make a meal, the upside is the seeds are negligible to the point of being non-existent.

I used the convection setting on our oven to speed the baking time a bit.

Eggplant Lasagna

6 'Hansel' Eggplant, peeled and cut on the bias (you could also substitute 2 Japanese eggplant or 1 globe eggplant)
1 cup bread or corn crumbs
2 tsp Italian Seasoning (or use a mixture of oregano and basil)
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper

9 lasagna noodles (either no-boil or cook to package directions)
20 oz marinara sauce (I used my homemade red-wine marinara)
1 container cottage cheese or ricotta cheese
1 egg
1 tsp Italian Seasoning (or mix oregano and basil)
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Preheat convection oven to 450ºF. Combine bread crumbs, seasoning, salt and pepper. Spray the eggplant slices with cooking spray and coat in the crumbs (set aside leftover crumbs). Layer on a baking sheet and bake 10 minutes. Reduce oven temp to 375ºF. Set eggplant aside to cool slightly.

Combine cottage cheese (or ricotta) with egg, seasoning, 1 cup mozzarella and Parmesan cheese.

In a 9x13 dish, add 1 cup of sauce to bottom of the dish. Layer 3 noodles along the bottom. Add half of the cottage cheese mixture on top of the noodles. Layer the eggplant on top. Add a 1/3 cup of the remaining mozzarella in a think layer. Top with 1 cup sauce. Repeat layers - noodles, cottage cheese, eggplant, cheese, sauce. Top with the last 3 noodles, remaining sauce, and remaining 1/3 cup of cheese. Sprinkle top with the leftover breadcrumbs, if desired. Bake at 375ºF for 20 minutes or until cheese golden brown and lasagna is bubbly. Let set 10 minutes. Serve immediately.

Braised Swiss Chard

We have two massive chard plants in our garden that have been a delight to eat all summer long. Here's one great way to prep it.

Braised Swiss Chard

1 tbsp EVOO
1 shallot, finely diced
1 clove garlic, finely diced
1 bunch swiss chard
salt and pepper

Heat skillet over medium heat. Add olive oil to pan and swirl to coat. Sautee shallot and garlic until lightly browned. Add chard to pan, stir, and cover. Stir occasionally until chard is done, about 5 minutes. Lightly season with kosher salt and fresh ground pepper. Serve immediately.

Roasted Tomato Basil Soup & Grilled Cheese Paninis

I saw this recipe on another blog and thought "I have fresh tomatoes! I have fresh basil! I even have fresh onions!" and decided it would make a good early fall dinner.

I did change a few things. For starters, I didn't use 4 cups of basil. My poor basil plant got kind of shocked by a rather cold night on Monday (I've been bringing it in at night now), so I only picked as much as I dared. Maybe 2 cups. I also don't have a kitchen scale, so I estimated at what 3 lbs of tomatoes were (I figured each tomato was 1/4 lb, some smaller, so used about 16 tomatoes).

This recipe has convinced me, though, I need a hand blender before I make any other fall soups. Screw putting it into the food processor in batches. What a mess.

I would do one thing differently - I would seed the tomatoes, either before roasting or before adding them to the pot.

Now for the Grilled Cheese Panini, I used Kerrygold Blarney Castle Cheese. It's a mild, gouda-style cheese, which was delicious with the tangyness of the tomato soup. Then I just grilled them up on the George Foreman grill, pressing the lid down 1/2 of the way thru the cooking time.

Baked Jalapeño Poppers

This is a recipe courtesy of Emeril. I made a few substitutions to lighten them up more. I also added quite a bit more of the "essence" than called for. The jalapeños were fresh from the garden and oh-so-tasty.

Baked Jalapeño Poppers

16 fresh jalapeno peppers, halved lengthwise, seeds and membranes removed
8 ounces Neufchatel cheese, softened
1 1/2 cups grated Monterey Jack cheese
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon cayenne, or less, to taste
1 large egg, 1 egg yolk
2 tablespoons milk
12 teaspoons Essence, recipe follows
1 cup panko crumbs
1/2 cup all-purpose flour

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease a baking sheet and set aside.

In a bowl, cream together the cream cheese, Monterey Jack cheese, cumin, and cayenne.

In a small bowl, beat together the eggs, milk, and 3 teaspoons of the Essence. In a shallow dish, combine the panko crumbs and remaining 6 teaspoons of Essence. In a third dish, combine the flour and remaining 3 teaspoons of Essence. Spread 1 tablespoon of the cheese mixture into the middle of each jalapeno half. One at a time, dredge in the flour, dip into the egg mixture, then dredge in the panko crumbs, pressing to coat. If necessary, repeat the process. Place the coated peppers, cut side up, on the prepared baking sheet and bake until the filling is runny and the crust is golden, about 30 minutes.

Essence (Emeril's Creole Seasoning):
2 1/2 tablespoons paprika
2 tablespoons salt
2 tablespoons garlic powder
1 tablespoon black pepper
1 tablespoon onion powder
1 tablespoon cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon dried leaf oregano
1 tablespoon dried thyme

Combine all ingredients thoroughly and store in an airtight jar or container.

Homegrown Red-Wine Marinara Sauce

One of the most brilliant things of having a garden is being able to make all sorts of lovely vegetable bases, like marinara sauce, veggie stock, etc., on top of having fresh vegetables for dinner every night.

This is due to a glut of tomatoes, onions and basil. The only ingredients in here that are not from our garden is the garlic, wine and the tomato paste.

Red-Wine Marinara Sauce

1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 head garlic (6-8 cloves), crushed and chopped
1 1/2 onion, diced
12 medium sized tomatoes
salt
pepper
1 1/2 tbsp tomato paste
1/4 cup red wine
12 basil leaves

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Prepare another large bowl with ice water. Core the tomatoes and score the bottom with an 'X'. Add tomatoes in batches to boiling water. Boil for 20-30 seconds, until the skin starts to peel away. Transfer to ice bath. Remove skin, halve tomatoes and remove seeds.

Heat large pot over medium heat. Add olive oil, swirl pot to coat. Add onion, garlic salt and pepper and sautee 5-10 minutes until onion is soft and translucent. Add tomatoes, tomato paste and red wine. Simmer for an hour, stirring occasionally, until sauce has thickened. About 45 minutes in, shred and basil leaves into the sauce. Taste sauce, adjust spices as needed.

If you prefer a less chunky sauce, add to food processor or blender (let cool first if using a blender). Pulse a few times until sauce reaches desired consistency.

You can serve immediately or spoon into containers and freeze for later use.